Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie Webber Jr.
Eddie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
From early on, I have always been an active, out-going and fun-loving person. As a boy I thrived on athletic competition, taking pride in my ability to “make something out of nothing” during sporting matches, motivated by the conviction that “there’s always a better way.” I enjoyed taking the initiative and rising to surpass physical challenges. By the time I was a junior in high school, I was seriously into lifting weights, loving the feeling and the look of being “pumped”.
After graduation from high school, I became a proud member of the United States Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, 40 miles up the Pacific Coast from San Diego. In the base weight room, I soon became known for my intense training routines, my ability to “spot” (safely assist other lifters when working with really heavy weights) and my very direct motivational style, getting right up close and screaming into the faces of my fellow Marines to encourage them to push their hardest.
Once I received my honorable discharge from the Corps, I stayed for a short time in Southern California, soaking up the sunshine while working out on the beach and making some money spotting and training other “muscle heads.” What was there not to like? Since I was getting paid to do what I loved doing anyway, becoming a fitness trainer seemed like a “no brainer” at the time”. Looking back on my accomplishments as a trainer and coach, I take great pride in the many clients of all ages and physical conditions I have helped to achieve their long-term goals while bringing the joy of fitness into their lives.
With success, I have attained a modest degree of local notoriety, appearing occasionally on local media and having the opportunity to provide motivational seminars and coaching services for community groups such as the Chicago Health Department, the Veterans Administration Hospital, and even the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. In recent years, I had the joy of coaching my own sons on their high school football team, as the strength and conditioning coach for the Phoenix Military Academy, where I earned the name “Coach Webber”.
Ultimately, my career as a motivational fitness coach has been a journey of accomplishment and joy, bringing many wonderful clients, associates and even my wife Kamila – who I met in the gym – into my life. One hope I have is that reading my story might get people to remember “it’s never too late to feel great” and “there’s always a better way”.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t until later, when I moved back home to Chicago, that I began taking my career seriously and started paying close attention to my clients’ motivations and goals. At that time, I was training mainly what I called the “hard core” – young men and women who wanted me to whip them into the best shape of their lives, “quick, fast and in a hurry!” They were willing to do just about anything to accomplish their goals, fully expecting harsh discipline and intense effort to be major components to their training.
With this group, I learned that the most effective sales tool was to present “before and after” pictures of prior clients I had helped to accomplish visible physical changes, showing reduced body fat, increased muscle mass and more shapely bodies. Then, once my new “hard core” recruits signed on for the program, I pushed them to their limits to quickly achieve their goals so that I could, in turn, add their pictures to my collection. As time passed a different breed of client began to seek me out – older, professional people who related to fitness and exercise very differently from my “hard core” clients. Generally, they were more interested in improving their overall condition and feeling better rather than achieving quick, dramatic transformations in their appearance. Many didn’t enjoy exercise; some were deconditioned or had health issues. There were many new things I had to be mindful of in training them, requiring me to go “back to school” to take courses in anatomy, kinesiology, physiology, exercise science and cardiac rehabilitation, and becoming qualified as a certified personal trainer.
I realized that my approach toward training and motivation had to change, shifting from an emphasis on short-term results to helping people to enjoy physical activity and to develop sustainable positive behaviors for long-term success. Consequently, I stopped selling my services with “before and after” pictures. Now when someone asks me what I can do for them, I often answer by handing them my business card and directing them to take a look at what it says on the backside: My Success Is Measured by the Actions YOU Take to Gain Positive Results. It’s a good starting point for a conversation about my coaching philosophy. As I often explain, in fitness as in so many areas of life, the key to lasting success is establishing sustainable positive action rather focusing on short term results.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Fitness Coaching By Design – what should we know?
Enjoying the Journey of Life and Fitness” with Motivational Fitness Coach, Eddie Webber
As Motivational Fitness Coach and founder of the company Fitness Coaching by Design, I provide a personalized, progressive approach to wellness and fitness training, a holistic approach that goes beyond the gym and the traditional focus on exercise and diet. I help my clients overcome the challenges they face in seeking to achieve their health and wellness goals, ultimately to engage in more positive sustainable behaviors leading to more productive, healthy lives.
I offer a variety of coaching services which make it possible for clients locally from Chicago, as well as from across the country and around the world, to participate in the Fitness Coaching by Design experience. Aside from hands-on in-home training in Chicago, I provide Skype fitness training sessions to remote locations, one-on-one motivational tele-coaching sessions, on-line fitness and performance tracking programs, and more.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Chicago is a great city for fitness professional due to that fact that a large portion of the population is starting to pay more attention to their health and wellbeing due to the increase in health care cost. For individual who are looking to become a personal trainer/ fitness coach, they should get certified by a credited institution and be employed by a health club to learn how to implement what they have learned, especially when it comes to safety for their clients. Not to mention continue leaning about the human body anatomy because training a 19-year-old is much different than training a 45-year-old. Keep in mind when you feel good there’s a lot of things you are willing to do. I always see the glass half full.
Contact Info:
- Address: West Loop
Chicago Il, 60607 - Website: www.fitnesscoachingbydesign.com
- Phone: 312 927 0891
- Email: training@fitnesscoachingbydesign.com
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