Here is a quick article/summary I wrote about the 8 weeks I spent with a home client during the holiday season. While many people are gaining weight during the holidays, this guy went in reverse, and I am glad to see that he made a conscious effort to make a change and a realistic change at that.
When I met Eric Lawson (not his real name), he was a tired, stressed father who came home everyday from work designing HVAC systems in a 4 x 6 office, to a house filled with chores ranging from picking up the kids from karate, hockey practice, or track and then taking out the garbage, paying bills online, or helping the kids with homework. Eric was a devoted father who encouraged his two children to engage in extra-curricular activities like sports and social groups. His wife was a dedicated mother whose day resembled his – along with picking up food from the nearby fast-food Mexican restaurant every night and filling the cabinets with quick-bite snacks for the late-night talk show that they religiously watched weekdays while the kids slept. This was the only time Eric had to himself…between 9pm and 12am. During this time, Eric watched TV, read, or retreated to small-talk conversation with his wife. Eric usually complained of restless nights trying to sleep, or waking up to eat at 3:30am. Eric was snacking at work and eating fast-food almost everyday while sitting at his drafting table for a majority of the day.
He also complained of lower back pain and discomfort. His desk was killing him. His computer was killing him. His poor time-management was killing him. His lack of energy was killing him. He was weak, meek, and pathetically just getting by each day. Until, a decision was made for him. Yep, “made” for him. His “father-in-law” recognized Eric’s demise and entrusted my services to basically go into Eric’s house weekly and beat his ass. Eric had a basement that housed a decent treadmill and some exercise gear (he never used).
On November 3, Eric weighed in at 244 at a height of 6’1”. His bodyfat level reached 32% and he suffered lower back issues.
Eric cleaned up his diet by adding fruit and nuts as snacks, rather than cookies, chips, and soda. He began drinking water and getting up from his desk twice an hour to relieve his back of the wretched static position. On Wednesday nights, I would visit Eric for an hour and he would perform a progressive exercise program made up of intervals using the treadmill and various circuits including core work and isometrics.
Here is a look at his program:
Staple Exercises:
HipBridge 4x10 sec. hold
Plank 4x10 sec. hold
Side Plank 4x10 sec. hold
Bird Dogs 4x10 reps
Wall Slides 3x8 reps
Sprint 5 min. Recovery 7 min.
Foundation Exercise:
Squats 3x12
Kneel to Lunge 3x8
Push-Ups 3x8
Crunch 3x12
Sprint 5 min. Recovery 7 min.
Ball Exercises:
HipBridge Hold on Ball 3x10sec.
Push-Up Hold on Ball 3x10 sec.
Bird Dogs on Ball 3x15 reps
DB Presses on Ball 3x8-10 reps
Band Rows on Ball 3x12 reps.
The key to Eric’s 8 week transformation is the accountability placed on him. I opened up a Fitday.com account for him, in which I used his password to go in and check his food and activity log. I ran reports and communicated with him through e-mail. The exercise program was progressive, so it helped him reach small successes and learn about his body throughout the 8 week period. When I first met Eric, he could only perform 4 push-ups and was in tears performing Wall-Slide exercise (see “Stronger Shoulders” DVD). When he mastered the Bird Dog exercise, we progressed to the ball with eyes closed.
Within 4 weeks, his mobility greatly improved. The Cat/Camel became more “fluid” and his hips became better “oiled”. His posture improved, except for this neck thingy he had going on—which I was told his own father had the same thingy. By week 5, he looked as though he stood taller. We trained in his basement, which had a low ceiling and I can swear, he was about 3 inches away from the top. So, plyometrics were out.
On December 20, Eric weighed in at 226 and his bodyfat level decreased to 26.5% and he had no lower back issues.
By week 6, Eric had gained confidence in making the right choices in food selection when at home and dining out. His wife had stopped going to the Mexican restaurant and Eric had more energy to dedicate more time to help cook dinner—along with performing all the other tasks that he still had to do. Only this time around, they seemed easier and less time consuming.
So how did Eric lose 18 pounds in 8 weeks? Well, the first 10 pounds were defitenly just Eric incorporating physical activity into his daily life. Here is a guy that got home and never challenged his body to do something beyond its capacity. Eric performed his responsibilities everyday and never asked anything more of his body...his mind was being stressed, but not his body. So, the treadmill in the basement came into good use. We did some steady state cardio initially, just so I can get Eric accustomed to “the ground moving underneath him”; and to physically “brush the rust” off his muscles. This guy is only 38—he is not old, but he felt 68. The steady state stuff enabled me to watch his gait, perform simple talk-test assessment, and get to know the guy. Once he was able to “understand” how to walk on a treadmill, we incorporated jogging. I like the intervals with sprints because it caused Eric to really know what its like to dig deep and perform.
Most of Eric’s training consisted of 60% behavior modification work. I really had to relate to the guy and talk “guy stuff” with him. He was giving himself to everyone and never had free time. I had to convince him that giving himself some time away from everyone and dedicating his efforts to personal goals was not bad thing—rather a healthy thing. He had weaned away from feeling guilty and made others understand that he needed some “me-time”. The result: a leaner, more energetic Eric with still a ways to go...but more time efficiency and energy to pursue his responsibilities and personal goals.
Hmmm... that'a an excellent point on the guilt about the "me" time. That's been my biggest challenge for the past year or two. Every hour I lift is an hour I'm not at home with my family. So I just haven't been lifting for a few months.
Food for thought.
__________________ Megaloi -- My Blog
"Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers."
- Mignon McLaughlin
Good job to Eric. It's easy to make excuses for not doing something. If you're being honest (like red) and are using family time to spent time with your family doing something good then that's cool. If you're using family time to watch tv, or "me" time playing WOW for 4 hours a day...well...come on.
anyway. good job to Eric. it's a struggle every day.
Thanks guys. The never-talked about facet of personal training is the psychology aspect. Really getting to know your client and gaining their trust. Once they "let you in", it is all molding from there. However, that part isd the hardest and its really what separates the good from teh bad.
You can have the best arsenal of tools in your toolbox, but if you can't get the lock opened, they are useless.
Nice read John - I really see where you are coming from in terms of 'opening the lock'
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With hope in your heart
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I sometimes laugh at some of the people I run into that "just don't get it".
Being BETTER at what you do..is more than having the heaviest squat or deadlift...or biggest arms or lowest bodyfat. It's "feeling" strong and developing a high self-efficacy and being able to PROJECT that strength.
It going out and proving yourself everyday and making out on top. I am the last "holistic" guy on the planet...but there is nothing like helping someone change their mindset and seeing it transcend in their daily life.
You can change it by conquering the heavy deadlift you been trying to get for last 3 months, or you can change it by looking them in the eyes and telling them they can do because "I have already envisioned you doing it".
Great story, John, and Eric deserves Kudos for sticking with it and changing his life around.
I'm not a trainer but I found it interesting to see how you started him off and, as you said, getting the "lock open." It provides great insight into what trainers deal with. It's way more than just instructing folks on form and eating.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Do you have any tips on how to get people to "buy in" to what you're saying? It's my thinking that about 80% of the lifestyle doesn't really require a whole lot of knowledge it just requires effort. "Eat more vegis and fruit" "get off your butt and do SOMETHING physical for 30-60min a few days a week" and you're doing better than most of us.
So how do you get someone to actually "believe" that you're telling them something worth listening to and while they're working out to push to an appropriate intensity, ect.
Do you have any tips on how to get people to "buy in" to what you're saying? It's my thinking that about 80% of the lifestyle doesn't really require a whole lot of knowledge it just requires effort. "Eat more vegis and fruit" "get off your butt and do SOMETHING physical for 30-60min a few days a week" and you're doing better than most of us.
So how do you get someone to actually "believe" that you're telling them something worth listening to and while they're working out to push to an appropriate intensity, ect.
Great question Gobbla,
Most fitness trainers are good at just "telling" their clients what they need to do...they talk "at them" and not "to them". They don't put in the effort of really sneaking in the back door--they just alwasy try to go through the front-which is less work. really good trainers know that if they really want their clients to succeed, they must get to knbow them on a personal level, be bale to communicate with them--almost as if they are a child.
IMAGINE THIS:
Can you imagine going out with a real fine woman and she tells you that she has a 13-year-old son who is very critical of who his mother goes out with? Well, the day comes when you have to meet the kid and you do everything in yuor power to mkae the kid like you. YOu sit down on the floor next to him, read his cominc, laugh at his jokes, take his issues seriously, etc.... You have to give a little to get.
That is the same with a personal trainer. Good trainers give everyday a little bit of themselves....thats why they come home exhausted every night. Bad trainers give up to easily. Thats why of the 125,000 new trainers that join the field every year, 25,000 drop out in less than a year. (and thats a real statistic from Fitness Professional Publication).
Hmmm... that'a an excellent point on the guilt about the "me" time. That's been my biggest challenge for the past year or two. Every hour I lift is an hour I'm not at home with my family. So I just haven't been lifting for a few months.
Food for thought.
I'm right there with you Red. I usually get up at 5 a.m. to workout so I can spend as much time in the evenings with the family. However, the new baby still isn't sleeping through the night and we haven't been getting to bed until 10 p.m. so it's ver difficult to get up that early. I've been working out in the evenings but it's tough. I will take my 2-year old downstairs with me but he's pretty distracting so I don't get that good of a workout in.
If I can take 1-hour out of my day for "me" time, time spent working out hard and intense, I'm much better for my family. We talk about "quality" time...but if you get run down and discouraged from not working out, how "quality" is that time? More food for thought.
Sorry for the hijack...Ted
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Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
I'm right there with you Red. I usually get up at 5 a.m. to workout so I can spend as much time in the evenings with the family. However, the new baby still isn't sleeping through the night and we haven't been getting to bed until 10 p.m. so it's ver difficult to get up that early. I've been working out in the evenings but it's tough. I will take my 2-year old downstairs with me but he's pretty distracting so I don't get that good of a workout in.
If I can take 1-hour out of my day for "me" time, time spent working out hard and intense, I'm much better for my family. We talk about "quality" time...but if you get run down and discouraged from not working out, how "quality" is that time? More food for thought.
Sorry for the hijack...Ted
before i comment on the quote the op is a really awesome story. kudos to eric for the success and to john for really capturing the personal nature of fitness (after all we are always dealing with people here.)
as for the whole guilt thing, its something that i've only recently become aware of. For the entire fall semester I worked out at night, usually 7-8pm to 9-10pm. As a result i wasn't spending time with people whom i wanted it (namely a few select ladies). So the trade off has to be working out in the morning. Luckily my spring semester lends itself easily to such an effort.
Another thing that I'd noticed was that if I worked out at night my whole day was wrapped around that last 4 hours. When/what I ate throughout the day took on a greater sense of importance and it was all building towards the end. However when I workout in the morning the rest of the day is less stressful and I can relax a lot more as the "hump" has already been done.. Something to consider i guess.
Thanks for the post, John - an interesting read. And congrats to Eric on his continued accomplishments. Have you suggested he join the JPF forum? I'm sure he could get continued encouragement here as he moves forward.
As for "me time", I think we all struggle with this. It is difficult finding time to balance work and home life and also make time for training. I think the key is recognizing that it is equally important as the other important things in your life. For me, I recognize that I am a healthier, more confident person now than I was before I started training. That's as important to me as nurturing my children or doing a good job for my employer. Consequently, my training time is as sacrosanct as any other part of my "schedule".
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"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
This is an interesting discussion although it should probably be in another thread.
That being said...my wife has associated working out with losing weight. When I tell her I need to workout more, she says "why, you don't need to lose anymore weight..." It's more about my well-being and my attitude at this point. The good health is a bonus.
BTW...I like this quote...
Quote:
Life is life and if you are dedicating all your time to something, there is something else in your life that is not receiving your attention.
Not enough hours in the day, can't make everyone happy, depends on your priorities I guess.
__________________
Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
Those "Before & After" photos were made popular by a supplement company called "Cybergenics" way back in the late 80s/early 90's. Now..they are a phenonmenon.
From Slumped To Pumped!
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