Personal Trainer Chris shares how training at Assist PT completely changed his physique, his confidence, motivation and outlook as a personal trainer. “I’ve learnt so much from these 12 weeks compared to my previous studies and jobs.”

  “Getting my before photo for my first 12 week challenge was completely daunting, but exciting at the same time! For me, it had been a fairly long break in between weight training, even though I was training people to reach their own goals. I never really took the time for myself and had lost a fair bit of confidence.

Only the closest people to me knew that I was going through some tough times mentally before starting at Assist Personal Training in Lilydale, and that took a toll on my body. I had lost confidence in the industry that I loved and found myself stuck in a life where days went by without doing much. This may be a surprise to some, as people always says how happy and positive I am.

I had previously tried a lot of different so-called weight gaining supplements, combined with weight training programs that I researched. However, nothing seemed to be working, so I just thought I’d be stuck at my starting weight of 55kg for the majority of life until my body adapted to slowing down! While many people would say to me that I was extremely athletic and lucky to be that size, others would often comment on how skinny I was. In my own mind, I wanted to be able to gain some size and muscle so that I felt more confident in my job and the industry I worked in.

It was in August this year that I was given the opportunity to be part of this amazing community that is known as the Assist PT family. Upon starting, I immediately felt my love for my job again and regained my passion of helping clients achieve goals that they never thought possible. I cannot thank Annette and Matt enough as I embark on this 12 month mentoring opportunity, and I’m so grateful that I can learn from both of them to become a better trainer myself.

In regards to my own training, Matt and I decided that anything from 10kg plus was definitely achievable in the 12 weeks. I was 100% committed to reaching this goal and wanted to do whatever I could to get there.

A personalised nutrition plan, goal setting and a structured training program got me started. I increased my daily food intake (quiet drastically – in the first 6-8 weeks), eating 5-6 big meals a day and following the advice I had received from my food testing results. While there were some days where it was hard to consume that much food and maintain my training, I knew that the end result would be completely worth it. And it was! Matt has completely transformed my body, adding 10kg of scale weight to bring it up to a total of 65kg for the first time in my life. This increase only included 800g of body fat weight, with the rest being lean muscle gain.

While this may still seem light to some people, it’s exactly where I wanted to be at this point of my training. Now, I will continue to gain size and smash further goals! This progress has changed my outlook on my role as a personal trainer, and I am so much more confident in my ability to train clients, regardless of what goals they have. I can now put myself in their shoes when they need a little extra motivation, give them personalised advice and deliver them the best training, as I’ve learnt so much from these 12 weeks compared to my previous studies and jobs. I am aware that this is only the start of my fitness journey, but this transformation is not a one-off.