My Personal Training story with Julia Casal (2010)

I wrote this in 2010 for a competiton at my gym, where I had to deliver my Personal Training experience. I won the competiton for Spain and was runner up in UK. 

I joined the David Lloyd in December 2007, having just found out that I was pregnant with my second child. The obvious choice would have been to not join a new club given my situation and not knowing whether I would be able to justify the membership. However, I was encouraged by the sales rep at the club to get in the hands of a personal trainer and work out at a slower pace, ensuring I would not take any risks on overdoing my training. This convinced me and I was keen to discover the likes of being taken care of by a professional trainer.

I was introduced to Julia and explained my situation to her. She immediately took on board my needs, my weak points and above all made me feel very comfortable with her. I have always been keen on keeping fit, though I never knew my true potential till she pushed me and encouraged me to try out workouts that I never imagined I was capable of doing.

During my whole pregnancy she guided me so smoothly that at times I never even thought I was pregnant. Once I started to get heavier we slowed down my pace and started working on stretching more and getting a more mental preparation for the time of birth. During my fourth month I suffered an asthma crisis when travelling abroad and I came back with a fair amount of fear in my mind, questioning if it was safe to continue working out. Julia approached this fear very cautiously and explained to me it was entirely up to me and we could take it slowly without any pressure.

I went on training till I remember one day, now almost in my eighth month she told me that I had lasted this long at the gym thanks to my dedication and perseverance. I would like to add to that her words of encouragement and a unique way to always make me feel like I was making progress, even on my worst days.

Once my daughter was born, she suddenly took reigns of my body and we both realised how much work needed to be done. Undoubtedly I did feel energetic, only thanks to the fact that I had not stopped for 9 months, but as she would say “you need to feel like you are at a level of 9/10 now”. During my pregnancy we never crossed 5 or 6/10. I understood at this point how tactfully she had managed to keep me within the safe realms of realistic fitness standards for a pregnant woman. Her upmost concern at all times had been the baby!

We commenced with body pump classes at 7.30am, which was the only time of the day I could give to the gym then with a new born who I was nursing. Looking back I don’t know how I even found the motivation to come to the gym so early on such cold mornings. During my time with Julia she actually discovered that I may need to wear insoles as I had a tendency to injure my knees caused by incorrect treading of my feet on the ground. This changed my life as I realised I could do so much more once my knees and feet stopped hurting as much.

With time we brought back my cardio levels and within less than a year after giving birth I was running and actually considering mini marathons. I give most of the credit to Julia, again for her constant push and silent dedication she gave to me, even during group classes.

As time has gone by I have discovered a fitness level in me which cannot be matched to anything I have ever felt in my whole life. I am 32 years old but feel like I am in my 20s. Julia has turned my life around a full 180ºC. After this pregnancy it’s not just the weight loss I have valued but more the energy and vitality I have gained. This has enabled me to run two races, attend spinning classes and do advanced Pilates with an ease I cannot explain! The treadmill has become my best friend and going to the gym has become a drug which I actually miss when I let go for more than a week. Julia finds innovative workouts for me to follow and I never get bored of them.

People ask me where I find the time to go to the gym with two children to take care of, a home to manage and work part time. I have learnt in the last two years that you are nothing if your health is not with you. Being in the hands of a trainer has given me my health back and bettered my quality of life. Despite having a background of asthma I have learnt that such obstacles simply need to be controlled and not allow them to control you.  

In simple terms I consider my personal trainer an investment which has given me high returns without any extra interest or risks incurred!

Julia was my first ever trainer and at this moment in time I would not give her up for anyone else.