Leo Roldan, Catalyst’s Head Trainer and Director, has his own fitness story to tell…
Like all stories, mine begins with an obstacle. My reflection in the mirror was my obstacle. You see, caught up in the rat race, I was looking after my career, but not my health. Little by little, my clothes started to ‘shrink’ and my ability to run (I use the term loosely) diminished, but I refused to believe it was a problem. I asked people around me, “am I getting bigger? Have I put on weight?” (it’s not just the girls who ask these questions!). I asked my family and friends, who told me ‘you look fine’, ‘you’re not getting fat’, ‘you’re just imagining things’. For a while that was enough to keep me from really looking at myself. Mind you, whenever I went to the beach or pool, I would hesitate to take off my shirt and would be really conscious of my ‘muffin top’ (the bit of flab that hung over the waist of my shorts).
Finally, just over three years ago, I had a good look at myself in the mirror. Up until that day I’d look in the mirror and project the mental image of what I was ‘supposed’ to look like onto my reflection. But that day was different, for some reason. That day, my mind couldn’t squeeze the reflected image of myself (flabby gut, stretch marks, size 36) into the mental image of myself (athletic, size 28, six pack would be nice!). Staring back at me was someone I couldn’t recognise. That’s when I made the decision that would change my life forever.
I decided to get back into shape. Unfortunately, back then, the only thing I knew about exercise came from stuff I used to do at high school. I had no idea of what to do and how to do it. All I knew was that I wanted to be athletic and, to be honest, to look good. I wanted to be able to run around for more than 5 minutes without getting winded. So I tried everything I could think of to lose weight and trim up. I ran, I swam, I cycled, lifted weights, ate nothing but protein, took supplements and fat burners. I trained everyday then twice a day till I got sick—and I mean really sick—I had to take time off work, I couldn’t train, so I stayed home watching TV and eating junk. Then, when I got better, I did it all over again. This is how it went for a long, long time. Did I ask for help? NO! I’m a guy! We don’t ask for directions! (I know better now)
See, I realise now that you can only go so far on your own. Without somebody there to keep me on track, getting into shape took longer than it should have, and if I hadn’t been so determined, I’d probably be back where I started, or worse.
That’s how it went, until some months later I looked in the mirror again. Staring back was the real me! My cheeks stood out; I could see my jaw line. My flab had significantly reduced and most importantly, I could recognise myself again! No words can describe what a joy it is to achieve such an important goal, to reclaim yourself again. I felt like I could do anything!
Soon after, I realised that there were many others just like me, who had slowly let themselves go and who could no longer recognise themselves in the mirror. I knew that if they could get their bodies into shape, they could improve their self-esteem and reclaim themselves like I had.
Here was my new goal. I wanted to be the catalyst for those people to experience what I experienced–for them to achieve their dreams of a better body and mind through exercise and lifestyle choices.
Such was my conviction that I quit my job in order to study at TAFE to get my Certificate III & IV in Fitness. Now, three years since I started my journey, I can proudly say that I have helped many others lose weight and build stronger and healthier bodies. To close, I’d like to extend to you an invitation to contact me and find out if we can help each other accomplish our goals!
Leo Roldan Director, Catalyst Health & Wellbeing