Training my Mom

[Martin Shenfield]

Weight loss is bad in her situation. And she can lower her own dose, by taking it less often. But if she is the victim of Doctor Worship, you're kinda helpless in this situation. Doctors have done their job well, unfortunately.

She shouldn't have even been put on the higher dose in the first place. Her husband had just died and my brother went psycho on meth. Most people would have high blood pressure with that going on.

She has seen this GP her whole life, despite his constant screwing her up. She was prescribed Osteoarthritis Panadol every day for 2 decades, and then they decided they were worried about her kidneys after that. She stopped the medication without telling them and you know that happened to her pain levels, absolutely no change at all. So all that money spent on a medication that wasn't even doing anything.

I'm at the point where I'd rather just die than go to a doctor.

[Jason Donaldson]

I'm at the point where I'd rather just die than go to a doctor.

Depending on the doctor, you might not even need to decide between the two....

[Bill Anders]

I'm checking in to provide an update for all concerned.

Good on ya, Martin. Keep at it! I do know, from 2x personal experience, that this is a tough road to travel.

I hope she is the hardest person I will ever train.

Spoiler, she likely won't be. But at least you'll have some perspective when you get those people.

Don't give up on your family guys. Don't push them but don't give up. Offer a deal, try it for 3 weeks just to do me a favour and help me get coaching experience, if you don't like it then you can stop. It worked for us.

Being nearby is helpful. My first experience was with my mother, who was the opposite corner of the country (think Exmouth, WA to Sydney). I coordinated with a nearby SSC and she went 2x/week for six weeks. She saw the improvements and understood the benefits, but decided that the 20-minute drive across town was too much that often. You know, rational reasons. She's now more active on a daily basis than she was before I started her with the SSC, but not in a programmatic, progressive way.

Right now we're working with my mother-in-law. The difference is that we're in the same house, having moved in with her while I work on my apprenticeship. I talked to her throughout the spring while I was here, but with no traction. Then we moved down here last month and my wife is persistent with her mom in a way that I never could be. In the past month, under the watchful eye of an SSC and me assisting, she's gone from 35x1 rack pull to 45x3x3, plus other lifts. She's woefully weak, but we've got her walking 2x10yds without her walker now.

The hard part is the mentality around it. She's already asking when she's going to see results (thinking slimming down). She doesn't consider that change in rack pull performance as a result. She doesn't seen the distance without her walker as a result. She doesn't grasp that we can't undo six decades of inactivity and poor habits in just a few weeks. She'll be 77 next month and she'll be stronger than she has been in decades. So that's a win. Hopefully she'll see it the same way.

Keep at it. You're doing great things!