A Spot In The Spirit, Not All Weights Are Iron

Today while I was training one of my clients, I saw a gentleman who I knew from another facility where I previously worked out. I asked him if he went to the North High School football game the night before and he said "no". I could see by the look in his eyes that something was troubling him. Then he told me that his dad had passed away the day before. His dad was lifting weights in his basement and fell and hit his head, and my friend told me that he had called his dad on Tuesday and didn't get an answer so he thought since he hadn't heard from his dad he would go check on him and found him Friday. After he told me about what happened, I just couldn't stop thinking about it and how it was affecting him. I had this overwhelming feeling to do something, but what could I do. I finished with what was my last client of the day and waited for my friend to finish the set he was doing and went to him and asked him if I could pray for him and his response was"yes please do". And I prayed for him right there in the gym, as tears flowed from his eyes I prayed that God would comfort him and his family through this time, and that the peace that passeth all understanding would rest upon him. What do you say to someone in times like this, I know whenever I am faced with trying to bring comfort to folks in their time of loss, it can be very hard. But I've learned to trust the spirit and let HIM lead and speak through me, and don't try to make sense of it just pray for peace and comfort. If you pray please pray for my friend. His name is Eric and he's a good guy and your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Getting Personal and Enhancing People's Lives

Personal training is turning out to be a really cool career. On any given day I find myself working with so many different people from different backgrounds. Today for instance, my first client was a young guy who used to study martial arts. In fact, he was or still is a black belt and he's trying to get back in shape and build some strength so he can start feeling better about himself. And then there is Karl, who is a 28 year old Gulf War veteran whose getting ready to play semi-pro football this fall. He wanted someone to time him in the 40 and do some agility ladder work to help with his foot work and speed. Then I had a 71 year old semi retired judge who has been coming to the gym for over 20 years and today I was able to convince him that he needs to do more core and balance exercises to help ward off falls as he ages. There are days when I wonder if I'm helping these people and I hope that I am, but the proof is when I see the lady who suffers with scoliosis, and she's able to do things that used to cause her pain and doing them pain free now. Then there's the other semi retired judge who is 78 years old telling me he's playing the best tennis he's played in years since he's started doing medicine ball rotations which are keeping him loose and on his toes. There's David and Jason... two big guys who I met one day when I was on some down time and began training with them. David is getting ready for a powerlifting meet in December. It has been a blast working with him and Jason and seeing them get stronger each week. Just being able to give them little nuggets as we train together and seeing them apply and succeed in their quest to get beastly strong makes it all seem worthwhile. Then there are the days I get to have those training dates with my lovely wife Andrea. Seeing her grow in confidence in the gym setting is really cool. She's making progress towards her goals and it's just more proof that I made the right move in choosing to become a CPT/PES because people are attaining their goals and I am able to be a part of their quest. I just thank GOD that HE has gifted me with the ability to inspire and encourage individuals to push past their limitations to reach the goals and remind them that it's o.k. to take little steps to reach the top of the mountain. One step, one day at a time, they can and will succeed.

My Journey to 275 and a Better Me.

Last Wednesday morning I woke up with my pillow soaked with blood. This was the result of a spike in my blood pressure, something that hadn't happened to me ever before. I have been working out and lifting weights for years and although I'm a bit overweight I still thought I was in good shape. My wife, who is CNA convinced me that I should go to the doctor, but since I lost my job last year and along with it, my insurance, I was a little reluctant to. I was a little concerned,though, because along with the nosebleed I also had a slight headache.

My doctor informed me that my blood pressure was dangerously high and that if it didn't start to come down with the meds that they gave me that I would be on my way to the E.R. The meds did begin to take effect and I started to feel a little better.

Two days later I was to go back to the doctor and have my blood pressure checked again. It was still a little high, so they gave me another med order to help bring it down. I used to be a competitive powerlifter and most of my training sessions were all- out war against some big weights, but that's all changed now. My doctor says that I should back off and take it easy, not push it too hard. That was a hard pill to swallow. She asked me just how much I lifted, and I told her about one of my recent workouts where E.B., one of my training buddies pushed a 515 lb.reverse band bench press for 2 reps and she said there'll be no more of that.

She encouraged me to keep exercising but to be a little more restrained and to cut way back on the amount I lift, and to do more cardio. So here I am starting my quest to get to a weight where I am not putting so much strain on myself and to get in the best shape of my life. I think it will take a lot of discipline and some people to be accountable to so that's where anyone who reads this can help. I'll be posting from time to time letting you know how I'm doing. So keep me in your prayers because it's not going to be easy. I have a lot of changes to make and we as human beings don't like to be out of our comfort zones. But I'm kicking the side out of the box and going for it, and with GOD"S help I'll make it.