This episode is a special treat for me because I get to catch up with a long-time friend and coach with whom I’ve worked since my early days as an entrepreneur. Ambrose Wilson-Brown, aka Ambrose WB, is a health and wellness coach from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (my former stomping grounds) and the only personal trainer whose methods and coaching style helped me make tremendous health and fitness breakthroughs throughout the years.
Ambrose and I talk about how he quit personal training in 2013–which led to an angry client base–because he no longer felt aligned with his work. He candidly shares what led him to take a hiatus from his fitness business for two years to work for a non-profit organization serving underprivileged youth.
At the end of the conversation, Ambrose gives us a peek inside the method he uses in his business to help those of us who are struggling with losing weight, running low on energy, or without the strength we once had to serve others.
Episode Quotables:
It really was no different until it felt different. – Ambrose WB
Most people come with their own filters of fitness already, so the education part is more important than the training. – Ambrose WB
People get too stuck on particulars, so I get macro with them. – Ambrose WB
If health worked logically, then people who smoke cigarettes and find out that smoking is bad for your health–and could kill you–would stop. – Ambrose WB
You can control how hard you work. You can control how nice you are. – Ambrose WB
A coach comes in to help you see you the way you don’t see yourself and to hopefully give you the space to come to that realization on your own. – Ambrose WB
You do as much as you can do and then a little bit less; that’s what makes you strong. – Ambrose WB
If you’re not getting stronger, you’re getting weaker. – Ambrose WB
Your mind is your body and your body is your mind. – Ambrose WB
If you’re coming to do fitness with a fixed mindset–that you’re just controlling my body–and you come to train to get a boost of endorphins and you can’t duplicate that yourself, then your trainer is doing you a disservice. – Ambrose WB
Episode Resources:
The MISPIBO Method
People think No pain, no gain. But in this approach, you’ll learn the M.E.D. (minimally effective dosage) to avoid burnout.
There are 3 parts of the method:
- Mindset
- Spirit (Social/emotional = what gives your life meaning and purpose)
- Body
Here are 3 questions to ask yourself for each part of the method:
- What is the quality or nature of my mindset? (e.g. Do I have negative self talk?)
- Where do I need x to be in order to feel successful or satisfied? (e.g. Where does my fitness need to be in order to feel satisfied?)
- What do successful people do to get better emotional health? (e.g. What are other coaches doing to remain emotionally resilient?)
BONUS: The Process of Why
Use the method of asking yourself 5 “Why” questions to dive deeper into the issue at hand.
As an example, I’m sharing the 5 “Why” questions I asked myself regarding my health and fitness concerns and the answers I truthfully gave to help me process what was going on inside me:
- Why…? (Why did I gain all the weight back? Because I was depressed.)
- Why…? (Why was I depressed? Because I felt betrayed, abandoned, and unsafe.)
- Why…? (Why did I feel that way? Because I was alienated from my son for four years.)
- Why…? (Why did that affect me? Because I was in survival mode and nothing else mattered to me at the time.)
- Why…? (Why didn’t anything else matter at the time? Because I felt so alone and unloved and I didn’t care about how great I looked or how successful I was if I couldn’t have my son in my life.)
Find Ambrose:
Find Free Starter Kits and articles on health, nutrition and fitness at ambrosewb.com.
Join Ambrose’s free online health and fitness community where he’s helping people get Fit for Purpose.
Ambrose offers coaching only 3 times a year and is giving Brave Bears a special discount! Here’s the link to join the presale list.
