Finding My Way in the World of Wellness

I evolved into what I call a “whole fitness” professional because of my love of wellness and the connection that my physical state has on my emotional and spiritual being. I came to the realization that we have a substantial amount of control over what happens to our bodies – good and bad – and this control involves more than diet and fitness alone. Not an easy conclusion to draw by any means...and believe me there was plenty of trial and error.
None the less, here I am. Over the years, I have strived to boost my knowledge by becoming an ACE Personal Trainer, ACE Advanced Health & Fitness Professional and an ACE Weight and Lifestyle Consultant. However, more recently(the past 2 or 3 years - time flys!) I have gone back to my pyschology college roots and began to focus on the fitness and wellness coaching aspect of my professional development. My path for becoming a better health professional has always mirrored the developing needs of my clients and not just my own personal wellness interests. With that being said, it is interesting to me that in finding my passion, it has evolved to truly help my clients as well.
That folks is how I began my “whole fitness” approach. Whole fitness is the combination of fitness, diet & attitude. My perspective has evolved out of a necessity to tackle more than just the fitness issues troubling a client. It was the realization that working with only one dimension of my clients was not enough to make the life altering changes they desired and deserved. Discovering this path has been an amazing journey but not for just my clients. My development to help them in the best simplest ways possible, has also brought about tremendous self reflection.
Case in point: I have worked closely with one remarkable client for more than two years now. Initially, she and I focused on fitness because that’s what I had always been trained to do as a personal trainer. We exercised and we calorie counted, but no matter how often we met, my client would come to our sessions filled with excuses and self doubt even though I could see her improvements, she could not. I watched her struggle and her struggle became mine.
I wanted what every wellness professional wants – I wanted my client to succeed. I found her struggle to now be mine. So I asked my client to help me help her. After all, she had all the tools. She was athletic and participated in recreational sports. She knew all the right things, and she usually ate better than I do. But despite these tangible achievements, she did not feel like a success.
My client was sorely in need of an attitude adjustment. She was defeating herself before she ever got really going.
I knew I needed to lead her in a new direction, so we began exploring her relationship with her destructive habits. Our sessions together began to focus less on the physical activities and more on her defining her motivation and acknowledgment of achievements. Months went by and then a funny thing happened. She came to me and told me that a neighbor had seen her out walking and couldn’t believe the physical changes in her. The neighbor was so inspired by my client that she asked to join her on her walks! My client had never viewed herself as an inspiration. Real change was finally at hand.
I believe that if I had only focused on my client’s physical well-being she would have remained unable to achieve her goals. Her attitude, her self efficacy, and her self perception were the things that needed to be addressed as well as her fitness and nutrition needs. All clients need to be treated as a whole. Fitness, diet and attitude are forever intertwined. This is the foundation of what I now call whole fitness.
I am extremely proud to report that my client has just completed her second 5K run and is now considering becoming a personal trainer. I am proud and humbled. What better measure of success as a wellness professional could I ever hope for?