philly76

I've been posting on here for a while, but I still consider myself a "newcomer." For those who've read my posts, you might know that I started studying Personal Training over a year ago. I had been laid off, I was bored with spending all my time applying jobs, so I began putting energy into the gym.

Thinking it would be a walk in the park, I decided to enroll in an accredited CPT program. Between interviews and tweaking my resume, I wanted to learn - for my own personal knowledge - what I could be doing better at the gym.

I ended up learning much more, and the program was much more challenging than I expected. I failed the exam the first time I took it in February. But after working with some of ACE's amazing tutors for the past few months, today I finally passed my exam and am now officially an ACE Certified Personal Trainer.

As far as the booze goes, I'm admittedly far from perfect. I abstained for a week before my exam, spending sleepless nights cramming bits of information into my head. I even used my addiction to help me study, telling myself, "if I pass, I'm done with booze."

Throughout the three hour exam, booze crossed my mind. "If I fail, will I get drunk?" "If I pass, will I really go sober?" The answer to both is "No." I did pass, I'm not drunk. But when I finally got the confirmation that I passed the exam, I was hit with something I didn't expect.

When I began, I was actively focusing on fitness because it kept me out of trouble while I was unemployed. I enrolled in the program because I liked the physical results I was seeing and wanted to perfect them. Throughout the entire process, I was drinking relatively regularly, but also recognizing how fitness had kept me from becoming a complete train wreck of an alcoholic.

To be honest, I didn't expect to pass today's exam. Beyond that I didn't know what to expect. I had more butterflies in my stomach than I've had since I graduated college. This was a big deal. An investment. And having failed once, this was it.

But when I got the notification that I had passed, I didn't think "I have to be sober tonight" or "I'm gonna get drunk and celebrate," I thought, "HOLY ****, this is REALLY going to be a new chapter in my life!!" I wanted to celebrate by going to the gym and testing my VO2 Max, not drown this pride in a bottle of booze. Wes 2.0 was just validated by one of the best accredited CPT programs in the world. Wasting what that means didn't even cross my mind. My 39 year old *** felt like a freakin' 21 year old who just graduated college...one better, in fact, because I'm old enough to appreciate what it means.

I can't even tell you how excited I am. I called my mom, my dad, my sister, and my best friend to tell them the news. My best friend said, "I haven't heard you this happy since you moved to Philly." And I am. Sure I have a mundane 9-5 job that I tolerate, but now I have this new thing, these new credentials that open up a world of new opportunities.

It might start with a part time internship at a gym, or volunteer work. But the possibilities are so freaking exciting. I'm already working on resumes for part time internships at gyms, and I'm attending a free fitness training program, one that turns its graduates into volunteers. I really want to be an integral part of that group.

But ultimately - and obviously a long time down the road - I'd love to work with others struggling with addiction, and showing them how fitness can help them overcome addiction in a very healthy way.

FLCamper

Congrats to you ! That's a wonderful accomplishment. You should be very proud of your self!
It is exciting to have some new avenues to pursue - that surely feels great!

PurpleKnight

Fantastic!! Great stuff Philly!!

Dee74

Congratulations

D

Anna

Phil, congratulations for taking on this challenge and succeeding.

I wish you all the best as you pursue these new opportunities.

GroundhogDay

Very exciting. Great job pursuing your dream.

CaseyW

Congratulations on the certification and wishing you the best in your recovery from addiction.

dwtbd

Congratulations on the certificate and the enthusiasm! Onward!

FarToGo

Great news, what a brilliant achievement! x

digdug

Congrats, man!

rachelle77

Congratulations on becoming certified! I too am wishing you the best in recovery from addiction.

Olivia2011

Congrats Philly! I bet this program is hard. I've probably spent 25 years in a gym and loved it. I also love outdoor exercise. I don't get to the gym like I used to but I know how helpful it is with both my physical and mental wellness. My goal years ago was to own my own gym. Didn't have the finances and ended up in college and then a stressful, wonderful white collar job! High stress but I did love my job (most of the time). Exercise is great stress reducer and helped me tremendously with avoiding or lessening my addiction I should say. I always wonder why'd I work out so hard and then put that poison in my system. I still have a long way to go but I'm trying.

I especially like how you ended your post with helping other people with addictions and alcohol thru exercise. That is a great idea. Just helping people better their physical and mental well being is a great thing to do! Good luck with your future. Very rewarding.

Keep on keepin on.

Olivia

Tang

Finding our passion in life is the biggest blessing we could ask for. I'm happy to see you ignited your fire. I think working out is one of the most rewarding things we can do for ourselves and completely understand your euphoria.

ChloeRose63

What an inspiration you are! I use to be into 'bodyshaping' and worked out twice a day when I was in college. One of my finest friends was Mr. Illinois back then . Now he is a bodybuilding judge and runs competitions. Dreams do come true! Now I have rhumatoid arthritis especially in my hands. I am afraid to get back into a gym because I don't know what I can/should do. It would be great if there was someone who could re-train me that understands my limitations and abilities. Did you ever consider that aspect of Personal Training? Just a thought. Good luck and good job! Proud of you! ♡CR
p.s. I noticed you are from Philly...did you ever run the stairs like Rocky?!

Soberwolf

Congrats Philly

philly76

Thanks! (and thanks so much to everyone else who commented! :-) )

I know the feeling about the white collar job. After a year of being unemployed I finally landing a job at a - well, I'll just call it an evil corporate entity and not name names :-P

I'd been in software for over 15 years, and while it can be high-pressure, it's also very casual and it doesn't have the same kind of corporate hierarchy of, say, JP Morgan or that-which-shall-not-be-named. This place is a new world for me. If you're not a beat down lackey, you're one of the d-bags I hate. I'm actively looking for something else, and also (now) looking at how I can incorporate this new certification.

But, yeah, it's stressful. When I finally got the job, I immediately took advantage of finally having good insurance again, so I went to my doctor for a tune-up. He was like, "so, this new job of yours...is it stressful?" Apparently my blood pressure was really high, at least high for a 30-something in good shape. But it's true, and it's weird because I actually feel it.

I've also learned that getting that frustration out in the gym is so much better on a week-by-week basis than just getting drunk to forget about the stress. When I would just get drunk, I'd wake up and the stress would be 10-fold. Action-reaction I guess.

As for your goal of owning a gym, don't count it out. I was hesitant to start the CPT program because I'm pushing 40. I went on BodyBuilding.com (a great forum, btw, if you can ignore the machismo) and found amazing support. Personal Training is one of the biggest fields people turn to as a Second Act career, plenty in their 30s and 40s, and even many in their 50s and 60s. And from what I've found, the most reputable ones aren't the eye-candy walking around the gym selling supplements, it's the older ones that know their stuff (not that there aren't plenty of hotties in their 20s who really know their stuff too).

Basically what I'm saying (and it's kind of cool to be able to offer support on here for once) is don't abandon anything. If you want to own your own gym some day, go on eBay and buy a textbook from ACE or NASM, spend $300 on an exam and get your certification. Start small. Borrow a friend's garage or basement, or just get some resistance bands and a medicine ball and find some clients who want to work out in the park.

There are so many ways to go about it. I haven't been this excited, or focused, in a long, long time. I know I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but it's very liberating to have something entirely new to start planning, something I've always really been into.

You can totally own your own gym someday. You don't have to be 23 or look like Wonder Woman or He-Man, you just have to have good rapport and know the traps that so many fall into when they start working out.

The free group I'm working out with is for everyone, but it really focuses on people who can't afford a gym, those who are intimidated, and those simply struggling. As soon as I get my **** together, and have it together (might even be a year or so), I'd love to talk to them about my idea. Fitness is such a fantastic way to crush your vices - food, booze, smoking - and I feel like that's not something that's gotten a lot of attention. I mean I live in Philadelphia - a huge city - and I have yet to find a community group, MeetUp page, or non-profit group that pairs recovery with fitness. I'm sure there probably are some, but they're not as accessible as they should be.

Anyway, sorry for the long essay. I'm just super excited right now :-D

philly76

I didn't just consider that aspect, it's an integral part of the CPT program I took. Not every client is capable of doing everything a gym offers, and those who probably need the most guidance are often overlooked. There are very specific caveats for training those with arthritis, and they're not what a lot of people would expect. People with arthritis aren't just capable of strength training, you're a group that can really benefit from it.

And yeah, I've run up the Rocky Steps a few times ;-) In fact my mom was in town last weekend and we walked around, and we both ran up the steps. It's funny - and kind of cool - those steps have turned into the city's biggest piece of public exercise equipment. In the summer, they have Yoga on the Steps and locals are constantly running up and down them. I love it. A few years ago, Philadelphia was one of the county's most unfit cities in the country and we're fast becoming one of the fittest. Thanks Rocky :-P

Olivia2011

Philly - I love your enthusiasm. I love the talk with Chloe about the Rocky steps! Sounds like you have a lot going for you. CPT is such a positive pull away from any addiction.

Here's my thoughts... Some avenues may be hospital inpatient/outpatient programs, state sponsored rehab programs, Salvation Army, KOC, etc. Maybe something like this could get you going with this part of your life. It sounds great.

Good luck to you! Keep up the good work.

Olivia

Olivia2011

Mornin Philly! I'm also gonna look into this textbook. It would be good reading for me and something I've always been interested in. My 27 year old (28 end of July) has always been interested in this also. He's built great and works out. Unfortunately, he's got that binge drinking down real bad. He's always had kinda low self-esteem/confidence in my opinion. He has a heart of gold but gets in so much trouble and does such stupid things (not so much the last couple years). But he's completing a CISCO IT certificate and is going for an associates. He's acing the program (always been good with computers). A couple years ago he was really interested in his CPT. I think what was holding him back was his psoriasis. A derm gave him useless crap basically and said about 10% get psoriasis like this. So a couple years go by and I say let's find a new derm. Wa-la it's cured. She is a great derm! I was always so busy (lame I know) to push him to find a new derm. So... His confidence and esteem are great now. Funny how that works. I thank God every day.

Anyway Philly, you have got me really motivated! I don't necessarily want to own a gym anymore, but I sure do want my gym regimen back (and not just in the winter which us when I go... I work seven days a week tho 2/3 to 3/4 of the year).

Happy 4th!

Keep on keepin on.

I'm getting on my ab roller and then my bike before work ... Which I have been doin this summer ).

Olivia

philly76

Those are all avenues I'd love to look into. For now I'm taking it day by day. I still have my slips. For now, I'm gonna check out the free Philly Gets Fit program, see if they want volunteers, and try to build up evening obligations, especially on nights when I feel compelled to drink.

I feel like I have a lot of things in place to help kick this nonsense, the only thing missing is me owning up to it.

I hope your son's working his way into a good place. I know what low self esteem feels like. It sucks. I know what it's like to feel like an outcast, and then suddenly be welcomed into a social circle. It's very easy to say yes to every party and drink when you're not used to it. Even at 39, it's still hard to say no.