And now it’s your turn. I’m going to put everything I have into you, and I’m going to help you reach your fat loss and fitness goals.

Visionboarding: Plot Your Success

Every one of my successful clients, past and present, has gone through a full interview to fully understand what s/he is seeking. Without knowing what represents success to you, in a more emotional way than pounds on a scale, the path is much longer and the road may never end.

Let’s take Marty, for example. Marty came to me at 58 years old, 30 pounds overweight, and he had high blood pressure and cholesterol. To complicate things, he had blown out his right knee with years of sports injuries that added up to a completely unstable joint. Even his doctors were impressed that he was able to play basketball 3x week, albeit hobbling up and down the court.

Marty’s main goals were to prevent “feeling old,” have energy for grandkids someday, keep up with the younger guys on the basketball court, and to strengthen and preserve his body as much as possible. He had never really “worked out,” per say, but he had been an athlete all of his life.

No one really thought of Marty as overweight, because he managed to wear nice shirts with a ‘perfect’ tuck that prevented you from really seeing the belly underneath. Plus, if you never saw Marty thin, you wouldn’t have seen the difference in his face. With exception to his right knee, he was in pretty good condition on the outside.

But Marty just didn’t feel ‘right’, and he knew that we needed to do something... So we took the following steps to help ensure his success:

1. We established what was really important for Marty (basketball, preventing feeling old, etc.)
2. We assessed what was realistic and what wasn’t.
3. We determined the time frame it would take to reach his goals that were achievable.
4. We reminded him of what was important about these goals along the way, rather than focusing on a number on a scale.
5. We made the ‘impossible’ possible through life motivators instead of body motivators.

Take a look at Marty, age 60 below:

Next, let’s talk about Susan. Susan came to me for a completely different set of reasons. When we first met, she wanted to lose weight. She was working out with a trainer in Tampa, but she was having him take her through my workouts. He was a great motivator for Susan, and he was spotting her form, technique, etc. This was an awesome arrangement.

She had a decade of back pain, and it was affecting her work. As an Nurse Anesthetist, she knew a lot about the human body, but she couldn’t figure out how to get rid of certain pains. Her fitness was progressing, but her body was limiting her progress. She had already lost 40 pounds when her pain finally went away:

Basically, Susan was limited in mobility in certain areas and had tissue restrictions in others. Susan trusted me to help her lose weight, and then she trusted me again to help her get out of pain.

Often times, they both go at once, but when they don’t, I’m here for you twice.

That’s the real difference. Failure is not an option. Success is yours. Own it.

have a great day,
Kareem

P.S. Here’s a clip I did for NBC on a program I released last year - I think you’ll see some really cool and innovative exercises in it. They’re a bit advanced, so treat them as follows: 2 rounds of each exercise, adjusting for your level. For example, you may need to use a couch or a wall for your push ups, get rid of the plate altogether, or slow things down quite a bit on each and every exercise. Partial range of motion is also OK, so don’t worry if you can’t get full reps. Most importantly, be safe and have fun.