Experts in health and fitness can have a profound effect on the lives
of individuals who come to them for help. Take, for example, a client who
desperately needed the guidance offered by Paul VanWiechen, a certified exercise
physiologist.
"I was working with an obese mother of two who worked as a secretary,"
he begins. "She was embarrassed to be seen in restaurants and food courts,
so she often ate alone at work. She was ashamed that she could not keep up
with her young children so she would avoid family activities. She had tried
to exercise in the past but was following an inappropriate program. So she
decided exercise was too difficult."
After three months with the trainer, she lost about 30 pounds. Unfortunately,
she could not afford to continue working with a trainer and her weight started
to increase again. She also started showing signs of depression.
Then her boss bought her three more months' worth of time with the trainer.
She and VanWiechen got her back on the health track and brought her weight
down some more. This completely changed her outlook on her weight and her
lifestyle.
"At the end of the three months, I knew she would be able to continue
with her new lifestyle," VanWiechen remembers.
"She told me she rode her bike with her kids for the first
time ever to the Dairy Queen. Although she could have made a better [food]
choice, we agreed that the very fact she felt confident enough to engage in
physical activity with her children and eat ice cream in public signaled that
she had the confidence to continue to deal with her weight management issues."
As an exercise physiologist and owner of his own personal training company
in New Jersey, Neal I. Pire has had inspirational clients of his own. He has
worked with many athletes who were able to achieve their dreams with his guidance.
He talks about the pride of a girl who qualified for gymnastic nationals
after adding some specialized training to her practice: "She made the nationals
because she did so well in the vault. This had previously been her weakest
event, prior to enhancing her running speed in the speed [training] program."
Pire has also helped young football players, sprinters, and track and field
athletes. By adapting their training to their specific goals, they went on
to win honors on the field, as well as some college scholarships.
Pire also feels fortunate to work with people with more modest, but equally
admirable, ambitions: "I have worked with people who could do so little, like
walking up one flight of stairs. These people met their fitness goals, whether
those were losing significant weight or gaining strength. Some needed rehabilitation
for a replaced knee or were recovering from coronary bypass."
These are the reasons Pire continues to stay involved in training. "I
love it," he says. "As I have moved up the management ladder, I have always
kept my hands in training. I will always keep actively training clients and
inspiring them to strive for improved health, fitness or performance."
For VanWiechen, working with a variety of people has brought its own personal
rewards:
"I am able to gain an appreciation for the unique viewpoints of the elderly
retiree, the young athlete, the overweight factory worker, the worried cancer
survivor, the neurotic executive, and the nervous bride-to-be all in the same
day," he says. "Seeing and hearing about their lives gives me a sense of perspective
I would not have had if I worked in an industry that didn't allow that interaction."
Not all of that interaction is positive: "Every client has a preconceived
idea of what is appropriate," VanWiechen says. "Getting their undivided attention
focused on a clear plan can be difficult."
However, the end result makes any challenges worthwhile. "[T]he most satisfying
part is when you are able to get through to a client and help them reach their
goals. The ripple effect of their lifestyle changes can reach an incredible
number of people. And this can provide the social acceptance to change behaviors
in both individual people and society as a whole."