Welcome back to Primalburgher.com! I want to first let you all know that there will be a lot of fun updates to be had on the blog soon! We are just about one month away from RKC Vienna and I am more ready than ever to close out my last month of training for the certification. Folks, life has gotten really intense really fast, but I am beyond excited to travel for my certification than ever! And that’s’ real talk ya heard?
I wanted to start off the week with some inspiring tid bits from my newest gig in downtown Pittsburgh. I have been training a ton of clients in Market Square who have come to me for advice for basic exercise advice, kettlebell instruction, and most notably, strength gains. For those of you who followed my Facebook timeline, you probably remember a post I typed a while back quoting a man who said “I am looking for the tiny redheaded chic who lifts heavy kettlebells at this place.” I was flattered when this prospective client came to seek my instruction, but I was even more shocked to find out that this man was seeking me out for a specific reason in regards to his training program.
This blog post is not so much about how to train others, or how to specifically gain a sizeable amount of strength. This blog post is about how strongly our lives can influence the decisions of others for the better, and how we can truly shape the framework of someone else who is willing enough to learn from our own healthy lifestyle.
I sat down for an initial consultation with a man that was looking to gain muscle mass. I found that to be kind of odd, considering this was a man asking a woman for serious advice with regards to hypertrophy, but as it turns out, this man actually knew me from my blog and noticed how my overall physique had changed as I was training over the past year. At first, I thought this was kind of awkward, as I’m in no way a female body builder, nor do I intend to be. Yet, this man had sought me out to gain some mass because he knows how hard I train with kettlebells (in fact, he told me he wanted to train exclusively with these russian weights). “No offense” I told the guy “But don’t you think you should be talking to a big buff bro for all this? I’m just curious as to why you sought me out.”
What I was about to hear would actually bring tears to my eyes.
“I nearly died a few years ago.” said the prospective student. After his first tour with the US Navy, my prospect returned for his routine physical only to find out he had lost 15 pounds randomly. Further tests soon revealed he had an aggressive form of colon cancer, so aggressive it had a 20% survival rate. At age 20, this young man had to go through a series of chemotherapy treatments from a bout of colon cancer that wasted away his frame. He proceeded to tell me about how he, standing at 6’0” tall, went from a sizeable 180 lb man to 120 pounds. He was emaciated, barely able to keep alive. But this man is TOUGH! He beat cancer, took a year off to build himself up nutritionally, and made a goal to get his “cut military body” back.
“I watched you on YouTube when you did a military press with a 24 kg kettlebell. If you can get me back to lifting that heavy again, I would be forever grateful. I miss my strength, and I know in my heart you can help me get it back.”
I may be a strong woman, but no amount of physical strength can steer me clear of something that emotional. Tears were shed, and I made it a point to get this man under my training protocol immediately.
Friends, this just goes to show you that the choices that we make determine the kind of people we become. Over a year ago, I chose to get my own life back on track and to be as strong as I possibly could. In the end, it worked out in my favor, and it had worked so well that now I have the opportunity to help people build themselves up just the same (sometimes quite literally building them up too. haha!). Always be aware of how your decisions affect others, and always remember how important you are to people. You never know how much you mean to someone until they seek you out for help. Helping others is what makes it all worth while 🙂
Remember to eat smart, train hard, and enjoy your life!
Love Always,
Janelle Pica-HKC, CPT
this blog post is dedicated to the one and only “Master P Tolbert”. Thank you for your support! May you be stronger than you ever thought possible!
