Love Handles, Volleyball and College Girls

Greetings and Salutations,

I was in the gym, had a few moments between clients, and to pass the time, I went to the 'other side' - yes, the club management office.

As a trainer, I've seen 'bad blood' between the management staff of the club and the personal trainer staff. That isn't really the case at our gym, save for a few individuals.

We were chatting about random things, when this tall, college-aged, somewhat athletic looking girl comes in to ask the manager a question...

A Fitness question.

She promptly looked at me, and said "Trainer...?"

I introduced myself, and got to the root of the issue: LOVE HANDLES! How to rid them?

I asked how bad the problem was - to which she promptly lifted her shirt and turned around.

(That, I wasn't expecting. I was anticipating some sort of explanation of the situation, maybe a reference to a 'muffin top' or something)

She wasn't doing nearly as bad as she thought, but, to humor the young gal, I began a Q/A about her nutrition, current exercise, sleep habits, etc.


Her alibi was 'college' for her atrocious eating and abnormal sleep. Eh - it happens. At least she's active (Volleyball practice).

That led into hormones, fat disposition/burning, and insulin sensitivity....

To which she replied:

'So....there's no exercise I can do to get rid of them?'

"No, there is no magic pill" ( I didn't say that, but I probably could have)

No, for the most part, you can't 'spot-reduce' fat. ALTHOUGH

You can keep the area active, which I believe encourages fatty acid mobilization

AND, you can do intense intervals on a bike after strength training, which was shown in an Australian study a while back to encourage fat burning from the mid-section (For whatever reason).

I wasn't rambling - but she walked away, looking somewhat disappointed. I reminded her we are always available for questions and help.

The good news? One more college-athlete pre-disposed to beauty concerns and subsequently the lies that float around out there, I believe was slightly more educated, albeit disappointed as well.

The Truth hurts  - but it also sets you free.
Some days later, I saw her going through a fitness assessment with another trainer. YES! Even though she didn't buy training, I KNOW she came away more informed and better able to address her own fitness.

To me, that is a victory. Changing the world - one person at a time, a little bit at a time, one thought at a time.

Strength and Honor,

JG