Inside the Mind: How do I help him succeed?

He was always motivated to be better and do better, and always reminisced about his days of benching 405. Those things came easy to him as he lived off his strength, but now he has a new goal. To lose the unwanted weight that he put on over the years and to run his first Spartan Race. He has the dedication and willpower, but the question was, could this goal really be achieved?

In my mind, I know that he could but I just need to get him to believe. Over time he had really let life pass him by and became very de-conditioned; the bench press had become a thing of the past. Step one is to get him to be able to get up and down flights of stairs without losing his breath so fast. I know this journey would be way more of a mental challenge than that of physical, but the goals are set, and deadlines made. Now was time to start chipping away day by day, rep by rep.

I will assess him by seeing what he had done in the past, gauge his nutritional intake to see what’s lacking, and more importantly, to see his vision through his own eyes. Weight loss would be a by-product off it all when said and done. The stage is set.

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During our first real training session he asked, “When are gonna go bench press?” I reminded him that he will get to do that eventually.  But first, we must build your body and your mind like a Warrior on the battlefield of Sparta… and there are no benches there. We literally started by just walking around the block and adding in a few squats, static lunges, and pushups all while talking about his goals, wants, needs, and reassuring him that this was and is possible.

His road will not be easy, but it surely will be worth it. I realized with myself as his coach he was depending on me more than I thought. When I had him attempt his static lunge he said his body hurt all over and felt it was because he weighed so much. I told him that may may be some of it, but as you did them years ago, you surely can do them again.

We worked diligently at turning his own body into a machine, we focused on eating more; not skipping meals, prepping them more in advance, and drinking more water. Finally, at week three he did his first set of walking lunges. When he finished his set, his face was ecstatic and overjoyed that he accomplished something he didn’t think he could. I reminded him that I knew all along and I just had to get him to believe.

On the days I wasn’t physically with him, I gave him homework to follow which put the accountability back on him; and no matter if it was 10 minutes or 30 minutes, he followed through. He in his own right, in just a span of three weeks, began to believe more and more of himself and was down 10lbs. He would redirect his words and say that it was me doing it, and I had to correct him and remind him that it was him all along.

Our race isn’t until December, and we’re just getting started, but just last week before we got together for a coaching session he pulled off his oversized t-shirt to show me his drift shirt. The confidence that was growing inside of him.

Each week, we’re pushing forward even though I know life will always test you when you least expect it. We’re on a journey of a lifetime transformation and we’re just getting started. Over the next few months you will see a changed man so stay tuned.