CLIENT SUCCESS STORIES
MJT TRAINING BLOG
Derrick is a soldier and I helped him prepare for a brutal 5 day competition in the Florida heat.
This competition involved the ACFT, stress shooting, land navigation, sleeping in the field, and an 18 mile ruck march to finish things off.
He was a pretty fit guy when I met him, but he had some nagging hip and back issues (as many soldiers do) and needed to drastically improve his cardiovascular fitness. He was also concerned about nutrition to fuel him properly throughout the week.
He knew a lot about fitness. We needed to put the pieces together into one program that could address everything – power, speed, strength, endurance, and durability, all while staying healthy and injury free.
When Josh started training with me, he was tired of banging his head against the wall.
He’s a busy father of 3 and had recently gone through some really difficult life circumstances.
He had made GREAT fat loss progress on his own.
But he had hit a plateau and was frustrated. He wasn’t sure what he was doing wrong or what he needed to do to keep moving forward.
My client Kate had applied to a federal agency but had failed her PT test several times. She came to me to get her ready for her last shot.
She struggled with her short distance running. She had plenty of endurance for longer distances, but found her legs DYING about 2/3 of the way through her shorter run.
In addition, her sit-ups were borderline. She had some back and tailbone pain and honestly just didn’t like doing them.
We prepped for a couple of months and she went back and blew her previous score out of the water and passed, finally landing the opportunity to train for her dream job.
My client John is a busy guy with no control over his schedule.
He travels for work and rarely has control over what food he has access to. He has to make do with pizza, subs, and burgers from whatever catering company is providing food for his events.
When we first started working together, he felt like crap and remembered a time several years ago when he wasn’t traveling for work and was able to follow a strict meal plan and workout schedule. He felt great then and was leaner and stronger.
He had no idea if he’d be able to lose fat while not being able to follow a meal plan or make his own food like he did before.
I told him there are many ways to lose fat without counting every macro or prepping all his food.
Feel like you’re burning the candle at both ends and everyone elses’ priorities are taking over your life?
I talk to lots of people who hate their bodies, hate where they’ve let themselves get to.
Two months ago my daughter was born.
Leading up to this massive life change, I was worried about how my fitness and health might suffer. I knew I was facing….
…sleepless nights…
…lack of time…
…competing priorities…
I don’t want to fall into the “dad-bod” trap and put my goals aside.
I want to look good for my wife.
I want to feel confident in my own skin.
I want to be a good example for my clients.
I want to be a good example for my daughter when she’s old enough.
BUT at the same time, my family is infinitely higher on my priorities list than my physique or performance.
Torrance started training with me not long after he was released from the hospital after an 8 MONTH stay due to a stroke (in the middle of the pandemic last year).
No visitors due to COVID. He woke up not even knowing the pandemic was happening.
He could barely walk unassisted. He had barely any control over his entire left side. Barely any range of motion. We had to get creative to find exercises he could even do. He’s a young guy, and I can’t imagine what it was like to go through a year like that.
Nathan is a busy father with a toddler at home. He wanted to set a better example of health for his son because he grew up with a good example from his own father and wasn’t happy with how he was currently doing. Maybe you can relate.
Jeff is a police officer on night shift with 3 young kids. Needless to say, he’s got a lot on his plate.
He was sick and tired of feeling like crap and letting himself go. He wanted to prioritize himself to be better at his job, but more importantly to be around longer for his kids. Maybe you can relate.
Even though he had plenty of reason to, Jeff didn’t make excuses. He showed up and put in the work.
Darviet started training with me in February 2021. Said he tried everything and wasn't having any success at all on his own.
Despite lots of life stress, job stress, vacation, and having a young child, by the end of July he's down 40lbs and still going.
He said I'm doing the hard work giving him a plan, but that isn't true. I only see him an hour or two a week, and I can't put the work in to DO the plan. If you aren’t ready to do the work and take responsibility for your own life, no coach, including me, can help you.
Darviet stepped up, took responsibility, puts in the work, and it shows.
Amin came in with severe back pain that radiated down his leg and caused his entire body to lock up. Just a short time before I met him, it was so bad that he was left crippled, laying on the floor for hours.
He was getting back into paintball and wanted to lose weight and improve his performance without negatively affecting his back.
6 months later he’s down 40+ pounds and playing on a national team. After lifting weights 2-3x per week for months, he hasn’t had any major pain flare ups and can run and play at his best. This was all accomplished while eating out multiple meals per week and juggling a stressful, time-consuming job, a young family, and summer vacation.
“I just don’t have enough willpower.”
“I’m too busy.”
“My significant other isn’t on the same page.”
“I’ve tried everything and nothing works.”
I hear it over and over. And most of the time it’s coming from a place of genuine frustration, not laziness.
Negative self talk will kill your goals. Truth is, these aren’t moral statements. You are not a bad person because you struggle with motivation, or willpower, or an unsupportive environment, or confusion.
Time shouldn’t always dictate your workouts, but life happens. Something is almost always better than nothing. Give these ideas a try next time you need to squeeze a workout in, or you need to shorten your normal session due to other obligations.