Letter to David Gilks
Lori Multari
This past August, I experienced what I believed was a Bride-to-Be's worst nightmare come true - my wedding dress was too small (by quite a bit!). With only a month until my wedding, I was absolutely devastated. I was stunned that there was such a significant difference in my size between April and August (time between buying the dress and one month prior to wedding). During that time I had been suffering with medical problems. I was well aware that I had gained weight, but nowhere near prepared for the effect it had on the fit of my wedding dress.
I was so upset with myself, I had to express my feelings to someone... I confided my situation to my very good friend Kris. She was so great, offering words of support and encouragement. She also offered her time as a walking partner as often as our schedules would permit. A few days later, my fiance and I attended our Jack and Jill party/wedding shower. I enjoyed myself, but was so worried about how I would fit into my dress, I didn't even want to eat or drink. That night I received a gift like no other. It was a small, rolled up piece of paper, stating that the bearer would receive an Assessment by David Gilks at Core Essentials, including cardiovascular risk assessment, body composition, biomechanical screening, dietary analysis and menu planning, and primary exercise prescription. I was stunned and speechless (remarkable for me!) ... I was so touched that my friends would give me this opportunity. Suddenly I felt like I had some direction with regard to my wedding dress predicament.
I called David and we set up an appointment right away, as time was definitely of the essence. This was my first time meeting David, and I felt an immediate connection. He seemed like someone I could speak openly with, and share fears, successes and humour, too! We discussed my goal (to trim as much off my midsection as possible) and our time frame (one month). David did a core assessment on me (I had very little core strength). He explained the importance of a strong core, and that I would need to start with basic core strengthening. Initially I felt a little disappointed, as I had expected David's approach to be similar to those of other personal trainers I had met previously. I very quickly understood the importance of a strong core to overall good physical health and strength, and any disappointment was replaced with a new understanding.
Dietary changes were a part of David's recommendations for me. This would mean a major reconstruction of my diet. I would need to start eating a lot more protein and a lot less fat and starchy carbohydrates. The amount of food seemed more than adequate, as did the meal intervals (5-6 times per day). The dietary plan that David set up for me seemed reasonable, something I felt like I could do.
Armed with new information, a couple of core strengthening exercises, a dietary plan, the motivation to succeed, and the knowledge that I had such an inspiring, motivating, magnanimous individual guiding the way, I left my first session with David. I had a huge smile spread across my face, and a lightness in my step that hadn't been there for a long time.
I met with David once a week for the next month. Each session started with a check-in about how I was doing with regards to diet and exercise, health concerns, and my feelings around how I was doing, and how emotions and stress may be affecting my program. This was somewhat of a new experience for me, as I'd never had a personal trainer who'd taken such a holistic approach. David asked about hurdles or other difficulties I'd encountered. Together we would strategize to determine ways in which I could avoid or overcome these, and other obstacles, in the future.
Following a discussion of the previous week, our sessions would usually include me giving David a demonstration of the exercises learned previously, to ensure I was doing them correctly and getting the maximum benefit from them. One of the things I was very pleasantly surprised about was that David didn't give me a long list of different exercises to do. He focussed on a few core strengthening exercises (as well as cardiovascular training) that we built on each week. I was so accustomed to doing a number of different exercises for each of the major muscle groups. Seeing the positive effects of only few exercises was very encouraging and exciting. It also erased a lot of the long-held beliefs that I had about exercising (especially those surrounding the need for expensive gym equipment). All the exercises that I did required no equipment at all!
Other things David taught me include consciously focussing on specific muscle groups to perform a particular exercise (as opposed to just doing the exercise), thus maximizing the benefit of the movements. I've learned simple movements to incorporate into my daily life (for example, while walking, standing or sitting) that contribute to increased core strength. I couldn't help but laugh the day David said that part of our session would include him teaching me how to walk! What he meant, I would quickly learn, was that he would show me some ways that would help me improve my posture and form, and contribute to more efficient and effective movement. These things combined would, in turn, help me gain a stronger core, better posture, a longer stride and stronger butt and leg muscles.
Each session with David was informative, encouraging, motivating and uplifting. The information he provided was presented in a number of different ways including discussion, demonstration, return demonstration and pictures. I found the concepts easy to grasp, and it was very helpful to go out and run with David, and get pointers on running technique, as opposed to having him explain it to me (or have it written out) and go out and do it alone. It was reassuring to know that he was watching me go through the motions, and making suggestions, and for me to feel the differences when following through with them.
David's continuing display of knowledge is astounding. I find our discussions extremely interesting, and his information greatly enhances my knowledge of how our bodies function. David's down-to-earth approach to my “wedding dress’ situation was comforting and realistic. From the first time I met David, I felt like I had known him for a long time. I was comfortable discussing my weight issues, my fears and struggles with food. I'd seen David's picture in the newspapers before I met him - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about having him as my personal trainer. I had preconceived ideas about him that couldn't have been further from the truth. I thought I would be uncomfortable because I was overweight, and he was so fit. I cannot emphasize how at ease and comfortable I felt with David from our first meeting. He wasn't intimidating, judgmental or critical... just very supportive, inspiring and so very positive!
Perhaps the most important part of my program was the pieces about internal dialogue. David and I spoke about this in each of our sessions, and how negative self-talk can sabotage success. I have struggled with this in the post, and David picked up on it right away. If I spoke negatively about myself, he didn't placate me with responses such as "you're not fat" or "don't be silly." Instead, he would explain how such comments and thoughts were detrimental to my overall success, and expending energy on what I didn't want depleted my reserves, leaving less for me to use towards going after what I did want.
After one short month I am happy to say how wonderful I feel. Had I not experienced it myself, I would have never believed that I would notice such a change in my overall health after such a short time. The increase in my core strength has helped my posture, and eliminated some back pain. My flexibility has increased and I'm sleeping better. I'm not at my ideal weight or fitness level, but that wasn't my goal (and it would have been unrealistic anyway!) - my goal was to get into my wedding dress. I still had to have my dress altered, but not as much as I would have if I'd never had the amazing opportunity of having David Gilks of Core Essentials as my personal trainer.
Most importantly, I felt beautiful on my wedding day!
Lori Multari
