Why I Became a Personal Trainer
I fell off my motorcycle. (Don’t tell my mom).
Back in the Bay, I spent time riding around with Ethan on my Honda. He lived down in Redwood City, so I’d meet him and we’d spend Saturdays riding the roads in the hills.
Things went well for countless rides. We had chosen to go up to the North Bay for an extended ride, and we spent ten hours riding on the first day.
Standing by my bike in the middle of a ride in the Bay.
Within the first hour of the next day, I took a turn too hard, low-sided my bike, and was laying in the street, confused.
Ethan heard me fall through the headset. I remember hearing him say “uh oh,” and I could tell that he had turned around. I was standing in the street, unsure of what to do next. He ushered me off the road and we got my bike started. It was missing a foot peg and a few things were bent. We rode back to San Francisco.
The adrenaline dump caught up to me later that evening. I felt terrible but also invincible—it was a surreal feeling. I was glad that I was wearing all of my gear—things could have been worse.
I thought I walked away from the encounter relatively unscathed. I did end up selling my bike, but my body was in good shape, as far as I could tell.
I went climbing a week later. I did my usual routine, but I tweaked something in the middle of my back while climbing. Weird, I thought. I’ve had climbing injuries before, but this one felt “out of nowhere.”
Climbing in Kalymnos. I took a 20’ whip where I almost tore myself a new one.
A few months later, my spotter pointed out that I was completely misaligned while I was bench pressing. I went home and realized that my right shoulder drooped far below my left.
Some combination of the two injuries had seriously messed up my shoulder. I still can’t pin it on one event or the other, but I had to make some changes. I was surprised I never noticed.
Fitness was already an integral part of my life that I couldn’t give up. I had been lifting for a number of years, and I needed to resolve this issue to feel right. I tinkered with my shoulder and realized that I did have a limited range of motion.
I went to physical therapy, did yoga and stretching, and saw a chiropractor. Although all of these practices and specialists helped, nothing quite got me to the state I was in before my incidents.
I chose to learn as much as I could on my own, then I took my self-study to the next level. I had already considered getting my personal training certification, and these circumstances pushed me to the point that I was serious about it—I had to expand my knowledge and skills in order to heal.
Through building new skills and lots of experimentation around my own scenario, I resolved the issue with my shoulder. I released tension where needed and strengthened the parts of my back that were long-neglected. I finally felt better after almost a year of discomfort.
Although my motives were initially around my own goals, I found the new knowledge transferred to my immediate circle. I was able to help the friends who I was assisting in the gym (on a casual basis) to a greater degree. I gave out advice to the climbers in my gym like candy—here’s how you build muscle, here’s how you can add resilience to your shoulders, and so on.
Now, I’m not a doctor nor a physical therapist. My experience leads me to help people with their fitness—mostly in building muscle and learning the right mindset around exercise. However, I keep this story in mind with all of my clients and my circle—we only have one body, and I want to share what I know about feeling as good as possible. This remains at the heart of my programs: learn what works for you, how to make it sustainable, and how to incorporate balance and holistic health into your fitness journey.
I’d love to hear from you. What’s one goal you’re chasing with your fitness right now? Reply back—I read every message.
Thanks for reading,
—Kevin
p.s.
If you’re looking for advice on your lifting routine, or you want practical tips which will help build consistency in the gym, check out my Principles, Philosophies, and Programs of Exercise document.
Additionally, I’m building out a free course which contains videos on exercise, stretching and mobility routines, and helpful reminders which will build motivation and consistency in the gym. Find the course here!
