What can be accomplished in 12 weeks? Advertising has plenty of answers that, no doubt, popped into your mind, but as a full-time personal trainer, I have another set. Is your progress on my list?
In 12 weeks, you could…
- Go from doing a pretty competent full ROM push-up to doing a full pull-up, possibly from a dead hang
- Walk over 300 miles without a major sacrifice
- Safely build up to running 3 miles without stopping, with just 1-2 run workouts each week
- Eat somewhere north of 135,000 calories, hopefully most of them delicious and in good company
- Participate in almost 100 hours of Zumba….just me??
But let’s get more detailed about the things folks assume are my main focus as a trainer.
In 12 weeks, how much weight could you lose? My clients know that I focus more on the measuring tape and the bodyfat meter than the scale when we talk about metrics; with 1-2x weekly strength training and nutrition that’s within your window of tolerance, I would definitely expect to see inches and composition change in 12 weeks. The amount varies on your specific inputs…in the first 12 weeks of this year I’ve had clients drop anywhere from 2-10 inches, and from a very important 2lb to 13lb of bodyfat while preserving or building muscle mass. Their sparkling progress came from managing their stress (let’s be real, that usually means “getting it out of your life”, because sometimes stress management recommendations are about as helpful as “managing” a wild animal that keeps tearing your living room apart and working to become better at pretending you don’t mind gritting your teeth and patching up your couch again), eating a macronutrient balance that works for them, lifting weights twice a week for each major muscle group, and getting 2-3 hours of cardio a week.
While that kind of talk is often why folks seek out a trainer, what I get really excited about is this kind of 12-week progress:
- learning how to handle prepping/cooking/purchasing and eating a nutritious breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or snack) even on busy days, travel days, tired days, and f-it-all days
- navigating fitting in workout time around relationships, work, and all of life’s other obligations
- finding out you love some aspect of your workout and now you look forward to it
- unpacking some of your food baggage and releasing some of the demons that just don’t need to haunt you and are really exhausting because we all need to eat 3-4 times a day, every single day, and that is a lot of demon time
- discovering reasons to appreciate the body that is your home 24/7 instead of tearing it apart, so now you actually want to take care of it
- feeling safe and secure in your nervous system because you took enough downtime and found enough ways to rest to stop feeling like your world is on fire all the time, so now you can make rational and heartfelt choices that are best for you instead of trundling along in your survival gear
Both can be true, right? I am often working in the world of weight loss/muscle gain while quietly (usually) advocating for that last list. You’re a person, not a project or a collection of flaws or problems to be mitigated, and I will always see you as a whole person. I hope that, no matter what progress you’ve made in the first 12 weeks of this year, that you find something you love in your next workout, and that you take a quick pause to appreciate the amazing progress you’ve made but maybe pushed to the side while you were so focused on another aspect of your goals. (I’ll be here to celebrate with you!)
Come shake off some of that stress with me and the crew – it’s free!
- Wednesday 6:30pm Zumba at Jerabeck Athletic Center (free; second floor dance studio, street parking)
- Saturday 9:30am Zumba at Montrose Collective (free, meets at 888 Westheimer, street/garage parking, and make sure to use your Zumba discount at the Plant Project!)
- Sunday 9am Zumba (free, meets at Levy Park – 3801 Eastside)
- Monday 6:30pm Zumba (free, meets at Levy Park – 3801 Eastside)
