What do you do when you can do 20 push-ups no problem? You might put your feet up on something or put your hand on a medicine ball and do traveling push-ups. They could be plyometric push-ups with a clap. When those plyos get easy, you can start clapping above the head or behind the back. My spell check does not recognize the word plyometric, which is indicative of the typical person's lack of knowledge about exercise.
I am a personal trainer. In my line of work, these adjustments to an exercise are called progressions. a push-up is a push-up whether is is on a wall by an old lady or if it is done with your feet in a set of rings and each of your hands on its own stability ball because you are a TOTAL BEAST. A good trainer will progress you through variations of the same exercise as your ability grows.
As a recovering addict, I have picked up a lot of mantras and sayings along the way. At some point, I realized that a lot of my problems were because I had failed to look into the future and figure out what was about to be happening in my life. I'm not talking about any wierdo crystal-ball-tarot-card stuff. Just putting pieces together and and figuring out what I was looking at. I developed a method of being a focused person and called it preparing for what's next.
I was 27 when I learned a basic life skill. It felt like the clouds opened up and Jesus himself came down from heaven and told me about it! It was a total epiphany – for real!
All I had to do was figure out my next step and make sure everything was in place to make it happen. I knew I wanted to have a normal life and spend it with the insanely amazing woman I was lucky enough to be dating. I put this into practice by starting a savings account, just in case I lost my job or something. So I wouldn't be completely screwed. I knew I wanted an education and began (slowly) digging myself out of a HUGE pile of debt so I could eventually go back to school.
That was six years ago. Now I am married to that woman, we have all that married people stuff like a cool house with a dishwasher and a yard that I get to mow and hate doing. I have been a personal trainer for 3 years and though still chipping away at my old debts, I have been also chipping away credits at school!
I am one of the most fortunate people you will ever meet. How does a strung-out 115-pound heroin addict, hustling for dope on the streets of Memphis (Ranked one of the most unhealthy cities in the U.S.) that had given up any hope for a regular middle-class life (which sounds really stupid, but that is what I wanted when I was a kid) make such a huge comeback? How does that same guy reinvent himself into someone who helps other people reinvent themselves? Who does that? How am I not dead or in jail?
Preparing for what is next – progression. A little bit at a time.
A few months ago, I started working at a new gym. Although it was hard for me to leave my clients and my co-workers, it was time for the next part of my life. I have grown my knowledge and skill at my new gym and I am starting to see my business take off!
I want to change more lives and help people to make these positive changes. Because of the nature of our business, we can only help those who can afford out time, or who consider personal training to be important enough to go without certain things so they can work with one.
So much of being a trainer is teaching people to make healthy choices. In my opinion, the workouts are pretty much secondary to the diet and lifestyle coaching that is given during a session. Sure, there are those people that just want their butt kicked so they can justify eating half of Panera for lunch. They will get a butt-kicking workout, burn hundreds of calories and not lose a pound. Anyone can make somebody sweat.
What's next for me is finding a way to to give back. I want to find a way to bring the fitness lifestyle mainstream and make words like plyometric something everyone knows. I am up super late writing this, and I might be very tired tomorrow, but if you see me ask me about the idea that my wife and I came up with today. I will be making steps toward it, and soon it will be a reality!
Life has been good to me, and now it is time to give back.
I don't want to be just a personal trainer anymore – I want to make Memphis a healthy city!
