HBD to your Trainer (and friend)

Tomorrow is Myles's birthday and in an effort to embarrass him as well as make him feel loved and appreciated, I figured I could write a quick post about him and send it to all our clients and friends. :)

He's turning 45, so given the current life span of the typical American man (it's 77 for those who are curious), he is well past half way through his life journey. Yikes, that's a scary thought! But, given his lifestyle choices, he probably has extended his chances for a long life into his 90's whether he wants it or not. The point is, Myles will be around for years to come to make us all feel inferior that we cannot do our age in pull-ups every year- damn him!

I know many of you have been training with him for YEARS, and others are new to our "training family" as I like to think of it, but I'm not sure you all know how much he cares about each of you. Whether you are a current client, or someone who has trained in the past, Myles has been there to drive you and coach you through whatever life may bring your way. He serves as not only a fitness professional, but also a pseudo-therapist for many, and he cares deeply about everyone's well being beyond the limits of their physical capabilities.

He is empathetic and worries about you when you are struggling, hurt, or emotionally fraught. He tries not to internalize it all but I know it weighs on him and he honestly cares so much about each of you it is quite remarkable. I "may" be jealous sometimes when he shows so much tenderness to his clients and then occasionally is a bit terse with his family, but I know it's because he is emotionally exhausted at times and I understand where he is coming from. You may not see this side of him, but I do, and I admire his dedication to all his "people".

He has never been late to work. Seriously- ever! He gets up at 4 am or 5 am- 5 days a week and never snoozes his alarm. If he takes a sick day, he's deathly ill. The guy has a work ethic I can't fathom. He shows up everyday, maybe he's tired (he usually is), maybe he's stressed, perhaps he feels lousy, but I see him put on his "happy face" (if we can call it that) and engage with his clients.

Beyond this he also researches and continues to educate himself in his craft. If you have an achy joint, or inflammation, or a sore neck, he has an exercise or protocol for you to follow. He will send you videos and research to help you feel better and fix what is ailing you. This level of expertise in his field comes from years of experience working with people but also from his relentless hunger for new information that may be useful at some point for some person. He truly is an expert in his field and he has worked hard to earn that level of respect from others and I think we all know how good he is at what he does.

Lastly, he's a dad, and a damn good one. We have two very special girls and Myles is a rock for our entire family. His love for us is shown regularly in his ability to be silly with Elin, lovingly tease Anya (who is 14 and thinks we are ridiculous humans), and he loves to make me laugh.

Thank you all for indulging me in this manner. I just wanted to make sure everyone understood the man behind the curtain as I do, and what he gives to all of you. Feel free to send him birthday wishes tomorrow- I'm sure this blog post will mortify him so the more people it reaches, the better!