Growing up in a family that praised physical activity as the perfect way to fill any spare time, I was always on the move. From getting my black belt in taekwondo, to dancing almost every day of the week, my life was extremely activity dependant.
When I made the decision that dance was no longer my goal, I felt lost in what to do. Out of curiosity, I joined a gym through which the community was said to be one of the strongest, and finally began to feel in my element once again. It was there that I met one of my mentors, who encouraged me to look into becoming a trainer myself.
Driven by the idea, I got my spin instruction certification in the beginning of 2016, and was prepared to start the training needed to become a personal and group trainer. I felt like I had finally found my place in something that I genuinely loved to do, but it was not meant to be just yet.
In May of 2016, a medical diagnosis turned what I thought would be a straight and upward hill into a mountain that I really didn’t think I was going to get over.
While pain and fatigue kept me in bed for days on end, my mental state and goals began to deteriorate as well. I began to lose my strength and ultimately, the belief that I would ever be able to accomplish what I had initially set out to do.
My entire mindset was focused around “why is this happening to me, and why now?”.
It wasn’t until, finally opening up and talking to someone I was close to, that I was able to change my mindset from “why is this happening to me” to “what can I do to help myself get through this challenge today, so I can reach my goals tomorrow?”.
Slowly, I began to refocus my energy on, rather than feeling sorry for myself, helping myself get as strong as was possible. I began to do all that I could to emphasize and adhere to my treatment plans, researching foods and other natural agents to assist in easing symptoms and finally, slowly beginning to make my way back into the gym. Starting simple, I was able to start building my strength back up. The gym became a sort of outlet for me, where I was not a patient, or someone that people felt sorry for, but rather I was someone training their hardest, building their strength and reaching their goals. It was somewhere that, despite my new limitations, I was able to push myself and feel the reward of my efforts with every step I took.
My body was clearly listening as, soon after beginning to make these changes, both physically and mentally, the treatments began to work wonders, I was up and moving so much more than I had been, and my goals of becoming a trainer started to become reality once again.
By the summer of 2017, I began an intensive personal training course for three months, finally taking my exam and becoming certified as soon as I turned 18 and was able, even breaking the record for highest score on the exam of all the school’s students to date, essentially reaching my goals and breaking through the ceiling that I had unknowingly built above myself. Of course, had it not been for my amazing family and friends, who supported me each and every day, and helped me to completely rebuild my entire limiting mindset, I would have been sucked into the negativity that I was surrounding myself with.
Today, I not only know my own limitations and how to break through them, but I know how to relate to my clients who may be going through similar struggles. I am able to prevent them from losing themselves in the mindset that I initially was lost in, and am rewarded by watching them reach goals that they never thought they could. I am working as a coach in that same gym that I worked out in for the first time, and am continuing to build my strength and mindset. Although I have a long ways to go, I know now that I have the ability to get there with the right focus, despite any obstacles that may pop up. Looking back, I wouldn’t change my experience for anything, because I now know that I, and everyone around me, can continue succeeding, whatever success may look like to each of us, so long as we continue to push ourselves in the face of what it is (we believe) is holding us back.
Nicole Korac, Trainer.
Any individuals in sports and fitness who would like to share their voice, please submit to hank@hankfittraining.com