The book I’m currently reading states that a majority of Personal Trainers don’t make it after their first two years. Well, it’s been just over two years into my fitness career and I am far from giving up. I’ve realized that whether I work for myself or for a gym, my success as a trainer is my responsibility. I am in control of how many peoples lives I change and I like that. My passion, vision, strategy and values are what will carry me as far as I want to go.

Furthermore, I want to help as many people possible at the highest feasible quality. This is a tricky one. Yes, I could give out some template I put together in 30 minutes and sell it to hundreds of people on the internet for $50, but is that truly going to help people? Maybe temporarily but certainly not indefinitely. Most likely, a basic template will consist of information/exercises they could find for free on the internet if they really looked hard enough. Bodybuilding.com is a great, free resource for example. Something I will always practice is genuinely investing in anyone who approaches me for help. I will always build custom programs that truly cater to an individual’s goals and needs while forcing them to learn as they go. This is entirely less profitable but I would much rather truly change lives over wasting the time and money of people who just need a little direction/education (only to be stuck in the same cycle they started in). I am here to make an impact not an income.

Another challenging concept I find many people of all professions struggle with is accepting your own rate of progress (ie not comparing yourself to others who do what you do). I want to ALWAYS be grateful for where I’m at, how far I’ve come and how much more I want to accomplish. This is a tough one! Seeing other people so ‘far ahead’ of you and accomplishing things that you also strive to do can be hard and discouraging but it absolutely shouldn’t be. Every error, victory, plateau and struggle serves a purpose and that is to learn, grow and become more of your own, unique brand. I always want to appreciate and be proud of where I’m at in my career. Hell, I am proud of how far I’ve come already! I know there is so much more I want to do, there’s always going to be more and that excites me. The fact that I am living every day to become better at doing what I love is motivating. There is nothing more gratifying than being in a constant state of progression {remember failures are progress too-depending on your attitude ; )}.

Through personal development, I always want to be reliable source. When people have questions about nutrition or training, I want to be the one they think of and I want to have solid content always available. Whether that is recipes I post on Instagram / Facebook or meal prep/grocery haul/exercise videos I post on YouTube , I want to constantly be packing those handles with helpful, useful, meaningful content.

The more I advance and grow, the more knowledge I will obtain. However, I will NEVER think I know everything or act like I know everything. In fact, I know very little in the grand scheme of training/nutrition and I will always admit that. I am confident in what I know and humble in what I don’t. However, two things that will help put me in a constant state of gaining knowledge: 1. Networking. This will not only help me learn from other professionals but it will allow me to refer people to other fitness professionals who I trust could help potential clients better than I could. We all have ‘specialties’ we’re more geared towards. 2. Never stop educating myself during my free time. Reading, watching videos, listening to podcasts, attending seminars. The resources these days for ANYTHING are abundant and endless! There is always more to learn and the more I learn the more I can teach.

With what I have expressed so far, I find it necessary to touch on my ‘aha’ moment. When the path I was tip toeing on really clicked. Sometimes, you find yourself going through the motions without any TRUE ambition or clarity. Still helping, still progressing but no real, passionate, vision or desire to grow. This is where I was last year. I was an Ice Girl for the Boston Bruins (which took up A LOT of time + money commuting from Portland). This left me with little time to truly make steps forward in my career. At the time, that didn’t bother me too much because I was doing something that was pretty freaking cool and not a lot of people can say they have done. Don’t let me mislead you though. Taking part in that glamorized position was not me, was not my passion, was not my future. Yes I love hockey and the Boston Bruins but my position there did not embody me as a person [certain aspects did but I could give a shit less about my hair, make up and looking a certain way] Do I regret it? Absolutely not. It truly was an amazing experience and the organization itself genuinely does incredible things [charity work, public appearances, community involvement etc]. Most importantly, it made me realize a lot about myself, my values and my vision.

The ‘aha’ moment was during a post-season interview with my boss. We were just chatting about the season, the Ice Girl team and improvements to make for next season. Towards the end he began asking more personal questions about me, my jobs, what I like to do etc. One thing he asked is when I am not working (for the Bruins, training clients, working at the gym, meeting with nutrition clients), what do I like to do? My indirect answer: I like to research training and nutrition. Read articles from my favorite fitness and nutrition websites, watch instructional training and nutrition videos, scroll instagram of my favorite training and nutrition pages and of course, train myself and experiment with/create healthy recipes. That was what consumed my free time. AHA. It was then I realized how passionate I am about training and nutrition… I wanted to do it all day everyday. It was also then I realized I needed to stop doing things that didn’t help me develop my true purpose. Once I let go of everything I was holding on to for the wrong reasons, I saw immediate growth in myself as a personal trainer, nutrition specialist and overall person. I became more motivated, more creative and more passionate. Most of all, more happy and confident in both what I was doing and where I wanted to go. Clarity, true clarity prevailed.

I do not just want to train people. I want to get to know my clients, their mind AND their movement. Aside from leaning someone’s movement patterns, limitations and strengths, the more I know someone on a personal level, the better I can help. For example, say I find out one of my clients is really into video games. Perhaps I can make training more like a video game, different levels, intensities, challenges, villains? Haha. I realize lifting weights isn’t for everyone but if I can find a way to make someone like it more, I will and that stems from getting to know someone. Also, it’s just rad to get to know such a variety of people. Every one has such a unique story, it really never gets old. I truly believe taking the time to learn about other people makes you a better person and in my case a better trainer too!

Lastly, I don’t want to be a fitness model, I don’t want to compete anymore. I feel that many people in the fitness industry/profession compete to justify their presence. I am going to stay true to who I am (just a goofy girl from Maine with stains forever on her sweatshirts who thoroughly enjoys fitness/nutrition). I want to make genuine impacts and provide lasting, helpful content. I am going to do everything I can to help everyone I can. I don’t want to be successful, I want to be valuable. I am NEVER going to stop doing more, being more, wanting more and giving more.

Thank you for reading! If you want to watch the video that goes along with this check it out HERE! I genuinely appreciate those who have supported me on my endeavors so far. I will make all of you proud.

All my best,

Amy Currie

ISSA Certified Personal Trainer

ISSA Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist