Daniel used to run up to 40km a week but still wasn’t getting the results he wanted. He put his trust in his ATP Personal Training Coach and after just 20 weeks he lost almost 20kg to become healthier than ever - and got the abs he always wanted too!
What made you decide to sign up for coaching with ATP Personal Training?
It wasn’t a ‘what’, so much as a ‘who’ – my wife had been trying to encourage me to train with weights for years and a good husband always does what his wife says!
I’d actually been running for years, almost my whole life, but somehow I was always skinny-fat and I never looked quite the way I wanted. My weight would get down to a certain point and not budge and none of my clothes would really fit properly. In the end I realised I needed to try a different approach and I’m so glad I did; ATP Personal training has really changed my whole perception of what weight training is.
"You can use that discipline in all aspects of your life, not only at the gym. It crosses over into everything you do. It's made me better at work, better at home."
How would you compare yourself from day one to today in terms of fitness, mindset, physique, and health?
Physically, I look completely different. I’ve got abs now! Fitness-wise I can run a 5K in under 22 minutes, so I’m fitter and healthier than I was when I was just running.
As far as mindset, I think if you can dedicate yourself to training for a long period of time, it shows discipline, and you can use that discipline in all aspects of your life, not only at the gym. It crosses over into everything you do. It’s made me better at work, better at home.
Overall, both mentally and physically, I’m a different person to what I was five or six months ago.
It might sound funny but I feel as though I am better than before somehow. Being stronger in the gym makes me feel that I can tackle anything in life. I can do the hard stuff at work, then come home and still be daddy, throwing my girls up in the air. They seem to get lighter as they get bigger, which is good for me! I think being fitter, healthier and stronger just makes me feel so much better in myself.
As you know, ATP Personal training teaches clients the concept of D.N.A. (Daily Routine, Nutrition, Activity). Which of these was the most challenging part of the journey for you?
For me, it wasn’t actually any of those things that was the most difficult; there is so much support from my ATP Coach Jerome, and I can control my food and be disciplined with my training without too much trouble. The hardest thing for me personally was simply being honest with myself and with my coach all the time. For example, if I wanted to eat something I knew I shouldn’t, I knew I’d have to tell my coach and also be able to look at myself in the mirror and be honest with myself if I wasn’t sticking to the plan.
He would ask me every day, “How are you sleeping?”, “What are you doing when you’re not at the gym?”, “What are you eating?”, and it made me really think about the answers to those questions and how I wanted to be able to answer them. Being honest with myself has forced me to change my mindset, and how I view food and diet.
What were your initial goals and expectations when you first joined ATP Personal Training?
Initially I think I wanted to lose 10 kgs and maybe learn a bit more about food and diet, hopefully feel healthier too. Never did I think I would ever get the results I have in such a short time. I had always wanted to look in the mirror and see some defined abs, but I thought it would be a consistent two year effort, nothing close to what we actually achieved!
What did you enjoy most about the process?
I have really enjoyed the whole journey. I enjoyed the people and just how being part of ATP Personal Training made me feel. Coming here every day, it’s really friendly; everyone says good morning, it’s surprisingly relaxed. My ATP Coach Jerome and I have a really good relationship; we have a good bond and good banter! But we both also know that we have to get the work done.
I think the straightforward approach at ATP is the thing I like the most.
"Being stronger in the gym makes me feel that I can tackle anything in life. I can do the hard stuff at work, then come home and still be daddy, throwing my girls up in the air."
What is the one thing that you’d recommend to someone about to start their fitness journey?
The one thing I would tell them is just to trust everything. What I mean by that is you have to trust your trainer, listen to what they have told you and trust the process.
You need to have an end goal in mind and want to get somewhere, but you’ve really got to enjoy that journey as well. Again, trust is the key. Trust the advice, trust your trainer, and listen to everything you’re told, and you will get there. Quicker than you think.
The truth is, if you want to achieve the goal, you’ve got to follow the process.
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