It’s time to meet the guy who’s been by my side through the YMCA Community Health Challenge.
Damien Clarke is a personal trainer at the Don Wheaton YMCA. Like me, he grew up in small town. He enjoys video games and attending concerts. He loves his job, usually working at least six days a week.
“I originally wanted to be a trainer so I could take something I did lots of (exercise), and transition that into a job,” Damien said. “When I went to school, I became fascinated with the anatomy of and bio-mechanics of the human body. I really feel motivated to stay as a trainer seeing the difference in the people I work with.
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“It’s great to change ‘I can’t’ into ‘I never thought I could until now.’”
I’ve definitely had some “I can’t” moments in my sessions. Thankfully, Damien has been able to quickly recognize my limitations and get me doing exercises that make me stronger.
“Your biggest improvement has been your stability. The legs and core were quite weak to begin with. Now I feel comfortable having tougher movements incorporated,” Damien told me. “Your biggest struggle has been your energy. It is constantly improving, but it really knocks you down.”
I mentioned last week I’d be getting another body scan to see my progress at the halfway point of the challenge. There were minor improvements in terms of weight and muscle mass. My body fat dropped slightly from 29.9 per cent to 29.1 per cent. For someone my height, it really shouldn’t be above 20 per cent.
“My main priority at the start was introducing you to exercises. We didn’t want to hurt you with any movements you weren’t familiar with,” Damien explained. “Now that has been established, my current focus is fat loss. We want to get you to your goal!”
Follow along each week until the end of March as Reid attempts the YMCA Community Health Challenge.
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