Personal Trainer Castle Hill

Hi, My name is Sean Kirsten.

Not many personal trainers can say they’ve ‘been there’. I have. I know how it feels to huff and puff up hills, to wear clothes that just fit – not clothes you like and how the very thought of going for a run makes you break out into a sweat!

But I also know that change is possible, I know the rewards are greater than the sacrifices and, as I tell my listeners most Sundays on 2UE 954 radio, I know what it will take to get you there. I’ll show you what to do and guide you on this journey which will be the most exciting of your life.

It’s all about ending all procrastination and starting today, to be the best you can be.

My Journey

Growing up, I was a skinny kid – mainly because I was active, always riding my bike around with my mates. Also because I was into sport. Actually, I won a fair few medals from athletics, especially from hurdles in which I became a junior world champion.
But at my 21st birthday I discovered what would become my biggest hurdle – beer. I got into drinking with my mates and then when I met my girlfriend and soon-to-be-wife, Kate, I also discovered what fun eating out at restaurants was. Instead of being active, we soon got into a routine of takeaways and restaurant meals during the week and weekends going out drinking with friends. Some Saturdays I’d start drinking around midday and by the time midnight came I’d put away 40 schooners. “Not a bad effort!” the fellas would say, so why did I feel so bad? Maybe because I was now a XXXL, for a start.

The real answer came when I started getting chest pains. Doctors discovered my cholesterol was over 10 – dangerously high. They said I could have a heart attack at any time and that scared the life out of me. Kate had got much bigger too, from around 70kg when I met her, to more than 120kg now and she wasn’t happy with herself. Looking back, neither of us was particularly happy with how we looked or felt.

Then in June 2006 Kate heard that Channel Nine was looking for ‘real people’ to be on their new reality TV weight loss show called Overhaul. Unlike the previous years’ Celebrity Overhaul featuring stars including cricketer Merv Hughes and athlete Nova Peris, this was all about ordinary Aussies getting back into shape. I was embarrassed about the whole world knowing what a “tub” I’d become and didn’t want to do it but Kate insisted. She said this was life or death and that this could be our last chance to save our lives. She hoped to have kids soon too but with a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) that dream was a long way off.
She got her way – of course – and before I knew it we were being taken off to an island and put through detox and the hardest training regime I could ever have imagined.

We were only away for 10 days and for pretty much the remainder of the 14 week program, we were at home and doing this in our own environment, just like anyone else would, but with some assistance through personal training. I clashed with the show’s trainer, Lee Campbell, so early on, Kate and I somehow got the reputation of being “quitters”, that we wouldn’t do very well.

That just spurred us both on. “We’ll show them,” we vowed and I can honestly say that we both gave 100%. We both quit alcohol altogether and for the next 14 weeks ate healthy, low fat, low ‘human interference’ food, guided by the diet principles of the amazing Dr John Tickell – basically following his excellent Great Australian Diet book, though making it our own with slight changes to suit our tastes and lifestyles. We still caught up with friends and had a good time, we just didn’t pig out or drink. Added to that was at least an hour of vigorous exercise each day – sometimes more.

We didn’t weigh ourselves at home and at the half-way weigh in, which was televised, I had lost a massive 23kg and Kate lost 18kg. That was in just seven weeks. By our final weigh in, I had lost 38kg and Kate had lost 30kg. It wasn’t a competition and there was no prize as such but percentage-wise, we had lost the most of all the participants.

This whole experience changed me completely, both inside and out. Now a healthy 84kg, and with a cholesterol of 3.4. I loved the way I looked and felt now. I didn’t feel ashamed to look in the mirror and I even adored exercise again. Moving was so much easier and I loved the natural high that being active gave me.

I was also inspired by the personal trainers – what a rewarding job, helping to transform people’s lives, I thought. I decided I wanted to do that for a career, so in a move that stunned everyone who knew me, I quit my lucrative mining industry job and studied to become a personal trainer.

I qualified back in October 2006 and since becoming a Master Trainer, have been in demand ever since. My clients appreciate that I have been in their shoes and are inspired by the fact that I’m living proof of what is possible – that even when you feel like a lost cause that you’re not. There is light at the end of the tunnel – you just need to want it badly enough and be willing to make some short-term sacrifices for long-term gain.

I’ve helped transform many clients’ lives and I’d love to help you, too. I’ve worked with people from 55kg to 180kg and got results from them all. If you would like my help in turning your life around and not just living longer but living better, call or email me today.

If you would like to know more contact me…

Here are some photos of my journey…