Hello everyone,

With Christmas and New Years right around the corner, I took the time to reflect on this past year on my own accomplishments. I got hired full time at Union Fitness as the head personal trainer, I finished my master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology, I have lost over 20 lbs this year, and I also found my passion and love for fitness again. After appreciating my own self growth, it also made it abundantly clear how important some people have been in my life over the past few years. Without them, I can honestly say that some of my success would not have been capable. So, in saying all of this, I wanted to give a brief story of some of these awesome people and highlight the importance of mentorship.

The first person I want to bring up is Dr. Sally Sherman. If you do not know her, she is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, an academic advisor at Pitt, a mother, a wife, and an ultra-endurance athlete. She was also my professor, my academic advisor during my bachelor’s degree in exercise science, and one of the professors who spoke on my behalf to get me into the Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology program at Pitt. During my time in undergrad, I was at a point where I thought I may not graduate on time due to a lack of credits needed to graduate. As most people would understand, I immediately began to panic at the thought of not graduating with my peers. I instantly emailed Dr. Sherman to explain the situation and to see if she was available later in the week to discuss the issue at hand. Dr Sherman at the drop of a dime, emailed me back and told me to call her asap. Keep in mind that this was at 8pm after she was done with work and she was at home with her family. I called her at that instant and she helped me devise a plan to graduate on time. In that moment, I had a huge sense of relief and without her I would not have known what to do. I also realized after that phone call, that Dr Sherman was one of the kindest and best people I have ever met. She goes above and beyond in all her duties as a professor, as an academic advisor, a mother, a wife, and an ultra-endurance athlete. I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to engage and learn from her. I cannot emphasize how great of a person she is. Thank you Dr Sherman!!!!

The next person I want to talk about is Curtis Miller. Almost everyone knows who Curt is at Union Fitness. He was the previous head personal trainer at Union Fitness and I had to fill his giant shoes after he moved on to bigger and better things. He is a world class powerlifter, a great trainer, an awesome coach, extremely smart in all things fitness or car related, and a pretty cool guy as well (emphasis on pretty). All jokes aside, one of the best memories I have with him is when I was on the Pitt Powerlifting Club. As most people often experience, I was kind of nervous beginning my training in the strength lab at Union. There were a lot of extremely strong people and for some reason even though most of the people training in the back are the nicest people on the planet, I thought they would bite my head off because of how strong they were. I knew that in order for me to grow I had to be in that environment and try to learn from the strongest in Pittsburgh. The first person I asked for advice from was Curt. I asked him to take a look at my deadlift to see if there was anywhere I could improve to get stronger. One thing lead to another and he ended up spending 30+ minutes of his own time to help me. He did not get paid any extra for helping me but decided to teach me something anyway. I will never forget that and I think it truly exemplifies his character. He is willing to help anyone and everyone, he is willing to listen when you need someone to talk to, and he often puts other people before himself. He has taught me so much since I trained, interned, and worked at Union. I am extremely grateful for his guidance, knowledge, and wisdom. I can honestly say that has helped me become a better trainer, a better leader, and ultimately a better person. Thank you Curtis!!!

These are just two people over the past few years that have helped me. There are numerous others and if I left you out, then please don’t take an insult to it. These two were just the ones who stuck out most as of late.

I have always hated the term “self-made.” In my own opinion, not a single person on this planet is “self-made.” We all go through adversity or hard times and sometimes we rely on others to help us out. So, if you have time today, go thank someone who you have looked at as a mentor, find someone that can mentor you, or be a mentor to someone else. The act of each of us helping one another will make the world a better place for the next generations. You certainly will not regret mentorship when you find a good person to aid you or when you get to step in the mentorship role to help someone else. I think mentorship is pivotal to growth and success. If we are not seeking growth then what is the point?

Just some food for thought! If you read the whole blog then cheers to you!

Zain Trainz

Three weeks ago, I made a Motivation Monday post about challenging you all to push outside of your comfort zone and to strive for something you have always wanted to achieve.

After I made that post, I decided to go ahead and do something way outside of my comfort zone. I spent the evening browsing different local recreational sports teams and things to do to keep me busy during this upcoming Winter season. I decided that I wanted to sign up for something that I have always wanted to do, but never got around to trying it, which was to play hockey. Originally, I was going to sign up for a local Dek Hockey team, but there weren’t any with open sign ups currently. I was bummed, but then I decided to why not go even further out of my comfort zone? And as a result, I signed up to play Ice Hockey instead. I knew how to skate but had no idea how to properly stop and skate backwards and I had no protective gear that I needed to wear as well. So that weekend I went out and got everything that I needed and have been practicing my skating skills a few times a week. I’m proud to say that I finally learned how to stop (without just running into the boards) and am looking forward to my future in playing recreational Ice Hockey.

A cool addition to this story is that I inspired two of my friends to join me on this journey as well. My advice is to go out and try something new, push outside of your comfort zone, and maybe you will inspire someone else to do the same!

Toria

This weekend a good friend of mine told me he was diagnosed with cancer. Far too often in life we see these things happen and don’t know what we can do to help. Physical and mental health are linked together, and we cannot ignore either or we are just creating more problems. I reached out to see how I can help and support this gentleman. He told me he is fine financially, and just needs some good prayers, vibes, and feelings. What he needs is a support system. I told him I am there for him no matter what. Today I am going to ask you to think about how you can support those around you. How can you support those with physical needs or mental needs, and yourself?

Be present.

The adage stands true, “Days are long and years are short.” We all get busy and forget to respond to a friend or family member. I am asking you to try to be more present as we know each moment we have is a short fleeting moment. There will always be more time, time never stops, yet this moment will never come again. Find ways to care about another person in your care.

How can we be more present? Do the best you can to remove your phone, iPad, laptop etc. Listen to the person be sure you hear and see them. This will do wonders for your mental health as well as those around you. Find a way to be present with those you care about. One easy way to do this is to share a meal with someone, anyone that you care about. There are few more intimate moments than when we are breaking bread together.

Donate.

This is an easy, yet important one. Today I saw that one of our employees is doing an MS bike ride. These have become very popular rides over the past twenty years. I have been lucky enough to volunteer, donate, and help out in other ways for MS bike rides over the years. I have added a hyperperlink for our employees  donation page if you feel like helping out with this cause.

Donations can take many forms, donate to a clothes drive, a food drive, or donate your time to serve someone, anyone.

Take care of your body.

As I began this blog I mentioned that physical and mental health are connected. Here is a short list of ways to take care of both.

1. Get sleep. We know that sleep matters for health. Attempt to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
2. Eat your fruits and veggies. This is a direct line from a healthy diet to a healthy life.
3. Exercise. If you are reading this you are probably already do this.
4. Spend time in nature. Maybe it’s the buddhist in me, but I equate my happiness with the time I spend hiking and biking in the woods.
5. Appreciate those around you. Show a moment to give some positive vibes to each and everyone you interact with today. Give some gratitude.
6. Cut yourself a break. We must all understand that we are not perfect. You will trip and fall, just get back up and try again.

Now go out and improve yourself and (y)our world.

Todd

We all know how hard it can be to accomplish goals that we set. Obstacles and stressors can arise on a daily manner that hinder us from taking steps towards completing that goal. Sometimes these stressors and obstacles deplete our energy so much that we lose all motivation, and we feel like we cannot complete the goal we set. This is where discipline comes into play. This means doing what you know you are supposed to be doing even though you have no will to do it. This can be a very difficult thing to do, and I am going to provide some tips on how to be more disciplined when that feeling of zero motivation comes into play:

1. Write down your goals- I think this is a very important thing to do when attempting a task. Writing down your goals will help bring that goal to life. It gives you a sense of self accountability and responsibility towards that task. It also gives it more value.
2. Create a constant reminder of your goal- What I mean by this is forcing yourself to see that goal multiple times a day so that it is a constant reminder to yourself of what you should be doing to accomplish that goal. This can be done by listing your goals on your phone wall paper, making your goals a password that you use daily, or writing down your goals on a sticky note and placing that sticky note on your fridge or mirror. These are just some ways but there are several other ways to do this.
3. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals- This means get yourself friends that have similar goals as you or supportive friends that will not allow you to have triggers that prevent you from accomplishing that goal. This could also mean finding mentors or people that you look up to and spending much time with them.
4. Do things that your future self would thank you for- What I mean here is doing things in the present to help yourself in the future. Using myself as an example, I hate to think about tasks first thing in the morning when I wake up. I do not want to be half asleep at 4:30 am attempting to figure out what clothes to wear for work, preparing my food for the day, or even making my coffee. Instead, I will prepare my clothes, my food, and my coffee the day before so that I have an easier morning and I can focus on the larger tasks of the day such as teaching a class, training someone, or doing my own training. This is just a small example, but you can do this for many other aspects of life.
5. Reflecting on your past accomplishments or what you are proud of- I think this is an important thing to do because it reminds you of what you have done in the past and how you overcame other obstacles in life. This reminder can give you the confidence to be able to take a deep breath and keep pushing towards your goal even if you are fearful of the outcome.

In my opinion, motivation comes and goes. It is a human emotion or feeling that we do not always have control over and it is not something we should rely on. Especially when our motivation can be hindered by external factors that are out of our control. Instead, we should rely on discipline in accomplishing goals and if you are ever struggling then you can try some of these tips above to see if they help!

-Zain Train