Seeing as we’re still in January, and that healthy kick your on should be still going, here’s an article I did about a Health trainer and one of his clients. Click below to see a PDF of the article as it appeared in the magazine or keep scrolling for a text only version.
Health Trainers – Text only version:
Reflections of a Health Trainer – by Mark Howie
After qualifying I was eager to put my new skills into practice, I had the shells of diet plans and exercise regimes in my mind, just waiting to tailor them for my clients. Jail time can be hard time; it can drag if you let it. I was determined to make the most of my time and I figured that my helping others would be a positive use of my energy.
I had some successes, but I also found men that I could not motivate. They were caught in a rut and couldn’t see a way out. That got me thinking about finding other ways to help. It was then that I realised that most of the men that didn’t want to engage with Health Trainers were not in any activity. At that point I started to try to encourage them to do something, anything. It could be to get a job or to do a course in education. Really it was a matter of just doing something to get out of the cell and off the wing for a bit.
I found that this was often the first step that these lads needed. It seemed to open a door for them which then helped them see other opportunities. Now I see new arrivals in the prison, ideally before they have picked up bad habits here. I try to encourage them to see their arrival here as a new opportunity, a fresh start. I will try to steer them in the right direction. I have the contacts here and I know enough about the prison to guide them and make sure that their enquiries are going to the right people to ensure a swift response.
On a personal note, I get great satisfaction from helping other people. If I am doing my bit to help people, those people in turn might be more inclined to help others. If more and more people do the same it means that the place I live becomes just a little bit more pleasant, which is a win-win for everybody.
I am a far better communicator than I ever was. I have learned to listen, to really understand what somebody is saying. I know that this is something that will help me for the rest of my life.
I have learned to treat everybody I meet as a unique person. There are different solutions for everybody. I now have a mighty, mighty Arsenal of skills that I can use to help other people. However, I am finding that I now look at problems in my own life differently. I have learned to look beyond the obvious solutions and think laterally.
I am far more humble and grateful for what I have. I have seen and heard about some of the problems that my clients are facing; it helps me to keep my own worries in perspective.
When I can help somebody it makes me feel better, and it keeps me determined. I won’t quit, not only for myself, but also because I don’t want to be a hypocrite and let other people down.
Above anything else, I have found a passion that I intend on pursuing after prison and by my having qualifications and certificates I may be able to turn a passion into a career. But I also know that employers want qualifications and experience in their staff. Every single day I am backing up my qualifications with real life experience. Often I am helping clients with complex needs. If and when I am looking for a job I will be excited about the interview. I will have a huge portfolio of work and experience to fall back on. I will be able to quote numerous examples of how I overcame difficulties in real life situations. I will be able to point to a proven track record and show that I will be an excellent candidate for work.
Reflections of a Health Trainer’s client.
I never had a six-pack. It didn’t interest me. I was never much bothered with the gym either. But I had always worked in physical roles, like construction. While I was never super-healthy I was in fairly decent shape.
That changed when I came to prison. It didn’t happen overnight, it was over a period of months and years that I went from a 34 inch waist to pushing 40 inches.
My first solution was to kit myself in joggers and baggy clothes, to hide the gut like a pregnant teen in a strict Catholic family. But even that became a joke.
Mates would stop in mid-sentence when describing other people. I could see their mouths in the ‘F’ shape as they were about to say ‘Fat’ – but they would pause and then describe a moustache, a haircut or an accent instead.
I had been feeling ‘not right’. I was getting the odd chest pain. Even walking upstairs was making me breathless. Even getting dressed, putting on socks was becoming more of an effort.
In December 2017 I finally said enough is enough. I made the resolution! I pledged to myself that I would lose weight from January 2018! I even decided to go on the Vegan diet. But I had no success, and no wonder. I didn’t really have a plan. I didn’t make a note of my starting weight and most importantly, I never set any targets or deadlines. I guess I was thinking that I would physically see the weight falling off me.
Needless to say it didn’t fall off and after a couple of months I got disheartened.
Is it any wonder? While I was eating Vegan food it was still fatty food. Just because a deep fried samosa has no meat doesn’t make it a healthy option! After a break of 6 months I spoke to a Health Trainer.
I was Initially surprised by how knowledgeable he was. He listened to what I wanted to achieve and worked with me to sort of draw a line in the sand. To give me a base point to start forwards from. When I told him I wasn’t much for the gym it was no problem, we would work around that.
But perhaps the biggest change was about diet. It wasn’t a matter of starving myself, but just being careful in the choices I was making. I started keeping a food diary – it worked for me. If I would be embarrassed for it to be seen in the diary then I shouldn’t be eating it! I started exercising – I began with brisk walking on exercise, then I started doing squats in my cell or walking up and down the wing stairs. It didn’t take long until i was starting to get my pace up.
At my first weigh-in on 29th July 2018 my weight had risen up to 108.8Kg (17 stone 2lbs). My first target was to reach 100Kg in two months. I did it with two weeks to spare. I was able to dig out a box from under my bed and fit into jeans that had been tucked away for three years. I then set myself a target to reach 90Kg by the end of the year. On my 12th October weigh in I had gone from 100Kg to 92.9Kg. I hate to sound like one of the TV commercials, but that is a loss of 18kg (2 stone 11lbs) in under three months.
But perhaps the most important thing is that my whole attitude has changed. I am not punishing myself to get to a weight. If I did that I know that I would end up putting the weight right back on again as soon as I went back to my old ways. No, this time I have made permanent changes, I am thinking in the long-term. I will not be obsessed about forever losing weight, instead I know that I will find the balance that works for me. I am happy abort the quantity and type of food I am eating and I am happy about the levels of exercise that I am getting – my weight will find its own level over the next few months.
What made it all possible was the Health Trainer, even though he is a Spurs fan and must be used to disappointment, he was always on hand to offer me the encouragement and support I needed. But it was up to me to take the first step.
