Celebrity trainer Kim Truman has the good fortune to be able to count actor Kevin Sorbo among her clientele.
Celebrity trainer Kim Truman has the good fortune to be able to count actor Kevin Sorbo among her clientele.
She calls the once-musclebound star of the hit TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys “a good friend” and “a great guy.” But not all of her clients possess intimidating, chiselled physiques worthy of playing a Greek semi-divine hero on the small screen. In reality, many have lacked confidence, at least at first. And some have even developed a last-minute case of cold feet — forcing Truman to track them down in the gym parking lot.
“I have had people where I’ve had to actually go get them out of their car, hold their hand and let them see that not everybody in a gym is a Ken and Barbie,” she tells Keeping Fit by phone from Dallas. “People think that in gyms people are going to look a certain way. When really, once they get in there they see it’s a minority of people.”
That’s an extreme example, of course. But the takeaway is that the fitness journey is often an emotional one.
Fully cognizant that “lifestyle coaching” is a crucial part of her job description, Truman stays perennially poised to help her less-Herculean clients break down those “emotional blocks” they create for themselves. “For me, it’s not about the person trying to lose weight fast,” she notes. “It’s more about personal growth and their own journey.” Truman, whose clientele ranges from pro athletes to weekend warriors and neighbourhood housewives, isn’t immune to getting emotional herself.
“I really am a momma bird in a way, too,” she admits. “I really get invested in my clients … I really make a relationship and really care and then I’m the one in tears when 10 months or a year’s gone by and they’ve become so confident and they’ve lost weight and their relationships are better and their work life is better and they’re healthier and they’re doing things they could never imagine before.”