Lessons learnt from a client

The other day I was waiting for a client to come in for a training session. My phone rang and it was the client.

 'Hi Gideon'

'Hello Good Morning'

'I was just wondering.....I'm not in the mood to train today. I am feeling a bit lethargic. Could we skip session today?'

(Thoughtful pause)

'No'. (followed by my reasons)

'I should have come up with another excuse. Alright I'll come.

I did explain my reasons to her and this article will be why I gave those reasons.

See, as her personal trainer, I am committed to helping her make the right decision and lifestyle choice. She trusts me with her health and guidance to to make right choices where her health is concerned. Just because she pays me well has nothing to do with the fact that I can skip that one session.

'But its just one session?' Yes it is but once can also lead to twice and then a string of events. Being lethargic is not a right decision to skip training. She trusts me to motivate her and guide her. I have to set the example. I have to be true and honest to myself and her.

What would have happened if I said yes? Well, I would have gone home earlier, relaxed and left a client who trusted me hanging.

'Arn't you making a big deal out of this?' It is a big deal. Just that one thing could have let her motivation slide and forever sealed the fact that it was ok to be lethargic and pass of on training for her health. However, because I guided her in the right way it seals a whole lot more commitment, mental strength to push through and achieve her goals.

It might be small but it could lead to big impacts later.

By the way, she had a great training session that day and in her own words, 'I am glad I came.'

I actually feel that decision I led her in helped me grow a lot more than it did her. I was faced with an equal choice - comfort of leaving work early or being true to a real reason someone trusted with me right for ..............THAT MOMENT! This is putting the personal in personal training!

To all Personal Trainers......I believe this is why we do what we do. To make changes in peoples lives and in EVERY way we can. We are role models. Lets lead the way!

I have not eaten in 24 hours!!

Hi All,

I have not eaten in 24 hours. No that's not a complaint. I actually have been on a program by Brad Pilon called Eat stop Eat. For those of you who don't know, Brad is an authority on Intermittent Fasting. He is also a nutritional guru and bodybuilder.

Brad is the author of the program and best selling book called Eat Stop Eat. I decided to give it a shot for a while. I can say this.....it works. It is not complicated, it is not another diet plan. I used it to come down from 101 Kgs to 75 kgs and it was so comfortable that I decided to maintain it as a lifestyle change. I have also brought my bodyfat down from 28% to 17%. All I did was not eat for 24 hours.

The benefits of this program are a lot

1. Losing fat
2. Losing excess water content
3. Increased energy
4. Learning what hunger really is
5. Breaking free of a fear of what hunger really is.
6. Not letting my body dictate me but instead tell me when it needs to eat. 

This was one of the easiest instructions I followed. Just pick a day or two during the week and dont eat. Another benefit to this is its flexible. I can take a call of which 24  hours I need it to be . So I don't even have to go a whole day without eating.

I could still train hard, do my work and live life normally. As a matter of fact it opened more free time for me and kept me sharp and alert. My energy levels were high. 

I liked it so much that I entered into a joint venture with Eat Stop Eat. I highly recommend this book as it spills out a lot of reasons on what happens when you fast and all the advantages of fasting.

Click Here!

Beast Mode: Animal flow workouts

Hi Guys,

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to start training with bodyweight exercises. Well, I have been doing that recently and one thing I can say is I am glad I made that decision.

These are my results

1) I can workout anywhere, anytime. I don't need equipment.
2) The tendonitis I had in my shoulder for nearly a year is nearly gone.
3) I am quicker and more alert

However, my knowledge of bodyweights isn't extensive enough and I have started doing some research.

In my quest to find a good source for bodyweight training I came across a training method called the animal flow. I am a bit skeptical about animal methods in training but I decided to give it a go.

First a bit of background. Animal flow was created by Mike Fitch who himself is a fitness professional of many years. He then wanted to find a different way to train and went into bodyweights and after research created the animal flow workout. You can find his site on http://www.globalbodyweighttraining.com/

I will tell you his program is worth every bit. It is challenging yet there is an ease to it that only bodyweights can give. It taught me to challenge myself and try. Honestly I had a fear of more gymnastic type moves but I just worked with what I could do. I was pleasantly surprised to know that there was nothing to be scared of but also it did not lie to me. My body knew exactly where it was weak and what I needed to do to improve.

The training helped me get myself limber. I must mention that the dynamic warmup is one of the best I have experienced and I use it often. My co-ordination and balance have improved and more importantly joint mobility.

Animal flow for me was challenging and fun. It also seemed to bring a sense of achievement and a realization of what I could do and had to improve. I definitely would recommend and promote the Animal flow workout to anyone.

BUY IT HERE!!



 
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How I gained weight and reached 100kgs

When I first started training back in 1999, I had my dad to coach me. It was under his guidance that I took to bodybuilding and started working towards it as my sport. I was in final year of college and weighed 75 kgs.

Dad was very old school trained which was a huge benefit for me. There was no frills training. Just plain old hard work. I remember us walking into the gym the first time and from day one it was all out training. My first week was cardio and free hand exercises. From the second week it was time to attempt the prized bench press and man i was excited. The schedule was not too different. We would train 5 times a week. Our schedule

Monday: Chest and triceps

Tuesday: Legs

Wednesday: back and biceps

Thursday: Shoulders

Friday: Abs and Calves

 

Nutrition: Eat and eat well!! Anything you want as long as its healthy.

In the first three months I made rapid gains. Though I did my own research and wanted to try different stuff, I just kept quiet and let my father handle the training. There were times I would ask him if I could try certain weights and certain exercises and he would either encourage me to try or patiently tell me I would have to wait a while longer. I started to pin down the basic exercises and grow.

Benchpress, Deadlifts, rows, squats, shoulder press, bicep curls, tricep extensions. Anything else could be varied and missed but not these. I never pushed or lifted with sloppy form. And no jerks. If i jerked i had to lighten the weight. I started to grow quickly and I reached 82 kgs.At that point I set the goal. I decided the goal was 100kgs and then work back down. 

Supplements were researched and tried. I started off on creatine and it paid off. From there it went into protein powders. Over a 10 year period I would try lots of them. the best one I still remember that worked with me was Optimum Nutrition. 

I was now at 87 Kgs. I had a good understanding and feel of my body and muscle response. I learnt biofeedback on my own. Few more months I was on the scale again and at 92kgs. Then it happened. I got hit by a viral and weight plummeted by 7kgs. I was so disappointed but I knew my muscles would kick up again quickly. The mental fight that day was tiring but I won. I was not allowed to start right off the bat. i had to build again lighter weights. I started to get stronger. As my strength came rushing back I started to pack on again. I was at 92 once again. It was at this point dad and me hit a record. We leg pressed 600kgs.

The journey from 92kgs to 97 kgs was a lot more painful but it was there that I had my greatest PR's and records shattered.I say it was painful because I didnt seem to be getting anywhere in breaking out of that weight plateau. Once again dad and me set a new record. We went up to a 300 kgs in squats. What started that day as a leg training session ended as a PR breaking session. We only did squats that day. The whole gym came around to watch the show. It felt awesome! It was a few weeks later the gym owner told me my leg size was the probably the 2nd largest in the gym

By this time people were telling me I was HYOOOOOOOOOGE!! Then came the questions? Is it healthy for you? is it right? I said I was on a mission to reach 100kgs and it was fine because I had planned it. 

At 97 kgs, it was 2006 I had a horrible experience and a massive fight with the disease of jaundice. I remember in my first week i dropped to 75. The jaundice took 8 months to pass and I was left at a scraggly 67 kgs. I knew what I had to do. When I finally went back to the gym, dad and the doctor would not let me accelerate my training. It was getting boring. Dad had to leave out of the country for three months. Bring it on!

The day he left I walked into the gym. I deadlifted 150 kgs right away. No warm up sets. I decided to take the fight back. By this time I was at 73 kgs. I had three months to do what I had to do. Squats, Deadlifts, Shoulder presses, curls, tricep extensions and benchpress in that order. 3 months later a healthy looking 92 kgs son met his father at the airport.

I went for the final haul in 2008. I lifted with the heaviest weights I could and as explosive as possible. I started to eat like crazy and followed 5 meals a day. My protein powder again was optimum nutrition. I was doing well. Then another setback. At a kickboxing class I fell through a granite slab while cross running. Training was out of the question by the doctors as the sprain was pretty bad. that was nearly a month out. I had to get around on a crutch. I went back to the gym on that crutch. I couldnt squat. So the main exercises were benchpress and shoulder press. I went in for leg extensions and curls. For back I used pulled downs and rows. In about 2 months my leg healed completely.

Then by 2010 beginning I broke through! I was at a whooping 101kgs! I showed up for my wedding and in my cousins words 'Man, you were built like a tank!' I had done it. I felt like a champion. I reached my goal.

There is something about setting goals and achieving them. I know it took 10 years and yes there was a lot of learning. However nothing can replace the experience and years of learning that I went through.

The greatest benefit I had was building my relationship with my father. We were the best training partners anywhere and we still are. A lot of things happen when you set a goal and work towards it. The years of experience are priceless. 

My journey to becoming a Certified Fitness Trainer

Growing up I never wanted to become a doctor. I didn't think I had the heart to see a lot of blood and so much suffering. Along with that went the fact that the education system never made being a doctor easy. 

I started to play basketball in high school. It was quite a thing because growing up I was always falling sick and battling asthma. I stayed away from anything that had sport attached to it. Progress went on to college, won a few medals and then I ended up playing for a club and took on streetball matches. i remember my coach then telling me for my position that I play I need a lot more size and strength.

I turned to the only best coach I knew - My dad! Dad came from a line of Old school bodybuilders. I mean really old school. No fancy equipment. Just stones, bars, iron dumbbells and barbells, running barefoot on a beach, etc. He had won a bodybuilding title in India back in 1960. Along with that he was good at boxing and hockey.

I started training seriously with Dad for health, strength and conditioning for two reasons.

1. I believe our body is the temple in which God stays (yes that inspired the name for the blog).
2.  As my coach put it - you have to get bigger and stronger to play the position on the basketball team.

Things went well the first few months on court and then I realised I was developing a passion for my dad's sport which was bodybuilding. The beauty of his days of bodybuilding was they focused on strength and health first and then aesthetics. Not bloating up like bovine cattle. From that Journey dad and me learnt a lot. We would sit doing countless hours of latest training methods and how to use old school to fuse them. We really experimented on ourselves. Being young I thought that was fun but now I realise that there was a great danger in that. Thank God nothing happened. We would train 4-6 hours a day. Research and try supplements. However at any given point, health was always top priority. It wasn't long before people came up asking me for advice. I think I spent about10 years before going to be a certified trainer just helping people. It was early 2008 that I realised I actually enjoyed helping people develop a healthy strong lifestyle. Knowing where I came from as a sick weak kid and now I was a 92kg powerhouse (I was 75kgs when I started) I started giving it some serious thought. Then later in 2008 I decided to look for a professional course. I came across ISSA and contacted the representative here in India - Dilip Heble. I applied for the course. It would be another 2 years before I actually cleared the exam.

The reason it took so long to clear the exam was I was working in a corporate and fighting to balance time to finish the exams. All through that time I was was still researching and studying what ever I could. Late in 2009 Dilip visited my state of Bangalore. I remember driving in the rain to go meet him and he told me what needed to be done. 'Finish it man! Its nearing 2 years and you have the potential do not be lazy!' I got right on the case!! 3 months later my answer scripts had gone.
In the meantime I also had to do a compulsory first aid course. Dilip conducts AHA(American Heartsaver) courses with CPR around the country so I got that done. In the next two months just a few months before my wedding I got my results. I had cleared with 89%! I was a certified fitness trainer!

ISSA is the best fitness education provider I have found. I remember Dilip and Frank Miele patiently answering my queries and encouraging me. Even after that they have always been supportive and given me any help I need and that too quickly!!

If you are looking at doing a certification course to become a fitness trainer I would definitely recommend ISSA. Their support when you are studying and even after you get a professional license in second to none. I am now away from my regular corporate job, work my own times, and help change peoples lives.

If you are in India and would like to get ISSA certified please contact me.

Enjoyed the post? Need a Fitness trainer for consultation or training? Let me know what you think. Leave a comment

On with the Program

Getting started with a good fitness program is essential to your health. Also equally important is who is giving you the program and monitoring it along with you. Make sure you get professional help or at least a professional resource to help with your fitness program design. This is where the Certified Fitness Trainers come in. Your health is important and it is not wise to take chances with it.
There are 16 fitness goals and 8 fitness technologies to help you achieve that goal that you want.

A good program will be

1. Progressive
2. Safe
3. Put your health and strength first
4. Include nutritional counsel or advise
5. Monitored and holding you accountable

Most times the less fancy it looks the better it is. The best programs more often than not just have no fluff to it. As a matter of fact it could seem to be a bit boring, monotonous and intense but these are the the ones that get you most results.

An important point is if there is no nutritional counselling to your program get away from it quickly!

You also are looking for a review and monitoring to happen. If you are not being held accountable or reviewing progress regularly your program is not on the right track. You should at  least be asked for feedback on how you are doing or feeling with your program.

These are the key points on getting a program listed for you. If you need help getting coaching or having a program feel free to contact me.

Please feel free to leave comments in the box below.

Self Defense - a missing part of fitness