214: 9 Lessons Learned Inside BAB Coaching Academy

Introduction 

You're listening to Biceps After Babies Radio episode number 214.

Hello and welcome to Biceps After Babies Radio. A podcast for ladies who know that fitness is about so much more than pounds lost or PRs. It's about feeling confident in your skin and empowered in your life. I'myour host, Amber Brueseke, a registered nurse, personal trainer, wife, and mom of four. Each week, my guests and I will excite and motivate you to take action in your own personal fitness as we talk about nutrition, exercise mindset, personal development, and executing life with conscious intention. If your goal is to look, feel, and be strong and experience transformation from the inside out, you, my friend are in the right place. Thank you for tuning in, now let’s jump into today’s episode.

 

Amber B  0:47  

Hey, hey, hey, welcome back to another episode of Biceps After Babies Radio. I'm your host, Amber Brueseke, and you're not going to hear a ton from me personally today, because instead, you're going to hear from nine amazing individuals. So to start off, you know, giving this episode some context. I started Biceps After Babies back in 2016. And if you've heard me tell my story before, you know that it was very much an accidental, I call myself an accidental entrepreneur. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur, I never wanted to own my business. It was not anything that I ever desired. I went to school to be a nurse, I got my bachelor's in nursing, and I, you know, started in that profession. And I thought that was where I was going to work in a hospital for the rest of my life. But then I had babies, and my husband was in med school and then residency, and his schedules were crazy. And it just didn't make sense for me to continue doing nursing with his really unpredictable schedule. And having these two babies at home that was going to cost a lot of money for us to find childcare for so I decided to stay home. But because I can't, I need to have something to do. I decided to do what my mom had done and go into the fitness industry and teach group fitness classes. That's what I grew up knowing. I remember going with my mom to the YMCA and I would sit in the childcare room and there was a window between the childcare room and her teaching her step aerobics class. And I remember as a little kid, watching my mom teach step aerobics. And so that was what I knew as a kid. And so I decided, you know, that was what I was going to do, that was gonna be my thing. Now that I had taken a leave from nursing. I was basically a single mom at the time because my husband was in residency and working a bajillion hours a week. And that, you know, honestly, teaching fitness classes really kept me sane during that period of time. 

 

Amber B  2:42 

And then I decided that I wanted to get a six-pack. So you know, Biceps After Babies really started because of a New Year's Resolution. Anybody who tells you that New Year's Resolutions don't ever work is wrong. Where I am right now in my life started because of a New Year's resolution. It's 2016, I decided that I wanted to get a six-pack. And I had stumbled upon this thing called macro counting on Pinterest of all these places. And I said, you know, from like my scientific nursing background, what I know about the body and anatomy and physiology, this makes sense to me. Just give it a shot. And I was floored at the fast transformation that happened with my body when I started to align what I was eating with the goals that I had set for myself. And so I just started sharing on Instagram, started saying, hey, like, it's really cool. I'm getting a six-pack, and I'm eating ice cream. This is amazing. Like, I just wanted to tell the world right when something cool happens, you want to share it with everybody. And that was when I started my Instagram account 2016.

 

Amber B  3:53  

And then something happened that I didn't really expect to happen. But people started asking me to coach them. And I was like, sure that sounds fun. This idea of like I did it for myself. So of course I can coach other people. And I very quickly realized that getting a result yourself is not the same as coaching somebody else to get that result. And I think a lot of new coaches make that mistake of like thinking just because you could get a result yourself that that makes you the kind of expert that can teach somebody else to get the result. Those are two different things. It's like the difference between learning in a class and teaching the class. Those are different skills. Someone can be a really good learner and a terrible teacher and some can be a really good teacher, but maybe it's a lot harder for them to learn. So anyway, I digress. But I started having people asking me to coach them and I got started getting really curious because those first couple years of coaching I gave super great advice. I set up bomb plans for people, I created these like elaborate workout programs and accountability and like checking in with my client and I would text them like all the time. And I realized very quickly that just because I was putting all of this effort into clients, they weren't all getting the same results, I could make a beautiful plan for one person, and they would get a very different result from somebody else. And they both had the same, like, beautiful plan. So what was going on? 

 

Amber B  5:17  

And I realized very quickly that there was more to this coaching thing than just providing somebody accountability, or than just telling them what to do. And I started to get really curious about figuring out, what was the difference that made the difference for clients, what caused some clients to get amazing results and transformation and other people to kind of fizzle out. And that kind of became my life's work and my life's mission to figure this out. And over the years, as I got coached myself, and I learned new techniques, and I integrated a lot of the things that I was learning in a different areas of my business and life into coaching, I developed a system and a method that really effectively was able to help clients on a deeper transformational level. And no longer was I coaching from this superficial surface, just do this, just do this, let me provide you accountability level, but it's actually creating real, long-term sustainable transformation of my clients. And when I figured this out, and really had a system and started teaching my coaches inside of MACROS 101 how to do this and realizing, hey, if I can teach my coaches how to coach like I do, what if I could teach other coaches how to coach. And now doesn't that the sphere of influence and the change the ripple effect that this can have on the world doesn't that expand the more people who we can teach to coach from this transformational level. So that's where my Transformational Coaching certification was born out of, was this idea that I have learned a lot about how to get clients results, and how to coach from a deep transformational level. And now I get to pass it on to other coaches and teach them how to do the same thing. 

 

Amber B  7:07  

So if you have not heard yet, we will be opening up doors to Biceps After Babies Coaching Academy on March 31 of this month. So if you are a coach, or someone who would like to become a coach, or wants to understand a deeper level of how to get those transformational results for clients, then Coaching Academy is for you. We will be having a free class next week on May 31. All about making money and changing lives. How to Become a Transformational Coach. What does that mean? Like what is the process of coaching from a transformational level? How does this get clients better results? And how do we do it? What are the steps in order to coach from this deeper level? Those are the things that I'll be teaching in this free class. So if you go to bicepsafterbabies.com/becomeacoach, all one word, you can sign up for class next Tuesday, I'll be teaching it live. And we'll be able to go through some of these realizations that I have that can really change the trajectory of your ability to coach and get clients results. 

 

Amber B  8:14 

So on that same vein, I thought it would be really fun to tap into some of our Coaching Academy Alumni and ask them some of the biggest lessons that they learned as they went through Coaching Academy. Now, what you may expect to hear is, Oh, this program was amazing. And I learned so many coaching techniques, and tools, and it's so awesome. And you'll hear some of that. But what you'll also hear that maybe you're not expecting is you'll hear how the process that we went through inside of Coaching Academy allowed these coaches to be able to: Yes, serve their clients on a deep transformational level. And also how they themselves started to shift and change and transform through this process. A lot of the people who have come into Coaching Academy and maybe this may even be you listening, have a desire to coach but something's holding them back. That may be this thought of like, oh, well, I can't coach until I have a six-pack. I even hesitate to like tell my story about getting a six-pack because I think on some level it like reinforces this belief that some people have that you can't coach until you have a six pack which is B.S., by the way, total B.S. So like that may be holding you back. It's this idea that I have to have some sort of aesthetic or look or I have to reach my goal weight in order to be successful and be a coach or this idea that I have to have all these other certifications before I am legitimate or before I can call myself a coach or before I can help anybody. So also BS or you have a desire to coach but part of you was like, I don't want to build a business, I don't know how to get clients. I don't know how to like, you know, build processes and check in formulas and things like that. And you know what, when you do something new, there's always going to be fear associated with it. But when I have a desire, and there's fear associated with fulfilling that desire, I always go back to the desire. And this realization that if I desire something, it means it's possible for me. And when my brain goes to fear, and what ifs, and I can't do this, and it's too hard, and who's, what are people going to think of me, man, which I've gone through all of those things, PS, and becoming a coach, and building my business. But when I go to that fear place, I remind myself to go back to the place of desire, the place of possibility, the place of, there's a part of me that knows that this is something that I want to do, and that I'm capable of doing and that I could be really good at. And tapping into that is such a valuable place. And you'll hear some of the people speak to that tapping into that identity, and what they learned through Coaching Academy. So without further ado, I have nine amazing women who are going to share the lessons that they learned themselves as they went through Coaching Academy. 

 

Amber B  11:21  

First up is Amanda Brinkman-Brockman.

 

Amanda  11:24  

Hi, my name is Amanda. I'm a recent graduate of the Biceps After Babies Coaching Academy. And I can honestly say the Coaching Academy didn't just teach me one big lesson for my coaching. What really happened was it saved my coaching. To be perfectly honest, I came to the academy, ready to give up on coaching. I'd been coaching for about three years, and I was completely burnt out. And when I really looked at what the problem was, I realized that my clients weren't getting transformations. I was bending over backward spending hours and hours and all my energy on being their teacher, and their cheerleader, and their accountability partner. They were putting in the work, and my clients just weren't getting the transformations that I knew they deserved, that I knew were there for them. And that's just such an awful feeling as a coach. Luckily, just a few moments into the Coaching Academy, I realized what was missing. And it was that I did not yet have Transformational Coaching skills. I had teaching skills, I had the cheerleader skills, I had the accountability skills, but I didn't have any transformation skills. So no wonder my clients weren't getting transformations. And that is exactly what I got from the Academy, the most important thing that I got there, that changed my coaching because it let me keep coaching and not give up on myself. And also, you know, changed my family life changed me was learning that you can begin to practice skills that make you a Transformational Coach that let transformations happen for your clients. And when you get those skills, and you get the mindset that goes along with transformation, you see, Oh, there's no end to what I can become as a coach. There's no end to what can be achieved and accomplished and realized by my clients and it is so life-giving. So I'm so appreciative that I hopped into the Coaching Academy, it was definitely a no-brainer decision. I never guessed that's what I would learn. I am so thankful that now, I'm excited to be a Transformational Coach and my clients are getting transformations.

 

Amber B  13:55  

Next, Lindsey Rahn.

 

Lindsey  13:59  

My name is Lindsey Rahn, and I'm a nutrition coach and a recent graduate of Biceps After Babies Coaching Academy. I learned a lot in Coaching Academy, it completely changed the way that I approach coaching clients for the better. Some of the main things were you know, that I learned how to listen for their underlying limiting beliefs that were maybe stopping them from getting to their goals. I learned how to ask better questions in order to help them kind of root out their own solutions to their problems. And this approach to coaching really helped my clients transform themselves into people who can reach their goals successfully. It's an amazing thing to see. But I think to me, the most important part of this whole course was my own personal journey into becoming a better coach. You know, right away, I learned that my little coaching business is not just like a side hustle to being a stay-at-home mom. But even if I'm only teaching a few clients that my coaching business is a legitimate business, I am a business owner. And that's very empowering. And it's very important because through my business, I can help other people. I also learned that I have some aptitudes that I had never identified before. Some aptitudes about, you know, the way that I can communicate with people one on one, the way that I can help them, kind of see the person that they want to be and, you know, and using a lot of these learning how to ask better questions, using a lot of those skills in the one on one sessions. I'm finding that like, I'm actually kind of good at this. And that I myself matter, and that I can make a difference in the world to other people outside of the tiny bubble of my family. This was pretty major for me, I think. And as I started to sort of awaken to the idea that my skills are valuable, and that people will pay me money to work with them, I also realize that it's not only okay, but it's necessary to let people know that I'm good at this. I started telling people directly, you know, when I would meet somebody, I'm a nutrition coach. And I'm good at what I do. And what started happening is that people started to approach me to be my client, you know, without me having to go out and try to get people to sign up, people started seeking me out to sign up, because I wasn't afraid to show confidence in my skills here. And so at this point, in my business, I'm exactly where I want to be, I'm coaching clients, I'm helping them change their lives, and I'm helping them love themselves and their bodies no matter what is going on in their body. And you know, from that foundation of self-love to build on top of that, the healthy lifestyle that they want. And so, I guess the main thing is that you know, what I learned in Coaching Academy helped me to have the confidence to help other people.

 

Amber B  17:58  

Let's hear from Anne Miller.

 

Anne  18:01  

I feel like it's really hard to choose just one lesson that I learned from Coaching Academy because there were so many things, but I'm going to start with a little bit of a backstory. So for pretty much all of my adult life, I have loved exercise, and I've loved learning about nutrition. And I hear so many people, most especially women talk about how much they hate to exercise, they dread it, and they avoid doing it. And I have always loved this idea of being able to help women find exercises that they enjoy, and to improve their relationship with exercising and just moving their bodies. And exercise to me has just always been fun. And it's kind of like baffling that people don't love it. But I thought that before I could teach anyone about it, I definitely needed to take some type of a course then get some type of certification so that I would feel legitimate in sharing any knowledge that I had with other people. But I didn't take any action, I continued to just keep wishing and hoping and dreaming someday, someday maybe I'll be a personal trainer or someday, maybe I'll be a coach. And a big reason why I didn't take action is because I believed that I had to have a great after picture first, I believed that I couldn't do it because who would trust a personal trainer or coach who didn't necessarily look like a fitness professional. And so I let that belief keep me from taking action for a really long time. And then the opportunity came to join Coaching Academy. And I decided to join in hopes that I would learn to kind of coach myself and that that would lead to me being able to coach other people sometime in the future. But first I'd be able to coach myself and you know, help myself be able to reach the goals that I wanted to reach first. And in the Coaching Academy, I learned that I had to start taking action. And my mantra throughout Coaching Academy kind of became action feels better than inaction because I realized sitting in the same place for such a long time, it's not comfortable. And also you don't go anywhere when you're holding still, you don't go anywhere when you're not doing anything, duh. But took me a long time to kind of realize that and that I needed to take action, and that it feels good to take action to just try. And I learned to be okay with trying and to not worry so much about being perfect. I realized that I don't have to be perfect and that I have something to offer right now where I'm at. And I can still work on improving myself and reaching my goals while also helping other women gain confidence in themselves and being able to take action. I'm grateful that I took the jump and joined Coaching Academy, it has already changed so many things for me and I am coaching women, I have clients, and working on my personal training certificate, and I'm hoping to pass the exam before the end of the month. And it's thanks to Coaching Academy and the knowledge that I've gained from it. It's been so great, and I know that there are more great things to come.

 

Amber B  21:09  

Next up is Annie Collins.

 

Annie  21:11  

Hi, I'm Annie Collins. As I ponder one lesson that I learned during Coaching Academy, this is a thought that came to my mind. The greatest mystery in life that we can unlock is ourselves. And Coaching Academy has been a key to unlocking myself and my true potential. I went through MACROS 101 in the summer of 2021 and loved it. But when it was over, I realized that with so much passion and conviction of what Amber was teaching that I wanted more. I wanted to be a part of Amber's vision to help spread the knowledge of Amber's program to every woman in this world and then help them feel empowered and fulfilled the way that I did. But I had no idea how I can do that. Who am I? I'm just a boring normal day-to-day mom, what do I have to offer? Well, regardless of my fears, when Coaching Academy opened up, I knew I had to take a chance for the better. So I signed up, I didn't know what to expect just that I wanted to become a better coach, to learn to coach myself through my own fitness and health journey so that one day I can help other women become the best version of themselves. Unlike most women in the program, I had no coaching background, zero clients, and I felt so inadequate. Once again, the thought came to my mind over and over again. Who am I to be a part of this amazing, talented and knowledgeable group of women? I don't belong here. Now let me just say if anyone out there has any similar thoughts or feelings that you're not good enough, throw that out now, you are more than enough. And who are you not to be out there making a difference? If you're worried that you won't fit in? Well, I did. I loved every moment of my time during Coaching Academy. Everyone was so warm and welcome, so kind and helpful. At the end of the program, we were all such great friends. And now I miss our weekly meeting so much. It's like the story Amber tells us: if you see a person drowning in the ocean, would you say to yourself, Oh, I'm not an Olympic swimmer or a lifeguard, all I can do is just boring swim. So I'm not good enough to help that person. They're just going to drown. No, of course not. We would all jump in right away and do whatever we can help. So why limit yourself? Time to throw that doubt out and learn your true potential. 

 

Annie  23:43

Besides my personal growth, Coaching Academy has also revamped my parenting skills. Amber teaches us that the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of the questions that we asked ourselves. I'm a great researcher. So when my kids asked me a question, I will simply reply or search for an answer for them. And that would be the end of it. Now I find myself asking them, What do you think you should do in the situation? Or how would you approach this problem? Tell me about it. It's been fun to test the skills that I've gained in Coaching Academy on my kids. Now I don't know what the universe has in store for me for the future but I am constantly learning and becoming a better coach. And when the time is right, I am here ready to serve and help others unlock their best self just as Amber has done for me with Coaching Academy. Thank you so much, Amber, Head Coach Melissa and Team Biceps After Babies for all the hard work and everything that you put in to make this program so amazing. I am forever grateful to have been a part of this program and can't wait for all the extraordinary women you guys will transform through the Coaching Academy program for the upcoming year. Thank you.

 

Amber B  24:55  

Now we'll hear from Ashley Coberly

 

Ashley  24:58  

I came into the Coaching Academy with an empty cup. I had no real direction or goal to become a wellness and transformational coach. I am a dance teacher and I have spent 10 plus years teaching fitness classes. After completing MACROS 101, I realized something was missing and my journey wasn't complete. I know now it was my beliefs and most importantly my perspective of fitness and what a coach can do. The Coaching Academy provides an abundance of skill, knowledge and lessons, which if you all know Amber, she over delivers. I can go on and on about what you will learn for the Academy but I don't think you want me talking for a whole hour or more. My biggest aha moment or takeaway from the program was the importance of perspective and the skillful approach one can do to learn someone's thoughts, beliefs or perspective. When a person tells themselves what they see how its interpreted, whether it's the body food or conflict, a struggle, a happy moment, or even success, one's perspective sets the stage for any scenario, especially when it comes to coaching. Amber's coaching program highlights ways to shift perspective with grace and a gentle nudge. Through her charismatic techniques and skills, you learn how to not only ask better questions but truly listen and hear the root of someone's beliefs, thoughts, views, or perspective. I also learned that once you understand someone's thoughts, beliefs, or perspective, you can make a connection and this connection can happen without judgment, agreement or even disagreement, which is so valuable. My cup is full of knowledge and skill that not only applied to my fitness journey, but these skills that continue to assist me in my personal growth, and as a wife, a mother, a businesswoman, and a friend. I look forward to filling my cup even further with Amber's coaching, teaching, and her talents.

 

Amber B  27:02  

Next up, Kellie Bader.

 

Kellie  27:05  

Hi, my name is Kellie Bader, and I own a nutrition company named Extra G Fitness and Nutrition. And I decided to invest in myself this past year and join Coaching Academy. So I've joined a lot of coaching programs in the past. And I understand the fundamentals of macro coaching, how to set macros, protein, carbohydrates, and fats, and the importance of each one and all the energy systems and all that good stuff. But yet, there's so many nutrition coaches out there right now. And everyone's getting this type of training, the basics of macro coaching. But the difference is that communication with your clients, and that's where I strengthened my relationship with through the Coaching Academy. It taught me to ask the right questions to get to the core of what's going on with your clients so you can get better results for them. And that's why I feel like you are going to enjoy this coaching opportunity that is unique and sets you apart from the growing number of coaches out there on the online space. 

 

Amber B  28:25  

Next, we'll hear from Kristin Tanner.

 

Kristin  28:27  

Hi, my name is Kristin. And my only regret is that I wish I had found Amber's Transformational Coaching course sooner. I had decided this was my passion and purpose, have always loved fitness and nutrition and wanted to move into this field and in the coaching space. And so I was kind of the certificate junkie, I'd signed up for several things, just always searching for more knowledge because I lacked the confidence in myself. And the fear of stepping into the identity of a coach and saw Amber's transformational program advertise. And I knew immediately that this was for me, and that this was going to be the missing piece that I needed to have my own transformation to really to step into that role to help other women to see their worth and to build their confidence. And it was an amazing course, I learned so much great content, but just so much on a deep level of mental shifts and shifting my own mental blocks that were holding me back from truly stepping into my purpose and so I would 150% recommend this course. It's been the missing piece for me 100%. And I'm so blessed to have found Amber found this course. And now I have this awesome community of these other coaches and women that we're going to move forward and continue to learn from one another. But I'm now so busy with clients and so incredibly blessed and have so much gratitude for this program, you got to do it.

 

Amber B  30:26  

Next is Sarah Clark.

 

Sarah  30:28  

Hey guys, my name is Sarah Clark. I went through Coaching Academy in the winter of 2021. I actually went into Coaching Academy never having experienced coaching or coaching others or helping others in that way, but obviously having the desire to. And I felt like Coaching Academy really helped me to understand the mental shifts and the mindset side of coaching, which, as a coach, you just think about. I mean, before coaching you think about the nutrition and the macros and how you can do that. But learning about the mindset and the behavior changes and learning about the subconscious mind and recognizing the way that clients may be talking about their beliefs and help them switch in asking the right questions. Those were all things that that Coaching Academy taught me and I'm so grateful for and grateful I was able to learn as a new coach. I'm also grateful for Coaching Academy because it helped me to feel more confident to take on a client, as we had to do client case studies and to be able to continue taking on clients after Coaching Academy. I also loved Coaching Academy because you connect with amazing women who ended up being some of your greatest friends. And it's amazing. I also loved Coaching Academy because not only were we able to learn about helping others overcome their beliefs, or overcome challenges and dig into these self-limiting beliefs. But I was also able to experience some coaching and some breakthroughs through Coaching Academy and the help of the coaches, and also have breakthroughs myself, which was an amazing experience to learn more about the subconscious mind to learn how to recognize these beliefs and others and learn about it. And then all of a sudden started to recognize the way that I was talking to myself and recognize those beliefs in myself. So Coaching Academy overall was an amazing experience, and I couldn't recommend it more. I loved it.

 

Amber B  32:37  

And last but not least, Lindsey Anderson.

 

Lindsey  32:40  

This course has been so amazing right before the free webinar explaining what the course was. My 16-year-old daughter tried to end her life. I actually watched the webinar from a veranda in Hawaii because we had taken our daughter there to give her a mental break. I've been a personal trainer for about a year, but having a degree in health education, I've been helping people for much longer than that. As I listened to the webinar, there was a woman that had taken the course the previous summer who talked about how this course transformed her coaching style so much that even her own clients commented to her about it. I signed up for that reason, I wanted to be more of a Transformational Coach. What I didn't expect is how this program would transform my life. Whether it's pulling out the belief or using sleight of mouth or myself or my daughter, it has helped me see a model of the world that I didn't expect. Even my husband has commented on our conversations and how they've helped him in his fitness goals as well as his mental state. I would have never guessed that a coaching program would transform me mentally the way this program has. But I have realized that everything happens for a reason. And this course came along at the right time for me.

 

Amber B  33:53  

So that wraps up the lessons learned. Thank you so much to those ladies for sharing those beautiful lessons that they learned about themselves, their clients, and about the abilities that are inside of them. Each one of these women started with a desire and they took that leap by joining Coaching Academy and turning that desire into action. And that's how you make changes. That's how you transform and when you yourself transform, you're able to transform other people. So if you have any desire, any inkling, any part of yourself that is saying maybe this is possible for me. I invite you to come to next week's live masterclass. Make money, change lives, and become a Transformational Coach. I'll be teaching it live and you can register for that class at bicepsafterbabies.com/becomeacoach. I can't wait to see you there and hopefully, I'll see some of you in this next round of Coaching Academy. That wraps up this episode of Biceps After Babies Radio. I'm Amber, now go out and be strong because remember my friend you can do anything. 

 

Outro

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