Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about motivation VS. discipline and in particular, the motives behind motivation itself.
Why is it that many men and woman focus on and consequently achieve their goals, whilst others in the same physical condition and with similar aspirations, simply give up and achieve nothing.
Throughout my many years experience I’ve met so many people who have merely accepted their fitness circumstances. With little hope left, they have subscribed to the scam that is low quality and inexpensive PT and fitness classes.
These classes are usually promoted by self-righteous sports professionals offering seemingly amazing deals. These ‘amazing deals’ are quick fixes and can leave clients with weak and damaged muscles, which cause injury whilst exercising, as well as at home when carrying out daily chores. These injuries can cost a fortune in physio/chiropractor and medical bills to repair and could be easily have been avoided by seeking proper fitness advice, from experienced professionals.
What separates ProTom Fitness from other fitness providers is that once we have designed tailored workouts suited to your strengths and needs, we then take the time to educate you on how to execute each move in your specialised program properly, effectively and safely, thus enabling you to train independently. Invest your money in knowledge that will last and empower you.
There are no quick fixes at ProTom Fitness. We do things properly and want you to get the most out of your time with us. ProTom Fitness promises to provide a supportive, loyal and energetic environment for you to train each day, ensuring you leave each session with a conscious understanding of what you are doing and why you are doing it. Our continuing focus on your needs will result in positive changes in your fitness and mental wellbeing.
I’d like to share with you an example of some support we are currently providing for a client.
Laura (name changed for privacy purposes) suffers from a combination of complex conditions;
- Joint Hypermobility
- Hyper-mobility Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Laura suffers from these rare conditions (google search them for an interesting read) which are working against one another. Whilst information about these conditions is readily available, information regarding treatment, exercise routines and rehabilitation and prevention is not.
This case is an extreme example of how I provide a specialised service.
Question is – How can I help someone where is no literature, resources or research regarding the issue?
How can I ensure that I won’t cause the client further pain?
Laura chose my services over 20 + Bristol trainers appearing on the first 2 Google search pages online. Laura requested a report regarding my approach, techniques and thoughts on how to handle the conditions she is suffering from. As my blog followers are aware, I am an advocate for safe and effective training, in particular with rehabilitation and hyper-mobility clients. I forwarded Laura my blog pages focused on these areas and she was pleased to sign up for a trail session. I couldn’t treat Laura’s illnesses individually. A complex plan needed to be devised in order to treat her illnesses as a whole.
I needed to modify basic exercises to suit Laura. Laura said that pervious trainers that she worked with just trained her as a ‘text book’ case by using basic exercises and then increasing weights over time. This isn’t an appropriate method of training. Trainers without knowledge of her illnesses cannot advise on such a sensitive issue.
Laura’s apprehension made sense to sign up to a new personal trainer made sense. Following an assessment of Laura’s range of motion, I carefully modified essential exercises to suit her needs. With a combination of common sense, knowledge I have accumulated from my experience, textbook information and a little thinking outside the box, Laura and I worked hard together to push through her set backs and train effectively.
At ProTom Fitness, we do not limit exercises and training systems and we are never scared to try something different. Training Laura was not without complications. Laura and I clashed at times regarding her pain threshold and range of movement and it was frustrating and hard for both of us to get the right balance of communication and feedback. Progress takes time and the time we dedicated has been worth it in the end.
In Laura’s own words:
“I was diagnosed with all of the above three years ago. I’ve been on many medications and plans for these and so far nothing has worked. Therefore I’m not trying to lose weight, and instead I’m trying to learn to live with what I have”
I was inspired to write this post after communicating with Laura today. I hope I can inspire others to ask for help from a professional who will go to great lengths to support and advise. Don’t look back, just move forward.
Here is Laura’s email from today:
“Hope you’re having a nice bank holiday. I just wanted to drop you a quick email to say thank you for everything you’re working on with me. I know sometimes I’m very quiet and it’s hard to tell but I am trying very hard in our sessions. At the moment I have not been doing much on my own and I am very tired – a side effect of many things! But I do very much appreciate the work you have/ are doing with me and feel that it is having a positive impact slowly on my body/pain. Thanks for everything – looking forward to working with you over the next few months and see how everything goes!”
Do you need help or advice?
Get in touch with us. We are honest.
If we can help we will help!