”Once again, the results were dramatic. I lost 14 kilos in three months, and the belly shrank by 7 centimeters. ”
Goodbye Dad Body
I knew I was getting older when I started to buy those ‘Men 50+’ multivitamins. And I knew I was out of shape when a colleague asked (as a joke) if I was pregnant, because of my bulging belly.
I had to take action, and get into shape. In the past I had signed up for a gym, but I didn’t have a personal trainer there. So, I just went when I felt like it, which was … never. I didn’t have the discipline to do a regular workout.
A personal trainer is the key
Then I found Visser Health Coach by Googling for personal trainers in the Leiden region. I signed up immediately. I was assigned a personal trainer, Nick. He is a very friendly, experienced coach who quickly figured out my needs. They gave me an app for my mobile phone called Lijfstijl. This app tracks your progress (change in weight, muscle mass, BMI etc.).
Unfortunately, Nick was mostly booked up at the times I wanted (after work). So I was assigned to another coach, Sven, who is another experienced and skillful coach. He is a nice guy, and quickly made me feel comfortable. He reserved a regular 1 hour training session 2 x a week. Sven has been my trainer ever since.
The Visser gyms are private. You don’t have to feel self-conscious in front of a whole load of other customers, and you don’t have to wait to get to on the apparatus that you want. In fact, only three trainers and their clients work at the same time in the Oegstgeest gym. This gives the gym a small, friendly feel. The clients are men and women of all ages, just ordinary people who want to get into shape.
It takes hard work
The first few weeks of training were not fun. In fact, I hated it because it was such hard work. But a personal trainer makes it possible. Sven kept me motivated. He does a mix of calorie-burning exercises (rowing machine, bikes) that raise the heartbeat; and power exercises (bench presses etc.) for building muscle. He also mixes in different upper and lower body exercises, with abdomen exercises for a flatter belly, so all muscle groups in your body get a good workout without overdoing it.
Dramatic results
A couple of months later, I was amazed by the results. I was getting stronger, and I could see that I was getting good muscle definition. Of course, a 50+ er is not going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger but I certainly started looking more toned and fit. My balance and coordination also improved. And an unexpected bonus: the mild back pain, that I had for years, disappeared. Probably because I had better muscle tone.
Things get easier
As the weeks passed, the exercises got easier for me, and so Sven gradually made them more challenging. When I first started at Visser, and tried to do step-ups onto a box, I would wobble and nearly fall off. Now, I can do it easily. The biggest shock for me was pushups. I tried to do pushups a couple of years ago – but I couldn’t raise my body off the floor. So, when Sven said to me: ‘Do 10 pushups’ I said ‘That’s impossible’. Nonetheless, I tried – and did 10 pushups easily. Wow! At last, I was really beginning to enjoy the gym sessions.
I told Sven that I wanted to step it up so we switched to 3x per week, the extra session being on Saturday. I also wanted to lose more fat, so Sven configured the diet app in Lijfstijl to track my daily food intake. I enter every meal and drink into the app, and it calculates how many more calories you can eat that day. It is easy because you can scan the barcode on the food packaging and the app enters the details automatically.
Once again, the results were dramatic. I lost 15 kilos in three months (20 kg in total), and the belly shrank by 7 centimeters.
So here I am, a few months on, fitter and healthier. I am also much more confident in my appearance. The downsides? My jeans are now so loose round the waist that I had to get extra holes punched in my belt. And yes, it costs money to have a good personal trainer. But money spent on improving your body and health is a good investment.
