Do you have a mentor within the fitness industry?
Yes, on several levels.
Some, I’ve trained with for many hours – Sue Hitzman of MELT, my RYT-200 yoga instructor, and several of the educators and management within Zumba. Also, they physical therapist who helps put me back together whenever I do something stupid and need to be put back together; an hour with him talking technically about what I did to myself, how to fix it, and any ramifications for my clients is like taking a half-day seminar.
Moderate mentors – those presenters who I’ll attend workshops from again and again, and will read anything they have published, but we have had little direct contact.
Indirect mentors – people I’ve only attended a time or two, or read a few articles, but I like what they’ve had to say and have learned a new perspective from them.
I follow the teachings of many fitness professionals. I learn something from even those that I disagree with or consider to be off course. It is very important to find out what others are doing in the industry. What is working and what isn’t working. The new ideas and theories, are they flufff or solid? What we can take out of a new trend that is great and what needs to be discarded. Most days, I spend at least an hour looking into what is happening in our industry and what new (or new to me) information is out there that I can make good use of for my clients and myself.
My approach to training has been influenced be a great meny people but the biggest impact came from Sue Hitzman who I first met at IDEA World Fitness in August of 2009. I have subsequently become a MELT instructor.
What made the difference for me was her new way to look at the body as she established a connection between fascia and the autonomous nervous system. Her MELT method has fundamentally changed my training, and I look at her as a mentor and role model in her amazing understanding of the human body.
I have a couple but my biggest ones are Chalene Johnson and Jillian Michaels.
I have lots of contact with Chalene, I have her book and I can’t wait to meet her at Camp Do More this year! It has helped me because she focuses on the whole lifestyle rather than just the fitness aspect.
Also, she is very good at helping people establish their top priorities in life and building success from there.