Role Model
Helping clients overcome obstacles By Britta Zecher
t was a Wednesday, the day after having just reached the summit
of Mt. Rainier, the second highest mountain in the continental US.
I was walking (or bounding, as I was still high from my personal
accomplishment) down the street and passed a newspaper dispenser.
The headline was something like, "Handicapped Man Conquers Mt.
Rainier." Tony, my trusted guide, friend, companion and an
incredible mountaineer, was annoyed with the word "conquer." He
said, "Although it makes good newspaper headlines, you do not
conquer a mountain." I realized how right he was. For those of us
who truly love the taste, feel, beauty, majesty and uniquely singular
experience of hiking and climbing up mountains, we know that on any
given day the mountain may or may not let you climb to her summit.
The tricks of nature, the team with which you climb, the health
conditions of its members and your own inner fears and elations
along the way all play a role in the high and yearning to go again and
again.
I
My recent climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro was unparalleled. The gift of
those six days on that mountain came in the journey up its
sides, not just in reaching 19,340 feet to experience the
glorious sunrise. "You can't reach the top without first
climbing its base," the guide commented. He reminded
me of the need to stay present in the moment, experience
how you are feeling, what you are seeing, smelling, tasting
and reflecting on and avoid the spiraling effect of thinking
about the next day and "what if." On Mt. Rainier, it was the
ever-present dangerous avalanches that particular season;
on Mt. Kilimanjaro, it was the effects of the altitude. In
life, it is the everyday worries that we all experience, the
negative talk we have within ourselves that keeps us from
truly enjoying the daily richness of life. Our tendency to
project into the future prevents us from being present to
the here and now and keeps us stuck and unable to risk
being extraordinary in an ordinary world.
Over the years in my role as a personal trainer, I have
successfully empowered my clients to simply be the best
they can be through the medium of the body. Drawing
from my own personal experiences, I incorporate my
perspective into my sessions with clients, and it has
become one of the most valuable tools they've embraced
from our time together. Although I didn't conquer any
mountains, what I have conquered — and continue to do
so daily — is that inner voice that says, "Why bother? You
can't. You shouldn't. It's too difficult. It's not worth it. It's
too risky. You might look bad." We have a much greater
capacity to experience our own inner strength, spirit, self
love and self expression then we realize. Small steps
make the difference because the gifts that come from
taking the risk far outweigh the consequences.
The newspaper article I've mentioned earlier highlighted
the summit of a paraplegic whom I met at the head wall
of Mt. Rainier around 2:30 AM. I stood there taking in both the splendor
of the enormous glacial surface ahead of me and at the same time
having serious doubts about how we were not only going to climb up
its 60-degree pitch but also get back down once the snow melted. But
more awing to me was watching this handicapped individual with his
team of 14 power his own way up that mountain using a treaded handpowered device. It was as breathtaking and inspiring to me as the
mountain. Like all of us that particular day, he had a successful
summit. Like the rest of us, I imagine he was also overcoming his own
inner voice of "what if."
Being a role model for your clients and empowering them to gather the
strength to take the first step — whether it be to ride in a cycling
fundraiser, swim a half mile, walk three days a week, explore a yoga
class, play in the office softball league — takes courage, planning and
commitment; however, the payoff of getting to know one's self is both
life enhancing and life changing.
The key to remaining in business in a competitive marketplace requires
understanding your clientele's needs, both physically and emotionally.
In training my staff, I've referred to it as "dancing the dance" — some
clientele Tango, some Waltz, others Jitterbug and still others sit on
the sidelines hoping to be asked. In other words, each client is a
unique human being coming to the trainer for the support, guidance
and motivation. Whether they are a seasoned athlete or a
deconditioned 50 year old, we as professionals are responsible for
assuming they are not like us and in fact possess their own unique
perception of the world. My personal desires to climb mountains
while traveling the world are unique to my personality but can still
inspire, motivate and generate results in my clientele because I've
listened and honored my passions and followed them up with action
and commitment.
Once you understand both what motivates each particular client
and customize a fitness program that fits not only his unique physiologic abilities while accounting for his fitness goals and health
history, you must also take into account his emotional well-being
and capacity to commit. Otherwise, you'll easily project your own
desires, reservations, hesitations or needs onto your client and fail
at creating a positive, long term and mutually rewarding
partnership.
It is imperative in personal training to recognize the limitations
any individual may have and support them with tools such as
identifying what the true obstacles are that prevent any client
from achieving even a short-term goal. Ultimately, you must be
able to plan and strategize how to help clients overcome these
obstacles in order to achieve success. Having a plan that speaks to
your clients' potential is only effective to the degree with which
you recognize and empathize with how they currently feel. In
other words, if one of your clients shares his sedentary lifestyle and
poor eating habits, he could also be silently expressing fear,
embarrassment and anxiousness and be feeling overwhelmed
about beginning a fitness program.
Only when you can see beyond the universally observed factors can
you empower this individual to take incremental steps toward an
expressed goal. This applies to every client regardless of fitness
level, age, experience or past successes and failures.
In my particular situation, one could imagine that finances, single
parenting, clientele transitioning, getting inoculations, finding a
guide, planning the trip, coping with hygiene and language
barriers could easily have been perceived as barriers impeding
the successful completion of my goal, similar to a client's fear of
embarrassment or failure, non-support from a spouse, child care
issues, work constraints, fatigue, orthopedic issues, etc. — these
are all constraints that feel very real for them. Rather then being
waylaid by the numerous excuses, you can combat them by being a
role model in how you have successfully accomplished your own
vision and goals through identification of a real obstacle, successful
planning and taking action, combined with a healthy dose of
passion and perseverance. I firmly believe that one can't do
anything in life successfully if he isn't completely passionate about
what he is pursuing. As trainers, we have a unique opportunity to
instill in others the passion of wellness and fitness, not because we
like the pretty biceps but because we like the goodies we get at the
end of the day: improved self esteem, self worth, a feeling of
accomplishment, freedom of having embraced challenge willingly
and openly, improved relationships and, above all, a step further in
understanding our own unique selves and abilities.
Individuals want to succeed rather than fail. Inspiring your clients
to bring forth and identify their unique and often denied physical
aspirations may in fact inspire you as their trainer. View your
training as a partnership that is mutually satisfying; otherwise, you
can easily get stuck and miss the uniqueness of the individual.
When coming from a desire to inspire, teach and motivate that
incorporates not only excellent skills in creative training, knowledge of the body's anatomy and physiology, professionalism and
good business sense, your leadership in that partnership must be
coupled with passion and a true interest in your client and his
unique emotional character. Not only will it ensure success for
you both, but you will have proven your ability to be a credible
role model.
As I plan my next adventure, I must embrace a whole new set of
challenges and obstacles; however, I feel confident (as will your
clients when their evolving goals become evident) in being able to
successfully identify, plan, take action and commit to internal
desire. This comes not only from passion, but as your clients will
soon see, your powerful role modeling of embracing your own
challenges in life despite proven certainty. It allows them to reject
their negative inner voices and take the risk, not only with the
challenges evident in the studio or gym while training but in
everyday life as well.
Britta Zecher is the founder of Omnifitness Inc., which is located
in Needham, Massachusetts. The company is committed to
excellence, specializing in customized private/ semi-private
personal training while incorporating a variety of disciplines
including Pilates, yoga and spin instruction. Britta has a degree in
Sports Medicine. In addition to training, writing and guest
lecturing, she enjoys triathlons, other non-athletic endeavors and,
most dearly, raising her eight-year-old daughter. •