Finding the right Trainer/Coach.....

How do you know when you have found the right trainer? What do you look for when choosing from hundreds of Fitness Coaches?? Why does it matter who your trainer is?

These are just a few of the questions I had when looking for a personal trainer about 4 months ago, I knew we had a handful of good trainers at the gym I was going too but I knew I needed the BEST! 4 months ago  I wasn't planning on doing a competition in July all i wanted to do was get my pre baby (some what of body) back. I knew that I was very competitive and driven and I needed someone to push me to my limits and then some. I knew I wanted a female trainer(nothing against you boys) but females tend to handle the emotional/psycho behavior of me better:) and I knew she had to know her STUFF!! the first time I met Nikki was in a Rowing Certification... not only did she kick my BUTT but she did it in a way that I didn't even realize i was exhausted until a hr later when we were done rowing, she pushed me and not just yelling in my face, she pushed me to make me see what she saw, that I could keep going and not to give up.
a few months later I began to talk to Nikki about personal training, i had no idea she trained. after begging my hubby to let me train with her, a friend and I got 12 sessions and split them, so we could have 6 a piece. That next Tuesday morning was the first day of this amazing journey, after only 35 min of abs and a fitness test I was DONE, i felt so defeated and discouraged, i thought i was stronger than that, i thought I could have pushed harder, and I thought( this chick is coo-coo) :) like a good trainer Nikki began to tell me that I did a good job and its only the first day, if it was easy for me then what good was she? I listened but figured this is what she tells ALL her clients what makes me any different then every other person she trains??
about a month in a half down the road we did the same initial work out again, I realized I had gotten stronger and it motivated me even more. I began to get in better shape, clothes began to loosen up and people began to see the change in my body. After 2.5 months of training with her I had lost 8 lbs (which when you are at your last 15, 8 is a good number) and I had lost about 6 inches overall. I knew I had found my Fitness Coach SOUL MATE:) after talking with Nikki for another month I decided I wanted to do a Figure Competition, not only was this a huge thing for me but also for her, she has only trained male clients for these kind of competitions, and I was a handful in itself lol.  with saying that needless to say our session became so much more intense in the last month, she has pushed me harder then i ever thought possible! I tell myself every day she must see something in me that I cant see, because I never thought I could do some of the things she has told me to do. In the past few months I feel like I have gone on such a emotional and physical journey that some people would go through in a few years, and through it ALL i have had such a inspirational person by my side... not only is she my PT but I consider her one of my Best Friends, not many people can say," I have a trainer that is my BFF and that still pushes me hard". If you think for one second this chick lets me off the HOOK or of she gives me a break because we are friends, YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN!! and that is one of the qualities I needed in a trainer because to succeed and be the best you cant have a trainer that listens to the BULL, they have to push no matter is you tell them, you have been up all night with a one year old or if it's your "girl time" :) they need to push you past all the excuses, THAT'S ONE THING THAT MAKES NOT JUST A GOOD TRAINER, BUT AN AMAZING ONE!!!!
BUT...... even though they push you and have the passion to get something out of you that you didn't know was there, they should also have a passion to really listen to you, that is another aspect to Nikki. This chick will sit there for hours if need be and listen to how defeated you feel, or how the diet sucks so bad, or how much you want to shove the food your eating down you hubby's throat because all he is eating is FLIPPING PIZZA:) a good trainer will listen to whatever you have to say but THE BEST trainers will take what you say and tell you how to fix it or a better solution to the problem.

All I really have to say is I found a trainer that embodies everything I wanted and needed and more in a Coach, I would not have gotten this far with out someone pushing me like she does... YES I have to make the food choices on my own and I have to get up in the morning to make myself get to the gym, BUT i know that for one second I could call or text her and she would be there for me, even if it was to give me encouragement or if to put me in my place and make me realize my goals will not be met if I am not 110% committed!!! I am so lucky to have this girl in my life and so excited to see what we can do with my body in the next 4 months:) I am so grateful to have this opportunity and to share such a BIG DREAM with such a FANTASTIC PERSON!!!!!!

Bathing Suit shopping.... need i say more?????

    If bathing suit shopping isn't hard enough, try having a women in the room with you lifting and pulling and rearranging everything while giving you a look, as if to say there is no way you will ever compete? maybe that's not what she was thinking but standing in the room with a XS bottom on  feeling like everything was hanging out all in the wrong areas and a top that did no justice whatsoever for my top half, that is what I was telling myself.  In most peoples eye I look pretty good for having 3 kids and the youngest only being a year old, in most peoples eyes when I say I need to lose more weight they just laugh, and tell me no you don't. In most peoples eyes I am STRONG, CONFIDENT, and BEAST! but most people aren't the judges at this competition, not only are they going to see me in a swim suit that was probably made to fit a 4 year old but they will be looking past the pretty colors and sequence, to see every single muscle on my body, they will be looking at every striation and all definition  they will be looking to see exactly how much FAT i have around the smallest part of my ARM! they wont feel bad that I have had 3 kids,they wont even know. I will be judged in a way that I think MOST women are AFRAID of.. I will be compared to the SKINNY CHICK right beside me, both of us will want to WIN and show that we are the BEST! both of us come from different backgrounds and have totally opposite stories, but it WONT matter, all that will matter is that I look the best I can and make sure that my body is the best it can be.. The eating is draining and boring, the work outs are exhausting and intimidating, the swimsuits are terrifying and loathing.... So you ask if ALL of this is so substandard and awful why do you do it????  The achievement of this Figure Competition is worth all the sweat,pain, and tears. To know that only a handful of women and men train and complete this kind of competition, I know I want to be in that percentile. I want to BE A FIGURE COMPETITOR! (bring on the BIKINI'S):)

20 weeks out and a DOSE of REALITY after out measurements today!

The only way to be completely in this is to go ALL in with everything you have and never look back, one of my main reasons on doing the Blog is to keep me honest and to be able to look back at my journey when its finally over.but another big reason on doing this BLOG is to show how real women,moms,wives,ANYONE can do this! With the right motivation and heart anything is truly possible........
      So to start out today I had my measurements this morning! I'm not starting out Competition ready I am a real person with 20 weeks left of HARD WORK AHEAD! I am at 25% body fat right now at 141.5 lbs, most women don't want to talk about their weight and measurements but to be completely honest to myself and the people reading the blog I want to lay it all out on the line!!! I want to show that I am starting from the bottom, yes I feel like I am in shape and I look good for having 3 kids but the diet and work outs are totally different from anything I have been doing... I feel like I am starting from scratch EVERY TIME I work out with my TRAINER!!!  I am usually not a cry baby or so emotional but the past few weeks, the working out and diet combined I have felt like I will never get to my goal, i feel like I will never be competition ready?  After today's weight and measuring I had a swift kick in my rear and a HUGE DOSE of reality...  This is not going to be an easy 20 weeks, I'm going to have those days that I feel like I CAN'T do it! but I know that the reward out weighs all of the I CANT'S and turns them into, I WILL'S, I AM'S, I DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!