My personal training studio is on Main Street in Boonton, and prior to moving in there, I promised my landlord I would contribute to the community. I do this in a variety of ways including doing workshops at the library across the street, fundraisers for the elks (using my services as an entertainer), becoming part of the committee for the upcoming Boonton Fitness crawl and basically anything I can think of.

Boonton Main Street (a non-profit dedicated to fostering community and preserving the history of Boonton) had an event called “Ladies night out” where participating businesses would have charms that represented something their business was about.

So I participated and had some charms that might seem out of place, but actually do represent my personal training studio. I figured I’d have a quick explanation of each of them.

Butterfly Charm

This one might seem out of place since my training studio can look just a little harsh to an outsider. I mean kettlebells and free weights can look intimidating to a passerby on their own, but I also decorate it with steel I had bent in my strongman shows, and a chain of nails that I bent in my hands hangs in the window. So what gives with the butterfly?

Simple, the butterfly is a symbol of transformation. And that is what we do. Not just a transformation of the body, but a transformation of the mind (self-confidence). I don’t transform you into something you aren’t, I transform you into who you were meant to be. Just like the caterpillar is meant to sprout wings and fly, humans are meant to be strong, lean, athletic, mobile and to strive for more. It transformed my life that’s for sure. This is what I do.

Strength Charm

This one is a bit more obvious. I make people strong as a foundation. One because I’m really passionate about it, Two because I’m really good at teaching it and three because it makes just about anything else you want to achieve better. One thing I’ve observed is that when people come to me initially it’s because they want to look better. Through training with me, yes they look better, but they also get a lot stronger. And I noticed they enjoy the strength more than the way they look.

Focus Charm

This one reflects a mistake I see in a lot of training programs. There is a lack of focus. You see training (working towards a goal) is about adaptation. Give your body a challenge to adapt to, and various inner workings in your body adapt by making you stronger, more cardiovascularly fit etc. Your body can only adapt to so many things at once, so focus on the ones that provide the most bang for the buck. Jack of all trades is the master of none.

Passion Charm

The tagline of my studio is “Strength for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. What this basically means is that the things we do in the personal training studio, are meant to make whatever you enjoy, better. What are you passionate about? If you love triathlons, I’m there to make you better at them. If it’s quite simply living life, you should have the physical capabilities to be able to do them. As an example, I had a personal training client that loved skiing, though he hadn’t been able to do it in years. He simply wanted to be able to roll around with his grandkids. I got him to be able to do both.

Imagine Charm

When I bring people in for a goal assessment interview, I’ll ask them what do you want? Many times they’ll say something vague like “I want to be in shape” or “I want to get stronger”. What I try and tease out of them is something specific to aim for. If I can get them to imagine their ideal end result, and explain it to me, I can then figure out what would be needed to get there. Every great endeavor started in the imagination.

Discipline Charm

I sometimes hear my colleagues say “motivation in overrated, what you need is discipline.” I take issue with this since I’m a motivational speaker in addition to being a personal trainer. Yes, discipline is a key factor, but it’s also something that can wear out the more you use it. What people need is the motivation to get started then guidance, support, and accountability to keep them on track. This is what I do.

Integrity Charm

The fitness industry is rife with misinformation. From social media influencers giving out bad advice to weight loss pills and other shady supplements. Some want to con you out of your money. Some simply don’t know what they are talking about and it can be confusing to the consumer. It used to be thought that having more information would be better, but actually these days it’s less about learning more and more about learning what to ignore. What I attempt to be for my personal training clients is to simply be a source they can trust. An expert that legitimately wants what’s best for them. And the only way for me to do that is to hold my integrity at the paramount.

I do still have some charms leftover, I’ll donate some of them to the Main Street Boonton crawl, and give others to my daughters. That’s it for today.

Eric Moss is a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, motivational speaker, and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey, is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville and Parsippany New Jersey.