Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Bertuccio.
Hi Nick, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! I’m Nick, the owner of Bertuccio Coaching Services. I’ve been a personal trainer for 7 years and a nutrition coach for 5. I’ve empowered clients of all ages and fitness levels to lose weight, gain muscle, and believe in themselves.
I believe that change begins with our mindset. I grew up weak, skinny, and with a huge lack of confidence in myself. Nothing I tried to gain weight or get stronger ever worked. I struggled socially, felt awkward, and did not believe in myself or my ability to change.
I had always been told I was weak, that I was unathletic, and that I wasn’t good at things. I believed I wasn’t good enough, that I was genetically inferior, and that the people I admired or had what I wanted were born with something that I couldn’t develop. I couldn’t see it then, but these beliefs about myself, life, and the world around me kept me stuck in a perpetual cycle. They stayed with me and prevented me from making progress later in life.
These beliefs prevented me from having the confidence to follow through on the actions needed to change my situation, whether it was my physical body, mental outlook, or life circumstance.
A phenomenon called confirmation bias keeps our brains scanning our environments for evidence that supports our unconscious beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. When we have beliefs, our brain scans our environment for any evidence to support them and ignores any evidence to the contrary. I believed I wasn’t good enough, so my brain worked day and night, scanning my environment for evidence of this belief.
To change my life situation, I had to change my mindset and my beliefs. I had to learn to be open-minded to new possibilities and information. I had to learn to speak to myself differently, rewire my thinking, to change my belief system about myself and the world. Without this, lasting change was difficult, if not impossible. Only when I learned to change my mindset could I change my circumstances.
When my mental fitness changed, my physical fitness soon followed. One complimented the other- my mindset reinforced my discipline, and my discipline reinforced my mindset. I was able to transform myself physically through correct education and application of training and nutrition principles. Once again, one complimented the other – when I was able to change my physique (discipline), It built confidence and reinforced the changes in my mindset.
It made me want more: more growth, experiences, education, and perspective. Bettering yourself is addictive. The confidence I gained from learning to make a change in my physical fitness, an area of life I had always believed I couldn’t have success in, carried over to every other area of my life. I could be confident in myself in ways I never had before because I was successfully doing things for myself that I had never done before. Self-confidence comes from showing up for yourself. The problem is that the lack of it often keeps you from doing so.
I became a coach to help others develop self-esteem and make that same internal transformation. Seeing someone learn to believe in and be confident in themselves, to go after what they truly want in life- that is infinitely more rewarding than seeing someone transform physically and is why I do what I do. The physical transformations are just a bonus.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Besides the challenges of growing up with a huge lack of confidence and self esteem related to my body:
In my late teens and early 20s, I had a severe IV drug addiction. Likely stemming from an attempt to self medicate this feeling of not being good enough. I was homeless on multiple occasions, overdosed a dozen or more times, attempted suicide, went to a handful of rehabs, had a brief stint in county jail for possession…you know, all the usual things that come with addiction. Fitness saved my life from all of that. It gave me a new identity, a new outlet. It was neither easy nor smooth- but I wouldn’t change the way my story is written for anything because those struggles made me who I am today. It put me in a unique position to be able to use my experiences to help others.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Bertuccio Coaching Services?
I’m an Online Fitness&Nutrition Coach. I design full fitness and nutrition programs for clients in my app. Clients experience cosmetic physical transformations and improvements in their physical strength, of course, but also report improved mood, energy, confidence/self-esteem, etc.
My program is three parts: Training, Nutrition, and Accountability.
I design the training and nutrition programs from scratch for each client based on equipment access, experience level, knowledge, injury history/medical limitations, and of course, goals. Everything is individualized for each client, and no two plans are identical.
The training plans are programmed into the app you download onto your phone. I get a ton of great feedback on it from beginner and advanced trainees alike- it walks you through every set of every exercise of each workout. It has a long-form, in-depth instructional video, a quick demonstration video, a thorough set of written instructions for each prescribed exercise, and dozens of available substitutions for each exercise. It times your rest periods and keeps track of every little detail and variable you could imagine tracking your progress from workout to workout. It syncs to smart watches to track all of your metrics, and it syncs to MyFitnessPal, a free app used to track your nutrition that is the gold standard in the nutrition space.
Regarding nutrition, I teach the flexible dieting approach—no cutting out carbs, nothing overly restrictive, and no set-in-stone meal plans (unless requested). I teach clients how to count macros (protein, fats, and carbs) and assign them the amount they should eat each day. I’ve found this to be much more sustainable for the average client than a meal plan of the same thing every day.
This accomplishes two things:
1. It teaches them how the process works, so they know how to do it themselves or for loved ones and friends for the rest of their lives.
2. It gives them variety and flexibility over what foods they choose- they don’t have to give up anything. They just have to make it fit in their numbers for the day.
The third piece is accountability because you can have the best plan in the world, but it means nothing if you don’t do it. I check in w my clients once per week on the phone to go over their progress and any concerns or questions they may have. I do call people out on their excuses- I’m never rude or disrespectful, but a coach’s job is to call you out when necessary and get you results, not to coddle you. Sometimes a little tough love is necessary.
I’m creating an online community for all my clients to engage with and support each other, as well as weekly group coaching calls on zoom. Throughout the week, all my clients have my cell number and text me anytime for any questions or concerns. You can learn more about me and see some of my educational content at instagram.com/Nickbertuccio – where I focus most of my content efforts.
Do you have any advice for those just starting?
“The fastest way to get to where you are trying to go is to find someone who is already there and ask them for directions.” (I wish I could claim credit for this quote- it’s not mine, I believe it’s from David Meltzer)
If something goes wrong with your car, you could spend time figuring out how to fix it. Researching online, gathering info from others, tinkering with different parts, etc., but hiring a mechanic who already knows what they’re doing would save you a lot of time, energy, and mistakes. If you want to get good at something and fast-track your results, hire a coach or a mentor. Period.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.Bertucciocoachingservices.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/nickbertuccio
- Facebook: Facebook.com/nickbertuccio
Image Credits
Carlos Cintron
