Doing A Great Job

I had the pleasure of meeting a family member of one of my clients yesterday. My client is a grad student currently and she brought her mom into the gym with her to work out while we completed our training session, and I was sure to introduce myself at the front desk. "You're doing a great job," she said. "She's doing all the work!" I replied, speaking about her daughter. I did feel glad to receive a compliment, especially from a parent. But what it says to me is not necessarily that I'm implementing superb technical strategies, but rather that my client has been positively responding to my style of coaching, and that we have truly established a bond. For training to work, any type of training--whether it is personal training in a gym or home setting, group training, boot camp, even your normal job training and class education, there needs to be a connection, and you need to believe in who is teaching you and be able to commit to the game plan. So the seemingly simple compliment to me is really a sign that I am getting through to my client, and what that ultimately tells is that she will be successful because her mindset is right. Mindset...my favorite word, right?! Seriously, though, it is all about mindset.

Actually, this same client asked me yesterday, "When you were losing all that weight, did you ever hit a point where you stopped or gained some of the weight back?" She was referring to the plateau that many people seem to hit in weight loss before they reach their goal. Mindset. Although weight loss slowed down after I reached a healthier body composition, I didn't hit a training plateau, mostly because I stuck to the plan and didn't compromise a thing. I also explained how I kept challenging myself, intensifying workouts and sticking to a consistent and appropriate healthy eating program, and I am at a healthy consistent weight of around 150 lbs (although I was at my lightest around 143-145...crazy!) The question of how hard it is arose, and I explained that now it has actually become easy--not only because I've established a lifestyle for myself, but that I need to hold myself to a much higher standard if I expect my clients to reach their goals and follow my lead. Mindset. Being a trainer and an influential individual actually makes it easier to discipline myself because what I think about on the treadmill, pavement, or cross training is not myself getting better, but all the people who are seeing results and success and who see me as their motivation. So, I'm doing a great job only because all of you are doing a great job! Happy Friday everyone, and thanks for reading!