Amazing Workshop - Saturday January 31st, 2010 Fitness STAR Competitor Workshop - Oakville

Well, it was worth the drive to Oakville, I heard about James Erdt about a year ago when I was going through for my Personal Training certification, a friend of mine was kind enough to give me his contact information.  Shortly after becoming certified I decided I would contact James, and also maybe do a Google search to see who he really was since all I had was his name… after the first few hits, I started dreading the e-mail I had sent earlier to him asking if he would be available to talk.  James Erdt: Joyzone.com, Fitness Model, Personal Trainer, Motivational Speaker and the list goes on… and on.  My first thought was “What did I get myself into?” 

I have found in the last few months I have been saying that more often since I had the chance to speak with James and more so since I attended the Fitness Star Competitor Workshop.

At the suggestion of James, I signed up for this workshop, knowing very little about this part of the industry, all I wanted was to learn more to help my personal training business. I have no interest in doing any fitness modeling as getting up in front of more than two people usually makes me queasy.  Luckily I brought my pen and paper and I was able to keep up as him and Leroy spoke of the industry and what experiences they have had and what they recommended. 

Lunch came around, and after that, the plan was to create a makeshift runway to practice on… thankfully, pre-planning kicked in.  I had come wearing a big sweater, and my workout pants, so I was pretty much covered from head to toe.  It did not take long with Leroy’s advice, and with James cheering all of us on wildly from the side to realize this was actually quite fun… and not near as nerve wracking as I had anticipated.  After we walked down the runway a number of times they separated us, and Leroy and James took some time with the guys to show us different ways to pose… next thing you know, the sweater is gone (it was pretty warm in there) and I was in a light long sleeve black shirt… “Do you guys mind taking off your shirts? I can see your poses better” – Thanks Leroy, there goes my safety net… off came the shirts and 5 guys were standing at the front of the room posing in the mirror, taking advice on how to get a better look out of our bodies and our
poses.

After the “show” we put on, I talked to James for a bit before making my hour and a half drive home.  I was more motivated in that time than I have ever been in my life.  I wanted to wait a while before writing this to see how fast that would fade.  It is now February 15, 2010, and I am still just as motivated as when I had stepped out of the workshop… did I mention I signed up for the Model Search March 27^th in Toronto?  Well, I did… Will I be ready for it? – Possibly, possibly not, but in the end it is not just the competition that is rewarding it is the adventure, the people I have met along the way, and how it has and is changing my life for the better.

“What did I get myself into?” Well, I guess I am about to find out!

Thank you James, Leroy and the Fitness Star Network, for your time, your workshop, and most of all for the motivation you have provided me and many others to become healthier, stronger, and to makes us believe we can achieve any goal in our lives.

Best of luck to all of the competitors, I hope to see you in Toronto at your best!

Ryan Kleinknecht