Sometimes “bad” news turns out to be “great” news in disguise

In my previous post, I mentioned that I had some difficulties over the last few weeks. One of those difficulties was learning that the company which I had enrolled with to do my personal training studies was starting to mess me about in a serious way. So much so that I found that they had given away my place to someone else due to a really bogus clerical error, and then claimed that I should not be upset, that I was only one of thousands through their doors, and that if I wanted to study in their full-time course that I would simply have to wait until the next classes were due to start around the end of April or by early May. I guess it’s fairly safe to say that I have been very upset about this, particularly because I have been like a little kid counting the “sleeps” before Santa comes down the chimney, only in my case I’ve been waiting for 3 months for my course to start.

Added to this has been the stress of having the bank send me a letter warning of the imminent foreclosure of my home loan if I don’t manage to find some serious cash by April 10th, and negotiating with a government department to try and release a portion of my superannuation (aka government regulated retirement savings) to help me to buy me the time I need to gain some new skills, improve my employment prospects, and to hold the bank off for the next 6 months while I get my unemployed shit together. The trouble of course is that I really am limited in how much I might be able to access, and in how far that money will go before I find myself neck deep in arrears again, so delays to my education aren’t just troublesome, but can also become very costly if it ends up losing me my house!

So I’ve been waiting so long to finally start my course, and for those who know me the excitement I feel at being a qualified PT and getting to really help others to make a difference in their lives is something I really can’t put into words, except to say that I really feel as if it is my “calling” if you like to think in those terms, and something that I feel so strongly about that I really can’t see myself every being happy doing anything else.

Yeah, I’m 43 years old and talking about this sort of stuff like a 17 year old kid who thinks his life will be over if he can’t follow the job he has dreamed about since he was 5! Perhaps I should be old enough to know a little better, or perhaps I recognise that while my life wouldn’t technically be “over” as such, I’ve been around a while, had 2 professional and one non-professional careers, and I’d like to think that I’ve learned what it is that will bring me happiness, vocationally speaking.

So to be told to effectively suck it and put up with a lot of unprofessionally poor customer service from an organisation that represents and industry where customer service is really the number one most important aspect of everything it does, well you could say that it left me feeling a little disillusioned, and a lot pissed off at the staff members responsible for giving me the run-around. I had one individual being very rude with me, who I suspect messed up the paperwork in the first place and who could not be bothered following up on a problem. I had another guy not returning any of my calls, and a couple of receptionist types who seemed so clueless that their only thought was that I should speak only to one of these two guys who were giving me so much grief.

So it ended up being a really crappy thing instead of the wonderful opportunity I had been looking forward to, and this before I had even been able to sit in a class and learn a single thing!! So I did what anyone would do when a company treats them like shit. I cancelled my enrolment, I will be pursuing the fees that they charged me which they can’t get out of refunding because it was entirely their fault that they did not manage to supply the service to which they were contracted, and I took my business elsewhere, which turns out to be a real blessing in disguise.

I found a company called Wyn Training, which is based in a gym not too far from where I worked in my last job. Not only were they able to get me into a full time course starting on April 2nd, they were also willing to work out a payment plan that I can afford even though I have almost no income at present – and which I am sure from a business perspective must be an inconvenience to them. Even better, the course itself only takes 9 weeks to complete, doesn’t require a probationary 20 hours post graduation with another personal trainer, it won’t mess up my weekends with my kids, and in as little as 10 weeks from now – if I have studied hard and if I don’t completely screw up my exams – I will be a fully qualified PT, ready to be unleashed on the world to train the lard on and off of the arses of all of my many future victims happy clients to my merry little heart’s content!!

So all of this stressful stuff that I went through with the other (muddy-named) provider has turned out to be what I really needed. Not only will I get to do a really great course with a reputable training company, I will also be able to complete my course in about a third of the time it would have taken me with that other mob. This means that by mid-year, I have a real shot at being either gainfully employed with a great PT company, or founding one of my own… and possibly even satisfying both options!! And even better, I will be doing something that I am really enthusiastic about, looking forward to doing, and working in a healthy, and active environment.

So to those of you who find yourselves at a crossroads in life, where you think that things are seriously going south and you think that “everyone” is on your case and getting you down, my suggestion to you is to find the strength within you to endure, to persevere, and to look for those little golden moments of opportunity so that you will find yourself emotionally available to take advantage of them when they appear. You can never really guess how things will turn out until they happen, and I truly believe that you can always find that positive silver lining somewhere at the end of those negative clouds that life sees you walking amongst.

Be strong, find your focus, set your goals, take a risk to chase your dreams, and you may just find that if you take advantage of the opportunities that arise, you might just manage to achieve everything you set out to do.

Just between me and you… I really hope that you do! 🙂

Related articles

• The Positive Impact of Great Customer Service on Your Business (miladybeat.com)
• How I got my start in the Fitness Industry (part deux )… (fitkitty11.wordpress.com)
• The Blessings in Disguise We Don’t Realize We’ve Received (tinybuddha.com)

Day 45 update: Running Workout

It is now the 45th day since I began my transformation, lifestyle change, health & fitness journey, or whatever you want to call it. For those of you who have been reading my blog, you may recall that I also started my 28-day workout plan on February 1^st and that while it got off to a rocky start, I’ve dragged myself back on track over the past week or so. I almost derailed my entire effort of the past week this morning when I woke up and realised that my plan required that I go running for my workout today.

I’ve never really enjoyed running. It’s always left me feeling really short of breath, sweating profusely, with ankle pains, foot pains, calf pains, back pains, and that was when I was younger and fitter. After I had gained a lot of weight in my 20’s and 30’s I had tried many times to “get fit”, and whenever I started running, all of my fat bits wobbled uncomfortably and added to the discomfort. Needless to say that I’ve grown somewhat wary of running over the years, and in some ways, it has become my biggest challenge in terms of motivation and effort from a fitness perspective.

I’ll admit that when my 28-day plan called for me to go running last time, given I had already messed my plan up, it was simply easier to decide to not do it, and to find another workout to do instead. Yeah, I know, these are not the words you want to hear from a person who is planning on becoming the world’s greatest Personal Trainer – which by the way is a goal of mine so that I can get the mug to match the World’s greatest Dad mug my kids got me!

Today however, something was different. For a start, I realised that I was procrastinating again, and I remembered all of my advice to others about focussing on my goals and making them more important than anything else. Since I know these particular goals are a big priority in my life, I decided to simply get on with it, do the running workout and to just get it over and done with. In the end however there were a lot of other factors that came into play today that made the workout both surprisingly enjoyable, and surprisingly easier than I had anticipated, even though my heart wasn’t really into it at first.

Back in early January, I read Barefoot Bob‘s book: Barefoot Running Step By Step which I had borrowed from my local library. It has a lot of information about running technique, how “jogging” in shoes is generally bad because shoes encourage heel strikes which can result in knee and ankle injuries. It also describes how a barefoot runner leans with a body-forward position with shorter steps whereas a shod runner has a more upright body position with legs forward and a much wider striding gait. It was an interesting read which I filed away in my brain for future consideration.

At about the same time as I read this book, my wife had purchased a new pair of running shoes for me, which are a minimalist running shoe design by Sketchers called Go Run. These shoes break just about every rule that I thought I understood about footwear design, yet as it turns out I really love wearing them because they give me much of the tactile feedback that I enjoy when walking around barefoot, but without the risk of getting thorns or broken glass stuck in my feet. I decided to run in these shoes today rather than wear the New Balance running shoes that I’ve worn for years. As I started my run, I found myself automatically leaning forward, running more on the balls of my feet and with shorter strides. For the duration of the run, I probably struck my heel only 3 or 4 times and found the difference in the sensations in my feet to be comparatively uncomfortable. Now whether it was the shoe design, or that I might have been subconsciously channelling the information from Barefoot Bob’s book I can’t really say. What I did notice was that running today was easier than I had remembered it to be, and I didn’t get any of the usual foot or leg pain that I have always had in the past whenever I’ve been running for more than a couple of minutes.

My course started behind a nearby school, where I ran northward along the river on the footpath for a while before going “off-road” and enjoying the dirt tracks along the edge of the river. I returned to the paved area on my way back and stopped not too far from where I live. Now when I say that I “ran”, I must admit that I didn’t run continuously for the entire workout. My course was about 3.5km with about 1/4 of that over uneven terrain. Given I haven’t yet developed the endurance to run continuously and also because I prefer training in intervals, I alternated running and walking for 2 minute intervals in the beginning, yet by the end of the workout I found myself running for 2 minutes with 1 minute walking intervals. Yes, I actually started to improve over the duration of the workout!

After my first couple of intervals I was feeling so good that I decided to get a little experimental with my breathing. For several intervals at first, I’d allow myself to react naturally at the end of each running interval, letting my self bend forward and breathing in the short gasping upper chest breaths that people use when they have just run hard. However, by the end of each of the walk intervals I felt tired, and the next run interval seemed to be harder and really couldn’t end quickly enough for my liking.

I then switched for the rest of the workout to consciously lifting my chest, exhaling quickly through the mouth but inhaling through the nose more slowly and deeply, right into the belly. I found that while it went against my instincts to breathe in this way, my heart rate dropped more quickly and my breath became easier faster. Realising that I had just figured out how I should breathe to recover more quickly after running, I wanted to figure out how to make my breathing easier while running. It turns out that as I ran, I was allowing my body to bend slightly forward as I ran, and I would breath more shallowly as the effort became more pronounced.

Realising all of this, I determined to do three things. I firstly concentrated on stabilising my core – yes, the middle aged guy sucked in his belly again! – while secondly at the same time arching my back slightly backward and lifting my chest. The third thing was to focus on breathing  in through the nose more deeply and slowly for 3-4 paces, and breathing out hard via the mouth for 2-3 paces. Rather than trying for a “perfect” 3-2 breathing cadence, I simply went with whatever breathing cadence offered me the least discomfort.

As the workout progressed I found myself feeling more energetic as a ran than I did at the beginning. I was running in minimalist shoes with a barefoot technique over uneven terrain, up and down hills, and found my breathing, pace, and stamina improving with every step. I found myself walking less and running more, and I didn’t feel the need to resort to mouth breathing. When the run ended, I had been out for about 25-30 minutes. I felt a little tired yet not so enervated that I couldn’t continue to function physically. I also noticed that as the run progressed, my heart rate went from being in the high aerobic zone with each run interval, to barely able to reach an aerobic heart rate at the same pace. I actually needed to start running faster in order to increase my heart rate!

After my run I noticed that I hadn’t really been sweating heavily as I ran, yet once I had stopped I suddenly found my body heat was incredibly high, and I found my sweat started catching up with me!! I spent some time rehydrating, and then hit the shower to get nice and clean and to reflect on the workout that I had just completed. What I believe I have learned is that my experiences of the past had coloured all of my perceptions about this particular form of exercise, and yet I would not have learned that I actually can enjoy running had I not learned to run in a low impact way and with footwear that is more appropriate to this particular running technique. I would even go so far as to say that the barefooters have it right that this really is the correct way to run and to do so with the least risk of harm to the body.

I tried a short jog outside a few minutes ago, wearing the old shoes and in the classic joggers wide stride heel strike manner, and comparing the two styles, I noticed that the barefoot style doesn’t cause any sort of a jarring sensation at the hip, knee, or mid to lower back, as does the other style. The leaning – almost falling forward – barefoot running positions the body so that you move your legs in shorter strides, and use the entire foot efficiently, with much less arm and shoulder movement and a greater spring in the stride that I believe uses a great deal less energy than running with a wider stride. Bending the knees more really does help as Barefoot Bob says it does, and increasing pace seems to result in longer more bounding strides rather than merely pumping the arms and legs faster. The other thing that I noticed was a great improvement in my balance as I ran. I could go over obstacles and around corners faster than I would have done with a heel striking stride, and dust and other slippery surfaces were no cause for concern whereas I would have otherwise risked slipping and straining hamstrings and ankles.

I learned more this morning about running than I had in my entire 43 years, and I’ve discovered that I don’t mind running. While I don’t plan to become any sort of long distance athlete, I will continue to enjoy running as an occasional variation in my workout plans in the future, and I’m even thinking I might enter a a couple of fun runs once I’ve increased my endurance and my breathing. I’ve also started to think that this could be an exercise that might help me to increase my SCUBA air time, but I will need to research this idea a little more before I can say for certain whether running or some other cardio work would be better suited to helping me achieve my scuba goal.

The thing that I will take away from today’s experience however, is that I need to listen to my own advice more. The stuff I always tell my kids about trying something regardless of how I might feel about it. Had I simply given into my urge to quit before I started, I would have justified it based on my years of negative experience, and not enjoyed the opportunity to learn so much about both running and how my perceptions of it can have changed so much for the better.

It really is true that you need to keep an open mind, even when you believe you have all of the answers already. Once again I return to my saying that you need to change how you see yourself in order to change the way you see the world. I’ve realised today that I really do need to open myself up to letting go of the things that I think I have learned about myself over the years in order to really discover the person I truly am capable of becoming, and that I would lose something profound if I don’t give myself every opportunity to continue on that journey of self discovery.

Future PT for hire, and other news.

Taking my own advice: Changing the way I see myself.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am committed to finding a new job soon. It’s one of my many goals which I spelled out in that post because depending on how you see it, I am either an early retiree, a gentleman, or simply just unemployed. So apparently I have been “a gentleman” for about 8 months now, so this need to be gainfully employed is something that I need to get sorted out quite soon otherwise I may find the bank taking a less kindly view of my work situation and sending me a polite letter telling me that it’s more than simply work that I’ll be looking for. So the pressure is on to find that job as soon as I can.

Over the past several months, I’ve focussed on applying for roles in the industry I had previously been working in, and I’ve found it surprisingly hard to get back into, even though I’m highly skilled and have some really great experience. However, given it’s taken me so long to find anything, I’ve started to wonder why. What’s the big deal here and why is it so hard to find another job. This has been the longest I’ve ever been out of work and it’s been bothering me. Is it simply because the employment market is really flat here and there are fewer opportunities available, or is there something else at play? Have I found myself unable to work because fate is taking a hand and holding back my efforts until I choose the “correct” path forward, or have I somehow subconsciously been sabotaging my own efforts because my goals are taking my head and heart away from the career I’ve enjoyed these past 22 years and steering me towards a rewarding and fulfilling future in fitness and sports? Given this evening’s efforts, I’m starting to wonder if the reason is the latter.

I’ve known about this fitness careers website for a while now, but I never really bothered to look too deeply at it, thinking that I’d be worrying about that towards the end of my studies this year. This evening however, I just had this overwhelming urge to look at the website again and to create the login needed to be able to view the job descriptions. I suddenly got it into my head that I should try to find some sort of work within the industry, even if it’s just sitting at a fitness club reception for a few months. Sure enough, there were lot’s of positions advertised for personal trainers, but then I saw a couple of part time and casual positions working as a daytime coach for little kids.

Well, it turns out I’ve done some soccer coaching in the past (about 4 years of it) and I thought, “Why the hell not?!”. If I get the job, I’ll at least be working in the industry while I study, even if only at the edge of the activities I’m studying towards, rather than trying to find work elsewhere that won’t be as satisfying to me, and I’d have the opportunity to both do something that I love doing, and get some experience to put on the resume as well.

So I managed to send off two job applications, and I am suddenly really hopeful that something will come of at least one of them. Out of the 15 or so job applications I’ve sent off in the past three weeks, these are the only ones that I am actually keen to have interviews for. So wish me luck, and if there really is karma and if it’s kind to me, I hope to be able to share the good news some day that I am actually working in my future intended career!

That’s the thing about changing the way you see yourself – something else that I wrote about recently. Sometimes you really need to look far outside the things you are most familiar with, to open your mind up to other possibilities that you may never have otherwise considered. And it doesn’t even matter if I’m not successful this time, because now I’ve allowed myself the possibility that I can reach my future goals through another path that just might turn out to be better than any of the other paths I might have otherwise taken.

Getting back into the workout habit

I finally got off my derrière and had a good workout yesterday. I got myself nice and sweaty for 30 minutes and managed to work around the sore back that I’ve been slowly trying to improve. I’ve incorporated a couple of Psoas stretches into my daily routine to help me to get over the back pain, and I’m taking my own advice again by doing the hula hooping to manage incidents of pain and poor hip mobility. It’s definitely been helping, and as with any injury, it will take time to recover but the signs of improvement are there in small ways daily.

I’ve also been working my core quite heavily, both practising the vacuum exercise and the bicycle crunches that I mentioned in my recent “belly bulge” post. This is something that is also helping me to manage my back injury, and yet the other changes in the way I stand and how my belly and waist look are more than I had suspected would occur in only a short time. I’ll be working out every two days, refining the routine which I’ll post to a new page sometime soon. The thing that I really need to remember is that I need to be sure to stretch properly after my workouts. I’ve been a bit lax in that department, and my recovery days aren’t as comfortable as they probably would be otherwise given the tight tendons and muscle soreness. I hear that Ice Baths can help, but I’m not sure I would want to use them, given it takes me about 20 minutes to get into the water at the beach!! Yeah… I’m not fond of the cold!

More updates to this blog/site

I’ve been rearranging a couple of things in the menus of this blog, and I’ve added a few more pages. There is definitely more to come as time and training permits. If you have any suggestions for information you are really keen to see, or if you would like to guest post (or have me post as a guest), feel free to contact me using the form on the contact page.

T-Day

T-Day is for Test Day!!. It’s almost the end of the month, and I’ll be retaking all of my fitness tests and measurements to see what the progress has been in this first month. I’ll post up all of the results, and some new photos as soon as I’ve done the testing. I’ve also got plans to visit my doctor to get some blood work done before I step boldly off the wagon for my birthday, when I plan to have Pizza, and a Beer, and to not feel guilty about it. This is not a “cheat day”, and certainly a once off event and not something I’m going to do again if I can help it. I do deserve this to celebrate not just surviving another year, but also the achievement of adapting to nearly 100% Paleo for an entire month, and having lost some excess fat and built up my fitness in that time. Of course if my tests turn out to have really crap results, I’ll be staying on the diet and working harder for the next 30 days!  LOL

I hope your own self-improvement journey is also well on its way and that you’re feeling as great and as motivated as I have been.

🙂