I still remember the day I first walked into a gym. I can recall as soon as I walked in a sense of belonging. A feeling of knowing this is where I would be spending a great deal of time. Turns out that feeling was right, and it would become the staple of the profession I chose. Fitness has provided me an incredibly fulfilling and entertaining purpose in life. From finding myself making the gym my top priority on family vacations, to getting sheer enjoyment from pushing my friends while we worked out, I knew I was meant to be involved. Everyday of my life since 10th grade has been centered around fitness in some way shape or form. And that is by choice. Before the thoughts come “Well what kind of a life is that?”, one that I chose. One that I find great enjoyment out of and take very seriously. But that’s a different article for a different day. I entered fitness coaching as a wide eyed kid with an over abundance of passion for working out. This will be a review of what I have learned so far that would’ve helped me a year ago. 3 Things I Wish I Knew #1: People appreciate your help and advice more than you know. When I first started, I did not have a lack of confidence in what I was doing. I didn’t have a problem sharing my thoughts and advice if someone asked me to. I just did not go out of my way to produce content to try and help people. It was a combination of me not necessarily knowing how to, and thinking what I had to say people did not really care. I thought most things I would speak on would be common knowledge, or boring to people. I found out this was far from the truth. I made it a point to start putting out more content. Anything I could really think of that could help people, I put out. I got out of my own way. The response was incredible. At first, and even a bit to this day, the initial reaction may not be staggering. But time after time I get people to dm me, email me, comment on my post, saying how much they appreciate my content. And how they watch what I do and read what I post. Just because someone doesn’t directly like your post, or tell you they saw it, doesn’t mean they aren’t watching. And if I would have known that when I started I would’ve put out a lot more. In turn, helping a lot more people. Excited to see where I am able to continue to take this now knowing this. #2: Every interaction with someone is an opportunity to impact their life. I want to say, this is something I “knew”, but did not know the magnitude of until I was in it. I have always been someone who keep things in perspective. Who is aware of the bigger picture and what actions can have reactions, good or bad. Not saying this to toot my horn, rather setting up my point even more. Even while knowing this, I was not aware of the impact a single conversation can have. A single day of showing up to work can do for someone. Everyday I show up to work is a day someone can have the workout that gets them over their anxiety of working out. A singular training session could be the one where it changes someones perspective of what they are and aren’t capable of. That conversation I have with someone could be the one where they finally decide to commit to themselves, stop making excuses, and change their life. I’ve had someone come up to me and tell me that the training we’ve done has completely shifted their relationship with their spouse. People have told me they actually look forward to working out and getting healthy. Because of our training they are able to play with their kids again without being in pain or out of breath. These are some real life things that are being impacted, all from just interacting with people on a day to day basis. It goes much beyond just workouts, though I have grown a bit within that aspect as well. #3: Have a reason behind every aspect of the workout, not JUST provide a great workout. Truthfully, this is one I take personal pride in. To be honest, I’m not sure if my clients would notice one way or the other. It’s not like I didn’t give them everything I had everyday, but I was going about it a different way. When I first started, I was looking to just give them a great workout. I didn’t really have much a plan behind the workouts. I didn’t really have much of a reason, other than just make a great workout. Throughout going through the learning process and trying to better myself, not just for myself but for my clients who trust me to lead them, I learned there was a better way. Anyone can provide a good workout, but what principles do you have to back the workout up? What system and program do you follow to ensure your clients not only get a great workout, but great results. Do I want to have them be stronger? Do I want to have them have more endurance to play with their kids? What about strengthening their core to ensure they don’t get injured, in or out of the gym. There is a lot of things that now go into the way I make up a workout. Once I figured this out for myself, it made it not only easier to create and implement my workouts, but I knew I was providing a better service to my clients. And to me that’s what really mattered. Why Do I Wish I Knew These Things? As I eluded to in the last paragraph, I wish I knew these things to make it a greater overall experience for the people that trusted me to work with them. Being able to give everything I can to the people I work with is something I take a great deal of pride in. I certainly look forward to knowing these things and implementing them currently. But also, continuing to learn and have 3 new things to implement next year as well. Want to be apart of the free advice and tips I was eluding to earlier? Follow me on my social media platforms (@EricRobertsFitness) and subscribe to my email newsletter/podcast to receive free, no bullshit, fitness advice. If you need help devising your own fitness plan, feel free to contact me at coacheric@ericrobertsfitness.com.