Notes From a Decade of Work
This month (June 2026) marked a major milestone for me - 10 years as a personal trainer and 5 years since I launched my Move With Kai business! As I look back on my last decade, I feel very proud of what I’ve accomplished.
To be honest, I never truly believed that I could have a successful personal training business. I really hoped that I could, but it took me five or six years to begin seeing it as a viable career path. I had several mentors along the way, and every year I tried to get better at my craft and learn everything I could about anything related to wellness. I worked as a physical therapy aide, spent two years earning a degree as a physical therapist assistant, and worked in acute care and outpatient PT clinics. Later, I followed that up with a massage therapy license and most recently became certified as a nutritionist. My circuitous route to become a full-time personal trainer was fueled by my desire to learn more, but also because I never had faith that I would be able to make it as a personal trainer alone.
In short, it took me ten years to believe that I am actually good at what I do and believe that I can run a successful business. There are so many people in the field that I look up to and admire, and my desire to be as knowledgeable as them is what drives me to continue to learn. That is one thing that is both humbling and exciting about my job - I will never know it all and I will constantly need to keep up with current research.
I feel incredibly grateful that I have been able to have a very positive influence on all the people I have worked with over the past decade. It is a great honor that my clients trust me with their health and it's a great responsibility for me to act with integrity and show up for my current clients each day without bringing my own baggage to work. For everyone I currently work with and all the people I have trained in the past, thank you so much!
I thought about making a list of things I have learned over the years, but that would require me to ramble on more than I already am now. Instead, I have one main takeaway that I would like to share: the importance of consistency. To add a little more nuance to that - the importance of building habits rather than relying on motivation.
Recently, I heard someone I really admire speak about overestimating how much you can achieve in one year but simultaneously underestimating how much you can accomplish in a decade. He spoke of the importance of constant forward motion, and not letting periods of stagnation knock you off course.
This message really spoke to me in the context of how long it took me to build my business, but also as a message to my clients to never completely give up on their goals.
Motivation is a very unreliable thing. You must build the habit of consistency, because motivation will come and go. If you remain dedicated to showing up consistently, you will eventually achieve your goal. That’s why I am such a big fan of maintaining “frequency” goals when it comes to fitness. You have to build a habit of frequently doing exercise before you can ramp up the intensity.
Oftentimes, my job is to help set realistic expectations for people. We live in a world of instant gratification and the internet will have you believe you can achieve twelve week transformations if you follow this program or do this cleanse or take this supplement. Everyone wants a hack for exercise or some secret to easy success.
Most people don’t realize how long it takes to build muscle, reach their endurance goals, or achieve the body composition they desire. The answer is not months, but years. I am not a “1% better every day” kind of guy, but I definitely believe in the idea of never giving up. There will be seasons of your life where you really struggle with finding motivation, but there is a real power to showing up frequently and focusing on getting good at doing the fundamentals. Of course, intensity has to be there, but the person who shows up frequently with hard effort will always beat the person who shows up every once in a while with an all out, 110% effort. If you have ever tried to maintain a garden, you know that pulling a few weeds every day is way more effective than pulling weeds for hours once a week. You might keep up for a few months, but eventually you will lose that battle.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and there is no finish line. There will always be work to do, and humans are designed to conserve energy and seek out energy dense foods. Being dedicated to focusing on small habits is the only way to keep the momentum going.
On that note, if you are currently working with me, use me as your coach! That is my job, and your communication with me is vital to achieving your goals. I am not your therapist, but tell me when you are feeling crappy and unmotivated. Lean on me more. Ask me questions, and ask for help. That is what gives my job meaning - helping you. Here’s to ten more years!
