CASE STUDY - JERRY SULLIVAN
COMPANY DIRECTOR
DURATION: 1 YEAR
INITIAL WEIGH IN: 122kg
FINAL WEIGH IN: 94kg
INCHES LOST: 12 inches lost
SELF CONFIDENCE GAINED: 100%
We received a call from one of our newest Team Training members, Emily about purchasing some PT sessions for her dad.
She was worried about his health and decided it was worth a shot at what might be the last chance to sort him out before something serious happened to his health.
As a dad with very young children, I had mixed emotions. Part anger at Jerry having let it get to the point that it worried his children but also part pride in the way he’s clearly raised his children to want to do such an honourable thing. So after wiping away the tears, I asked Emily to simply make sure Jerry got in touch with me and I promised that I would handle the rest.
A cry for help
Our first meeting was an emotional one.
Jerry was sat in front of me, looking tired and sad and he broke down.
Part of this was a cry for help and part was embarrassment. Jerry is a proud man (which I can now confirm knowing him so much better).
The thing is, he’s not alone. We all put ourselves last when it comes to prioritising life and as someone who had massive responsibilities at work and hundreds of staff all turning to him for guidance and payment at the end of the week, he was understandably worn out.
I will also mention at this point that he drank excessively.
Alcohol is a touchy subject for me.
I have lost family to it and I have family who abuse it and as a personal trainer, I have seen how dependant people can be on it.
I’m no saint. I have had a hard time building OnPoint to where it is today and used to turn to alcohol to numb the pain of not being able to provide for my family, but I have always been a very disciplined kid which I owe to martial arts and a wonderful, supportive wife. Luckily for me, I was able to get my shit together and turn it round.
Anyway, back to Jerry…
We had a good chat and I told him straight. You’re an idiot for getting yourself into this state but I promise you, I will go out of my way to help you make positive changes for the better. Despite me not wanting him to, we eventually agreed that it would take him not drinking at all to solve this.
Making it personal
I’ve never been a fan of completely cutting things out of my clients’ diets but what I have learnt over the years is it comes down to doing what that individual needs, regardless of whether that’s in the personal trainer handbook or not. I have found that all too often, trainers regurgitate what they have read in their textbooks and forget to humanise what they do. We are all human beings with emotions and we need to be handled differently in order to encourage us to progress. So sometimes you have to go against what you’ve been taught on your course and make a decision based on being a human being.
That’s what we did and I was wrong, Jerry was right. It needed to be all or nothing!
At 122kg, any exercise was going to be tough for Jerry. So I took it right back to the beginning. No fancy workouts or whatever you see on Instagram these days, it was purely about moving, getting his heart rate up, breaking into a bit of a sweat and making sure he was given as much rest as he needed before going again.
Over the months, I was able to feed him a bit more and begin to play with a few more things because the weight was falling off, he could move better and most noticeably, he was able to do more in every session which is always a good sign of your fitness.
Positive little changes
After about 6 months, Jerry was catching up with the level of participants in our Team Training classes, and I suggested he give it a go. Now being very private, he wasn’t sure but he trusted me and so we began to book him onto one class per week in addition to his PT with me twice a week.
Jerry loves his wife dearly and he had her support from the very beginning so I made sure they kept their weekly walk in his schedule and eventually that went from a brisk walk and stopping for coffee to walking for miles and eventually looking for a more challenging way to exercise together. Today, Jerry and his wife Sarah both take part in Team Training at the weekends, on both Saturdays and Sundays.
By June he was really starting to enjoy exercise and it was becoming part of his life. He was becoming an OnPoint Fitness household name because his work ethic is amazing, his journey inspiring and it was increasingly noticeable that his body was transforming.
I received a WhatsApp message from his daughter Emily in September that brought me to tears about how much we’ve helped her dad and the positive effect it has had on his health, his work and their family life.
I’ve never been good at taking credit, so I brushed it off a bit but it was a message that came at the right time and I hold on to with great pride.
Jerry’s diet!
Despite what you may think, we never actually discussed diet until about 6 months into his training. I kept an eye on what he was doing by asking what he’d eaten that day and what he had planned but not once did I say you can only eat this or that. In fact, I let him learn for himself the importance of eating enough and making better choices.
He’s a smart guy but we all need a bit of guidance and that’s when I asked him to join me on my annual fitness retreat in Cyprus so I could take him away from it all and show him. I love the place, and it’s amazing waking up in a warm climate and going out to do a bit of exercise, then having a lovely breakfast before relaxing by the pool only to do it all again the next day, stress free.
So I knew he would like it, I knew he could do with it and I knew he would get a lot from it.
As a result, he did join us and we developed a bond that will last a long time. My little girl Sophia who is 3 years old also took a shining to him which basically meant he had to sit next to her at dinner and I could pass him the reading Beauty and the Beast responsibilities!
Amazing transformation
So when the 1 year mark arrived for Jerry, it was time to take his progress pictures and do a final weigh in before signing off what had clearly been a great year for him. Not only had Jerry lost 64lbs (4.5 stone) this year but a huge 12 inches of fat has come off from his stomach area.
The last time Jerry visited his GP for his annual check up, she told him he was borderline diabetic but after his recent trip, that is no longer a problem and everything is considered healthy.
To conclude, it’s been an amazing year. Despite the amazing weight loss and life changing results, Jerry has actually helped me just as much. He has given me the opportunity to further develop my skills as a coach. I’ve never been a bookworm, I do my studying in real life but I have realised that there is so much more to learn. He has also passed on some invaluable business advice that I will and have used to amazing effect.
So, Jerry, thank you for walking through our doors. You are a very special person and now you’re where you deserve to be. Happy and healthy!
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