WORKING with people interests, fascinates and motivates me. No day is ever the same. No person is the same. It’s challenging, but satisfying.
Essentially, I’m in the gym to teach and guide. But I’m also the student. I’m always a student, because I don’t know everything there is to know.
It’s a mutual existence. With every client I put through the Amazing 12 Chichester program, I discover new things about myself, how to coach, human psychology, techniques, formulas, people’s strengths and weaknesses…
Sue Crabtree and Ian Barnett have completed three weeks. That’s a quarter of the program gone already.
Twelve weeks may seem like a long time to some. But it flies by. And, probably because you are nearing the finish and want to squeeze every ounce out of the program, the final six weeks seem to always pass in the flash.
It still feels like early days for these two, but it’s not. I see changes. Sue’s keeping an eye on Ian even though they train at different hours. She’s noticed how his face has altered and his upper body, too.
Sue’s observed how her shoulders have taken on an appearance she’s never seen before. Best of all, though, she’s walking around with confidence. Yes, real confidence.
“I don’t know what it is,” she said. “But lifting weights has really made me confident in my body.”
There’s genuine surprise in her voice as she says it. I’m not surprised. I see it all the time. But to hear it from a one-time weight-training skeptic is somewhat satisfying.
That’s not all. Whilst we’re in confession mode, Sue also told me how surprised she is by the way weight-lifting has made her more mindful.
“It really is,” she said. “You really do have to be more mindful. It’s amazing.”
There’s a saying: ‘Where focus goes, energy flows.’ You need your energy when lifting weights and you need it to be channelled in the right direction. If your head is somewhere else, you could be in trouble. You won’t perform. The connection between mind and body is weaker. Sue’s learning this. She’s open-minded, though, and that’s essential.
She added, “Mentally, I feel brilliant.”
Oh yeah, I shouldn’t forget how she’s come to understand also the importance of breathing – not just breathing, but WHEN and HOW.
Ian’s reporting similar feedback. Even though he does the early-morning shift (mostly 6am) and is dripping sweat while most of you are still tucked in bed, he walks out of Core Results gym with a wry smile on his face, the sort of look that comes with getting your day off to a great start and leading with a sense of accomplishment.
This week I played around a little with Ian’s program. It was at his request, to be honest, because, as someone who’s done some martial arts, Ian asked for some boxing and I obliged, without compromising the essence of the Amazing 12.
It’s made training a tad tougher for him. He’s been breathing harder, but it’s going to accelerate his fitness levels.
“It feels like hell doing it, but, I must admit, I feel brilliant afterwards,” Ian confessed.
As you can probably tell, the process is one of ups and downs. You get good days and then there are tough days. There are workouts and movements you like and there are ones you do not. That’s how it is in the gym. That’s how making progress works.
If you don’t understand or realise that, it can feel alarming, so I try to explain the process as much as I can.
I like most those moments when someone walks away from the weights and feels they’ve performed poorly and I reveal (by looking at my numbers) how well they have actually done. It happened with both Ian and Sue this week. Funny how instantly what seemed or felt like a disappointing effort can be turned on its head with a different perspective or some data.
It proves that satisfaction is a totally mental construct, a matter of how you choose to look at something.
The best way to navigate the Amazing 12 is day by day, moment to moment and without conducting a deep enquiry into every repetition and training session.
“For me it’s about the journey,” said Sue, which sounded like music to my ears when she uttered those words.
To get the most out of the ‘journey’ requires the utmost presence. It reminded me of something I read this week about how there is nothing more important than what we are doing and experiencing in the moment.
“Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”