The Personal Trainer April 2010 intake has just started. As usual, we get participants to introduce themselves. During the orientation, we usually hear `experienced’ trainers telling us how long they have been waiting to get certified (they were either financially or mentally insecure to get certified)and regular exercisers expressing their dreams to become personal trainers.
This time around, we have a very special gentleman (looking fit and tough) in our personal trainer course. In fact, I have seen this person before like a year plus ago. He was not our student but he was the `Live Case Study’ of our student (Jaclyn Cheng) in Personal Trainer Course and Lifestyle and Weight Management Course. This is the first time whereby the live case study subject made a lifestyle change and wants to become a trainer! So…I (Jerrican) decided to interview him 🙂
He is none other than CK Teoh and this is his `BEFORE’ picture.
How much weight have you lost?
Since I embarked on my journey to lose weight and improve my health and fitness in April 2009, I have lost a total of 28 kilograms
Hmm…that is about 2kg per month – awesome! ACSM (www.acsm.org) recomends weight loss about 2-4 kgper month. 🙂
This is how CK looks like NOW…
What made you want to lose the weight?
At that point in time, I was on 2 types of hypertension medication, additional medication for my fatty liver condition and frequent bouts of gout attacks as a result of a high uric acid condition. I felt lethargic and sickly most of the time. It didnt help that I observed long hours at work in a high stress environment. I just felt that if I were to continue with my existing lifestyle, it could mean more medication coming my way, and a very real possibility that I am unlikely to live to a healthy old age. I am very happy to say that I am now free from being dependant from all forms of medication, by my physician.
Why?
The realization that my health would very probably disrupt my future plans in life became very real. That compelled me to “do something” and I concluded that I owed it to myself to , for the first time, really look after myself, and be in the best physical shape I can be, at my age.
How did you lose the weight?
I lost weight through a regimented approach towards exercise and nutrition, which gradually led to a total change in lifestyle and mindset towards physical activity and food.
What was the first thing you did when you achieve your goal?
Bought myself a bunch of new clothes that I had never previously been able to fit into!
Did you hire a personal trainer?
Yes, I did
Is she certified?
Yes, my personal trainer, Jaclyn, is ACE-PT and ACE-LWMC certified 
Why did you hire a certified trainer?
I felt a certified trainer would increase my chances of success and would be able to deliver a structured approach to helping me achieve my goals. Since I was also hypertensive in nature, there was the added concern that I should be working with someone who “knew what they were doing” and thus, hiring a certified trainer provided the added confidence.
Describe your Personal Trainer…
Jaclyn worked with me for a total of 7 months. In that period, I found her to be very professional. From our initial contact, through to the fitness assessment and the early days of starting our training sessions, she made me feel that I would be able to achieve my goals and there was a lot of motivation to succeed. She also made a point to explain that it was important to see a gradual change in my weight and told me what i could expect through out the process of change my body was undergoing.
She was very flexible in our sessions which allowed me to accomodate my training into my sometimes unpredictable work schedules. She also worked me hard and made it very clear what we were going to achieve during our training sessions for the week or month. Jaclyn also communicated with me in between training days to make sure my body was feeling okay, to make sure I was staying within my meal plans and that I was motivated in general to continue staying the course. She also helped me understand that I should place my emphasis on the process of change, rather than the number on the scale!
What is your advice to people out there who wants to lose weight?
That weight loss is not about a diet, but a lifestyle change. To be focused on the process and not the absolute number on the weighing scale and that if you stay focused and determined, the weight loss is totally possible! Last but not least, work with a CERTIFIED personal trainer, who would be able to safely and effectively take you through a program with specific goals in mind, and start you right with improved chances of success. This would ensure you stay motivated to continue with the change early on and help you make a permanent change based on the correct lifestyle fundamentals.
So big congratulations to CK for making a lifestyle change. More Malaysians and people around the world should see weight loss as a lifestyle and not a short term urge. Weight management is basically a combination of exercise, nutrition and behavioral modification. It is NOT about any specific exercise tool or nutritional plan/supplement. We are happy that you are now taking the next step to learn the science behind exercising and maybe one day your `Live Case Study’ will be in the future Personal Trainer Course.
Well done to Jaclyn, who is now working at Gold’s Gym in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. We are really proud of you. Your competency and ability of being able to condition your client, train them to improve their self-efficacy in exercising and being able to self-monitor is a phenomenon! Hope your career as a fitness professional in Canada continue to grow 🙂
Jerrican Tan
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