I've never been overweight. I've never had any major health concerns. I've always been fit. I've always been strong, relatively anyway. I can't remember a time when I wasn't flexible. I have better balance and control of my body than most people I know. It would be fair to say that I am a decent example of what someone in the fitness industry should seem like.
Many of the clients I work with have never been strong, relatively. Many of my clients are dealing with health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, and scoliosis. Many of my clients can't remember a time when they were fit or not overweight. Many of my clients can't touch their shins or knees, let alone their toes. Many of my clients would fall right over if they were asked to stand on one foot for more than 2 seconds. Many of my clients are in awe of how easy I make things look.
However, there is one thing that I cannot do. I cannot say that I have been in their shoes and had to fight and struggle for some form of physical success...at least until this past weekend.
Empathy can be defined as "the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of another." Recently, I've been asking myself how I could possibly have empathy for my clients when I've never been anywhere near their situations. I truly feel that it is an important trait for a professional in the fitness industry to have in order to be successful with training clients.
However, this concept is a double-edge sword. While clients want you to be able to empathize with them, will they actually trust you as a trainer if you yourself are not fit, strong, and capable? If I cannot perform the exercise that I am asking you to do with ease, will you even want to attempt it? Probably not. So it is here that we must forge some kind of balance between walking in our clients shoes and walking our own path of example for others. And, this is where we come to my exploits over the past weekend...
I competed and finished my first half marathon this Sunday in San Antonio. Now, I can easily say that I am not a runner by nature. Playing soccer growing up, the only interest I had in running was if it involved chasing a white ball with black spots on it. As I grew older, I began to understand the connection between running and improved fitness in my chosen sport. Still, the idea of running 13.1 miles consecutively never entered my consciousness.
About 10 weeks ago, upon hearing that my sister-in-law (definitely a runner) would be in town to run the full marathon, I made the decision to begin training for the half. At that moment, the furthest I had run was 6 miles (still, no easy feat for some people). And over the next 2 months, I improved, getting faster, stronger, and fitter. For the first time, I truly felt like I was working my way towards a goal that I had previously felt unattainable.
And, Sunday, I met that goal, along with about 29,000 other people from various backgrounds and abilities. What moved me the most as I finished the last 2 tenths of the race at what felt like a sprint, was the overwhelming sense of accomplishment that coursed through me. Whether it was the inspirational song that helped me finish ("Bombs" by Faithless, Benny Benassi Remix), the "runner's high" that I've heard about but never felt, or the thousands of other people achieving their goal just like me, I can honestly tell you that I almost cried as I ran up the last hill and turned the final corner.
And in that moment, I believe I achieved the empathy that my clients are looking for in their trainer. And I know that I will be a better coach and person for it.
(Many thanks go out to my beautiful wife Terrie and wonderful mother-in-law Kathy for their support and to my kick ass sister-in-law Lori for unknowingly pushing me towards this accomplishment. It won't be the last.)
