having the best....

...job in the world is pretty awesome.

Public views of personal trainers and coaches is very glamorous. It must be amazing to work a job that makes people feel better about themselves! But it's not all about pretty people and six-pack abs. And it's certainly not all about the scale.
Most of the people who come in to Goals in Motion want to lose weight or tone. But what I've witnessed over the last few years is that as the pounds drop off and the muscle starts to appear they gain so much more....
Just this week, when I was teaching class, I noticed a couple of people who are suddenly so much more fit  and strong~ they stood out amongst a sea of hardworking bodies the other day in class...

C, V and A have broken down the barriers of negativity and self-doubt. They've lost enough weight and toned enough to be able to look in a mirror and feel beautiful again. As a coach, it's easy to see the moment they cross over... they walk in wearing fitted work clothes and they trade in baggy t-shirts for athletic wear. They pick up heavier weights and they have a focused look as they watch themselves execute lifts properly in the mirror. Off the floor, they smile freely and share ideas and encouragement with the other ladies around them.

P, M and W are men who have "caught the bug". They have a determined look as sweat flows freely down their faces and puddles beneath them as they plank. They are men who have not only changed the shape of their bodies but their way of thinking. They are active outside of Goals and as fathers they work hard to set a healthy example for their kiddos every day. Each one of them has a sparkle in their eyes that I don't remember being their on day 1.

But after we help them push back the ghosts of shame and self-loathing, many of my clients are still faced with the demons of age and disease. Many of them have to lose weight for reasons that are so much more critical than a new dress or a smaller belt....

My friends J joined Goals with his wife. I still remember the day they walked in to ask about the program. He quizzed me about supplements and powders. He didn't want to be pushed to buy anything extra. His wife was quiet and let him do the talking. It was apparent to me that he needed to convince himself he could get through the 9 weeks but it was equally apparent that he was ready to change. What I didn't know at our initial meeting was that he was a Type II diabetic. J and his wife joined the 9 week challenge and both work hard. They responded to their coaches and focused on food as much as exercise.
Below is a snippet of a couple of emails he's sent over the last 6 months...
In July.....

"My results on 3/26/12 my average daily glucose was 252 and my A1C score was 9.3. The standard A1C is 4.8-6.0

 My results on 7/16/12 my average daily glucose was 114 and my A1C score was 5.6. This is lower than it has ever been."

and just this week....

 "Hey Team - Just met with my doctor. My last med is a combo drug with 2 different active ingredients - so we are dropping one of the meds and meeting again in March. Only one left to get rid of and I will be med free."

 

Or there is D. She joined way back in 2010. I thought it was to just lose some of those young mom pounds (you know the ones, the "I don't have time for anything but my family and my job pounds")!! 

The following is a part of an email I received from her at the end of her challenge....

"I also found out some great news at the dr on Tues and had to share it with you. I've been a patient... for about 15 years now -- I had inappropriate tachycardia which meant that my heart often started racing without any real physical exertion or reason. I was diagnosed when I was just out of college and at the time I started medication my resting (RESTING) heart rate was 125. Its a condition that people typically outgrow by 30, but for some reason I never did. I was able to workout throughout those 15 years but always had to do so on the medication. I got better over the years and got my resting heart rate down to 105 but never much lower than that (without meds).

Well, I went for my checkup on Tuesday. She had allowed me to take the challenge without medication and see how it went. If it got to be a problem I would just start taking it again -- no big deal. (Working out on medication that suppresses your heartrate was always difficult for me and often left me light headed- and I hated it) The first week or so was hard, but I made it -- without meds. When I had my EKG on Tues, my resting heartrate was 80 without medication!! She was AMAZED and even shouted in the hallway....."

 

Pretty awesome stuff, huh??
These people are just a small representation of who I get to work with every day....
Are you jealous??
Lol!! You should be!! There's nothing better in the world than being reminded that what we do everyday makes a difference.

Thanks to everyone who helps me by coaching or instructing or supporting Goals. There's not any part of it I could do myself and I love you all.....

I'm very thankful that I'm able to have the best job in the world!

Bitten....

I love working in the health and fitness industry.

All kinds of people walk through the doors at Goals in Motion. We have people who have never worked out, people seeking cross training, people who are overweight or underweight, and people who don’t know where to start…….

I love that anyone can benefit from exercise and healthy eating and I love it even more when people catch the bug and become health addicts! It’s our goals to help people make long lasting lifestyle changes.

Yesterday I experienced a whole new kind of health addiction. I attended the USA Super Pro Qualifier and Bluffs Classic Body Natural Bodybuilding Show to watch my friend Kylee compete in her first figure competition.

Kylee joined Goals in Motion midway through her senior year at Iowa State. She works for my good friend Anne who owns Dogtown University in Ames. Kylee was a design student who spent some time in the gym, but had really abandoned cardio since she left high school sports. Ky was unsure of her career path and was considering the fitness industry. Anne convinced her to come to Goals to get a taste of group fitness.

Kylee Initial Picture



Kylee End of 9 Week Challenge

Kylee was on my team. From day one I knew she’d do well. I’ve been teaching a long time and I know the “give-up look”…she had it more than once that day but she refused to quit. She pushed through kickboxing and resistance classes day after day until it became a way of life. She quickly became hooked on the Goals way, eating right, working hard and making friends. She is perhaps the most disciplined eater I’ve ever coached. She had some great changes during her nine weeks and shortly after joined my team of instructors.

Kylee was bitten by the body building bug a while back ~ she’s been a fan of several professionals for a long time. Shortly after her challenge, she started sending me training videos from figure competitors such as Dana Linn Bailey, Nicole Wilkins and Erin Stern. I could see the hunger in her eyes and hear the excitement in her voice…. She was ready to take the next step in her fitness journey.



I didn’t know anything about training bodybuilders and knew at one point I’d have to let her go to another coach, but I was determined to help as long as I could. If anything, I could push hard enough for her to figure out if this is what she really wanted. The next few months were crazy. We read everything we could on nutrition and workouts. She spent more time in a traditional gym, lifting to enhance her Goals workouts.  She made some great progress.

In May the unthinkable happened~ Kylee was in a horrible motorcycle accident. She was weeks from her first planned show. Her bike was destroyed and her body was bruised but her spirit as never broken. It took several strong willed men and women to hold her down long enough to let her body heal. One of the hardest days in my coaching career came at that moment when we decided she couldn’t compete in the show she had trained so hard for.



Kylee April 2012

Over time, she fought through the aches and pains and made her way back to the gym. She set her sights on a new show in November. She went back to the original workouts and meal plans for a while, but eventually it became obvious that I couldn’t help her. I know how to teach people to eat healthy and reshape their body through fat loss and muscle gains, but I have little knowledge of how to sculpt a body the way she wanted to be sculpted.



She sought out the wisdom of those who had competed before and spent less time with us at Goals and more time in the gym, lifting heavy and perfecting her craft. She teaches two classes a week and still popped in for occasional cardio. Her smile and her excitement is captivating. Each time she left the studio she had a new fan!



I’m not sure of all of the details of her transformation. I had a hard time watching her dive into a sport that scares me. I have a great appreciation for beautiful, healthy bodies and I’ll believe until the day I die that bodybuilders could create themselves without omitting nutrients, if the industry encouraged it. I don’t feel comfortable with the rapid change in weight and body fat. I couldn’t bring myself to hear about the deprivation or the countless hours in the gym. I live in a world of long term life style changes. I’ve seen too many people deprive themselves for a short time to reach a desired outcome and then realize they are miserable. And ultimately, it came down to the fact that I love her like a daughter and I worry about her long term health. But, like my own children, I had to come to terms that she has to follow the path that makes her happy. And like my own children, she set out to prove me wrong…. She can be strong and healthy and achieve a goal that is important to her. I found myself watching from the outside and admiring the work she was willing to do.

So….. that’s the history.



Kylee November 2012

Today, I’m pleased to share that she successfully completed her first show last night and I was there to watch. She competed in four events and placed in 3~ winning the novice division and taking 5th in open figure and beginning figure. I found myself analyzing the competitors’ walks and critiquing their bodies. Then she walked on stage…. She was beaming, she was beautiful. She was mistake free- working the floor like she was meant to be there. I had little to do with her reaching this goal, but I am pleased to say I was there when she caught the bug…..

1st Place Novice Figure



Tonight we will be celebrating the end of another challenge at Goals in Motion. The men and women I’ve worked with have been inspiring. Just like Kylee, many of them have been bitten…. they have decided to continue with maintenance at Goals. They have decided to keep fitness in their lives. How far they will go is yet to be seen but I’m excited to be a part of it.