This is a story about a client I've known for several years. We’ll call him Jack. I first met Jack years ago as his personal trainer but, over the last several years, had lost touch with him. Jack recently called me from his hospital bed. After a few conversations, I went to see Jack and was shocked to learn that he had gained a massive amount of weight and had been in the hospital for the last several weeks with health issues. By the time I saw him, he had received seven blood transfusions, yet his doctors seemed to have no idea what the problem was.
A few weeks later, Jack was out of the hospital but not strong enough to make it up the stairs to his apartment. I convinced him to clean up his eating habits and started him on some beneficial supplements to rebuild his body, a strategy that worked out very well. The next time he had blood work done, there was a major improvement.
Now it’s time for major physical and extensive blood work to identify his health issues, and Jack has backed out twice on appointments made with a top-notch physician and medical facility to get a complete assessment of his health and physical well-being. Jack keeps making promises to change his lifestyle but always finds excuses to bow out.
This has been an ongoing battle between Jack and me over the last two years. Jack knows he is a ticking time bomb so I no longer pursue him on a weekly basis trying to get him to change. To say I’m frustrated is an understatement, but I will not give up. Hopefully, Jack will realize how much he has to live for before he has a major health issue that he can’t recover from or ends up needing pallbearers.
In situations such as this, a client becomes his own worst enemy. Many other trainers who have encountered this type of client get so frustrated that they just give up and move on. I haven’t yet given up on Jack, as I still have hope he will commit to a healthier lifestyle, but only time will tell where his story will end.