"I can only show you the door, your the one who has to walk through it"

The title of this blog is from the movie "The Matrix". At one point during the movie Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) says this to Neo (Keanu Reeves) to try to get him to realize that no matter how much he teaches him, and no matter what the Oracle (Gloria Foster) says to him, everything that he can and will accomplish will be by his own beliefs......his own efforts, and nothing more.



In the world of health & fitness......more specifically personal training, the personal trainers are playing the role of Morpheus while the clients are playing the role of Neo....so to speak. As a trainer, i can create programs, make assessments, help define goals, make dietary recommendations, send motivational text messages and e-mails etc. But ultimately, the power to change comes from within. Making changes to improve a persons health, performance, physique, and self confidence doesn't happen by accident. It's a belief in yourself that you can be motivated to put in the work and the time necessary to make the changes you are striving for. And, it doesn't happen over night. For most of the population, becoming unhealthy and unhappy with themselves occurred slowly over a period of years......sometimes many years. So, to think that an individual is going to make drastic changes over the course of a few weeks isn't very realistic.

It takes hard work.......consistent hard work, discipline, and perseverance for sustained period of time. I too often see members, who's intentions are good, just going through the motions, or disappearing from the club for a couple of weeks here, and a couple of weeks there. To make change it takes EFFORT! It's black and white.....there is no gray area.

Even with the aid of a personal trainer, it's still up to the client themselves to do the work necessary to achieve their goals. There are 168 hours in a week. Generally clients meet with their trainers one hour per week. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. but, that still leaves 167 hours that the client has to be self reliant, and self resilient. Meeting with a trainer, and then having a beer and a pizza on the way home from the gym is not the best way to get results. Or, meeting with a trainer, and not doing a bit of exercise until the next session with the trainer... which isn't until the following week isn't going to cut it either.

Once you have defined what your goals are, ask yourself this: Am i ready to open the door?

My hope is that your ready to break the door down!

Sincerely,
Scott Fleurant
ACE-CPT
scottf@sacofitness.com