Wow, what an amazing trip so far!! I have been in Alberta for 5 days now and in the mountains for 3 of those. My trip started off with an awesome few days at Custom Fit. Paul, and his team (especially Craig, Steffan and Jeff) made me feel more welcome than I've felt anywhere in a long long time. Even though I am not a trainer yet nobody made me feel out of place. In fact, it was very much the opposite. They took the time to help me, answer all my questions, and point out things I never would have thought of. They explained what I should be looking for in form, what muscles were being worked (and yes they use the technical names for the muscles) and how these moves would help the client in every day life movements. Paul also went over a few of the "office side" of being a trainer which was helpful. I certainly got to meet a wide variety of clients. Two of Paul's stick out in my mind. One was a lady who complained about almost everything he asked her to do. I have to admit I gave Paul a bit of a problem during this workout too as he asked me to be a part of it for a few things. One of the things I was asked to do was allow her to give me a piggyback ride to the end of the field we were at. I told him I was going to crush her and didn't feel comfortabe doing it. She said she was afraid she'd drop me and didn't want to do it. I asked him to allow me to give her the piggyback ride and Paul's quick response was"now Stacey, as a trainer, think about that....how does she get a workout if YOU are giving her the piggyback ride? Ok..ok...I didn't think that one through! :) She suggested Paul give us both a piggyback ride and he said as much as he liked that idea the answer was no and we WERE going to do it so to stop complaining and just do it. She voiced agan that she was scared she would drop me and he said I would have a short distance to fall and wouldn't hurt myself. Ok...so we gave up and did it. I had no idea how to jump on her back but after a second of coaching we were on our way. The client did very well. At one point Paul said to me that this wouldn't have been possible 2 years ago and he was so right. This client told me a few times that she thought she should bow to me as I have accomplished so much. She said she was so thankful to have met me and wished me luck in the future. I have to admit that it felt really good when Paul would tell his clients about what I did. It made me feel like I accomplished something great (sometimes I get so wrapped up in helping other people that I forget about myself). A second client really pulled on my heart strings. He was overweight, had some health issues and just wasn't as fit as most of the other clients I had met. However, this guy worked hard to do everything Paul asked and more importantly he never complained!! He said a few things were tough and Paul did adjust certain things a bit but for the most part the client did as he was asked. I told Paul that I felt what this guy was going through. Without the health issues (shoulder and ankle problems if I remember correctly) he really reminded me of myself when I was starting my weight loss journey. Him and Paul seemed to have a certain bond and I hope to have that with my clients some day. Even though these were two who really stood out in my mind all the clients I met were really awesome. On the second day Paul and I started talking about the stability ball and what you could do on them. I got to see something that blew my mind....Craig stood on the ball without using any hands to get up. I know it doesn't sound hard but Holy God, it is!! I yelled to Paul that I have a new hero and guess what...yup, Paul had to do it for me too (he had to use his hands though..haha). I guess I have room for two hero's! haha Knowing that I will be spendng some time with Paul in the gym while on vacation I told him he was going to teach me how to do that. He said no, and we went back and forth with yes and no for a bit. Finally he said if I can prove that I can do another move he would help me stand on the ball (and do a squat too). I guess we'll have to wait until next week to see how that plays out. :)
Going back to NS my eyes are more open to certain things than they were before I come out here. I learned more about the type of trainer I want to become and am now more motivated than ever.. I know nobody from Custom Fit will ever read this but I still want to say thank you for making me feel very welcome and like I belonged there. When Paul invited me out for a few days I said I would be learning from the BEST, and I was bang on with that comment. Their clients are more lucky than they'll ever know!
