We recently connected with Mandy Evangelista and have shared our conversation below.
Mandy, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)?
I’ve been a trainer for a very long time and I’ve trained a lot of people, but most of this training was performed in a group setting where my interaction with each client was limited to yelling out what exercises came next in a crowded room and then counting the reps from afar. The students would simply mimic the exercises I showed them and rep out however many was asked of them. When the class was over, we all packed up our stuff and parted ways until we meet again at the next regularly scheduled class.
When we started the Chrome Angels Program, I initially applied the same style of training – – advised the clients what to do and expected them to simply follow the plan. The program was a little more involved than just exercising. It included a meal plan and constant check-ins, but it was still pretty straight forward. There was no guess work required. Everything was laid out and the method was backed by science so there’s no way it couldn’t work, right? Wrong.
It sounded simple on paper, but this is where the learning came in. I guess you can say the initial start of our program was my apprenticeship to truly understanding what it takes to really help people. Yes, many people received results from simply following the plan, but there were some who had trouble, and initially, I could not understand why. The way I saw it was this – – you came to see me to help you lose fat and build muscle. I have given you the tools to help you do that. Simply follow the plan and you will get results. I would explain this over and over again to those who couldn’t get their sh*t together, but no matter what I said, I felt like I couldn’t get through.
I was extremely frustrated and often felt like a failure as a coach because I could not help all my clients succeed. One day while lying in bed, I decided to meditate. After about a month of meditating almost daily, the answer to my question came. I was too black and white and did not leave room for compassion. I needed to see people for what they can become; not for just what they are now, and I finally accepted that no matter how much someone says they want something, they will move at their own pace, until they are inspired to move at a different pace.
Fast forward to today, I no longer feel like a failure and have not for a very long time. I see the potential in every single person that comes to train with us and I try my best to help them see what I see. I’ve learned that being a coach is not just teaching people how to lift weights and do calorie calculations; it’s also about believing in your clients and helping your clients believe in themselves.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Have you ever started doing some random thing and find out you actually have a knack for it? No rhyme or reason, you just understand things some people have a hard time comprehending. When it comes to exercising, especially weightlifting, I instantly got it. I don’t why, I don’t know how, but when I first picked up a weight in my early 20’s, I understood mind-muscle connection, training volume and progressive overload well before I started studying for my training certification. I knew I wanted to start my own business and since weightlifting was a thing I could do and understand well, it was a no brainer that I would eventually get into the fitness industry.
At Chrome, we help clients achieve desired physical improvements such as weight loss, weight gain, body re-composition and/or improved athletic ability and agility. We also help clients train for bodybuilding competitions, mainly the bikini division, and we do all this through strength training, nutrition, and psychology. Interestingly, I never thought I would use my Psychology degree to train clients, but I’m starting to believe more and more each day that everything has its purpose.
Strength training and nutrition are the easy part of a fitness goal; it’s the mind that needs most tending to. The mind can create barriers to progress so we help our clients change their perceptions about situations, events or emotions that appear to be barriers. We help them address any unhelpful ways of thinking that can hinder their progress and we encourage them to create change through self-love and not from fear of rejection or fear of not being good enough.
I believe our goal acquiring methods and the extra effort we put into our clients are what set us apart from many training facilities, especially the big commercial ones. We don’t just offer an exercise regimen, we help people change their lives.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
As a trainer, you have to believe in your clients. You have to see their potential and help them see what you see. When I’m training someone, I will always challenge them. Never to the point of injury of course, but my goal is to help them see how strong they actually are so I constantly push them. I don’t even see the person that initially came through our doors. All I see is a person who wants change and I am going to do my best to help them.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
My family and I are refugees. We came here in the early 1980’s. In the camps, we barely had food to eat, lived in huts, and slept on dirt floors. When we got the states, it was like heaven! Drinking water was easily accessible, we slept in beds and had carpet in the house. When things in life don’t always go as planned, I know it could always be worse so I just ride it out and try my best to solve any problems I have one step at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.chromeangelsfitness.com
- Instagram: @chromeangelsfitnessteam