My life as a personal trainer - The start of it all...

My life as a personal trainer - The start of it all...

(Tuesday 20th September - Tuesday 22nd November 2011)

 

 

Where do I start??? A question almost everybody has encountered at some point, once they've decided to delve in to the unknown!

 

I wasn't jumping in completely blind, my decision to travel along the tunnel that led to personal training was partly inspired by past experience training around 5 years ago. At that time, I was actively pursuing a career in the military; I was undertaking specific training and conditioning to ensure I satisfied and excelled at all the physical requirements to become a Royal Marine ( I didn't pursue this path for reasons I won't go in to here, but suffice to say, it wasn't due to lack of fitness or physical ability, I was like Superman....or at least I felt like it at my peak). My experiences throughout my training were very positive and contributed heavily in my decision making process. I hired a personal trainer to get me in to shape for the Marines. Paul of Paulmillardfitness.com was a dream to work with, he listened, he understood, and ultimately, he proved to me that no matter what condition you start, if you've the desire and willingness to train, you can produce some truly miraculous results.

 

Well, 5 years have passed since I gave up on the Marines and Paul.

Now, although not a lard ass by any stretch of the imagination, I knew from the off that if I was to become a personal trainer, I had to train myself and fully adopt the necessary changes in lifestyle to look like I meant business. After all, if you're selling yourself as a personal trainer, potential clients will judge your ability on your own physical appearence, rightly or wrongly.

 

I hunted Paul down and got him back on the case. I was honest from the start and informed him of my intentions to work within the industry in the not too distant future. I was apprehensive and a little wary of how he'd respond, after all, I was asking him to train me so I could ultimately become a direct rival. I could've kept it all to myself and lied through my back teeth, but I felt I owed it to him to tell the truth and be honest. A relationship (no matter what kind) is never going to blossom and prove fruitful if it's based on lies.

Thankfully, Paul understood my position and was more than willing to help and train me. For that, god bless you dude!

 

My first session was on Tuesday 20th September 2011....at 7.00am in the morning! After previous experience, I knew from the off that I'd train better in the mornings than evenings so I just had to grin and bare it. I'm guessing some of you reading this are thinking '7.00pm, that's not that early you lazy sod'. Well, Paul is based 22 miles away from where I live, so once you take that in to account, I need to be out of bed at 5.30am. See, I wasn't making a fuss over nothing!

 

On arrival, the first session kicked off with a little measuring and a brief run-down on how both Paul and me saw the training session working out and how we'd approach the challenge ahead.

First things first; up on to the scales for a quick weigh-in.

14st 12lb

I was a little shocked to say the least, the last time I jumped on some scales I was about a stone and half lighter!

 

Pauls approach to training had changed over the past few years, previously being based around free-weights, the progression in training developments within the industry and Pauls' continued awareness of advances in training approaches had led him to adopt a more sedate approach, primarily concentraing around dynamic stretching and specific kettlebell lifts and swings. I was a little sceptical but I put my trust in him; after all, he does have over 10 years experience within the industry.

 

Our first training session was an hour of slowly breaking me in. My body needed reminding what it was like to train and exert yourself.

The session consisted varius rounds of meticulously controlled squats/push-ups and Kettlebell swings finished off with a brief interval session on the treadmill.

 

It's safe to say my body wasn't quite prepared for it all....and I had to make a dive out of the door to be sick right at the end of the session. As gross as it sounds, this was looked upon as a positive reaction as it was a clear indicator that my body had received a true workout and it set a clear indicator for what I was capable of this point in time. It was solid ground with which to work from.

 

Over the following 8 weeks, there has been continued progress. Our training sessions are still heavily geared towards adopting perfect techniques with the Kettlebell swings/lunges/squats etc. I have noticed a huge increase in strength, I feel happier in my day to day life....and I've lost a stone in weight while experiencing the beginnings of hypertrophy and increased muscle definition.

 

So 8 weeks in. Has it been worth the time and effort so far?

 

Hell yes!

 

(For those who are wondering why I've bunched the first 8 weeks in to one post; well I only decided to start documenting my 'journey' a few days ago. For all future progress though, I plan to blog in as much detail as possible, so make sure you keep up to date and pop back regularly).

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