Fit For Life: What if I’m The Bad Guy?

Saturday, April 09, 2016

Matt Espeut, GoLocalPDX Health +Lifestyle Contributor

Last week someone told me a couple of people said "I'm not a fan of Matt" - after they attended my orientation. Another woman told me "I wasn't crazy about you" - as she signed a one-year contract to my Fit Body Boot Camp. "Take me off your list, I don't want your emails anymore" was a reply I received from someone that had previously signed up for my mailing list. Does this bother me? Hell no! It fuels me! Why you ask? Because for every one of those comments, I get 100 telling me how joining my facility, and working with my team has changed their lives. I am a realistic person, and I know you can’t please everyone, and not everyone is going to like you regardless of how hard you try. I know deep down I am not a bad person. I give thousands of dollars a year to charity; I give hours of my time as a volunteer strength coach to an inner city football team; I go into middle schools and talk to children about fitness, and nutrition; and my mission is to help thousands of people change their lives, look, feel, and move better, have more self esteem, become healthier, and live more of a productive life. Not the criteria of a "bad guy", right? But - a lot of people don't like my approach because I tell it like it is, and the truth can hurt. If you don't like what I say, or how I say it, then I might be hitting a nerve – and what I’m saying applies - to you.

Fix it.

When I am at a conference and a speaker tells the audience what people do wrong, and it applies to me, I don't hate the speaker. I am self aware of the things I do wrong, and come home and fix it. If you are out of shape, feel terrible about yourself, are sick, or in pain all the time, and you come into my facility, or read one of my articles for help, I start by telling you it’s your responsibility to apply some effort, and to take accountability for your actions. The only way to improve your situation is to start with you, and your wanting to be better. I then tell you that you have to do the work, and it needs to start with you making some changes in your life. The first being mindset. You need to want to be healthier more than you want to eat that doughnut, or drink the can of soda. Then you need to be willing to do the work, and follow my plan. Because my plan works, and yours didn’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be talking to me. I am here for you and can provide all you need to succeed. Don't get mad at me when I don't accept your excuses of why you "can't" do something. Because excuses and procrastination got you to where you are in the first place. And, I know how to fix it, and doing something 1/2 way isn’t going to cut it.

You can do it. And, I do care.

Yes, you can do it – and you are worth the effort. Don’t take me the wrong way. I care. I care, and will go out of my way for any individual that seeks my help, but it’ll be tough love. I won’t baby you, and coddle your emotions. I won’t accept anything less than your best effort, because I know that when people give their best effort, success follows, and you are no different than anyone else. Everyone at my Fit Body Boot Camp, from clients to coaches are required to carry a positive mindset here. You can’t say “I can’t” or get down on yourself. If that happens, you are immediately corrected, and we help you reprogram to an “I can do it” attitude. We thrive on encouragement here. If you only want to be told what you want to hear, then I am not the guy for you. If you want to know what you need to do to improve your current health and fitness situation, and want guaranteed results, then do give me a call. I would rather be appreciated and respected for my knowledge than liked. Yes, I may come across as a little harsh, and I don’t have much of a filter sometimes with my words, but the hundreds of people that I have helped lose thousands of pounds will tell you that it’s worth it. Compare it to eating broccoli. The first time might not have been the best experience, but after awhile you realize and appreciate the benefits. After you experience the positive changes you will make by working with me and my team, you’re going to realize that deep down the “bad guy” isn’t all that bad.

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

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MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

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MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

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JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

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YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

Made for iPhone only

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SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android