Georgeta Serban moved from Romania to Canada in 2008 with her husband. They decided to make Brossard their home. When Georgeta arrived, she did not know one single soul.

In her youth, Georgeta was used to rough and tough sports and being physically fit as she grew up with 4 brothers; 2 older and 2 younger ones. Georgeta’s father Vasile was extremely athletic. Her two older brothers ended up being professional Olympic wrestlers.  Georgeta’s father believed strongly in perseverance. Georgeta often biked and hiked with her dad and sincerely enjoyed being with him. Her parents lived a simple life in Romania where her dad was a factory worker. Georgeta’s mother was truly her role model, a selfless woman who loved her family and worked night shift to make ends meet. She was Georgeta’s inspiration and the “angel” in her life. 

At the age of 18 or19, Georgeta started ballroom dancing and taught aerobics and excelled in both. She joined the YMCA in 2008 to acquire her certification in personal training and aerobics to do what she loved most, being fit, healthy and working with others to help them become fit.

When Georgeta works with clients, she uses much patience as her clients often want to give up as they are really scared they won’t achieve their goal.  She provides them with TLC and empathizes with them.  Her mission is “to take control of their well-being.” 

For example, one of Georgeta’s clients was a 50-year-old Polish woman who had difficulty walking due to acute sciatica, she struggled with chronic pain.  With Georgeta’s patience, kindness and understanding, a few months later the woman was able to join Georgeta’s regular fitness class. She says “the woman just needed the right tools to improve herself. Spirit suffers when we are not physically capable.”

Georgeta measures and tracks the progress of her clients with a combination of strategies: she tests them, listens carefully to their feedback on regression and progression, follows their personal journey and adjusts their physical activity plan accordingly.

She says the most rewarding aspect of helping others in fitness is when clients realize their potential and reach their goals.  Positive change in their health fuels their passion.

To keep her clients engaged and excited about their health, Georgeta offers a variety of exercises.  People get bored with doing the same exercises.  So, she offers her clients positivity and inspires them with her energy. As an example, for office workers, Georgeta suggests they exercise outdoors in the fresh air, reminds them to drink water, to be present and to set achievable milestones, not a weight loss of 60 pounds in one month.

Personal tragedies have affected Georgeta’s life in many ways. She lost her beloved mom Zanfira to illness in 2005 and left her family to come to Canada which was difficult. She suffered from an important hip injury and had to wait a year to return to fitness.  During that time she walked, underwent physiotherapy, acupuncture and osteopathy. Georgeta read lots of books and attended many meetings. She was extremely thankful for loyal friends and clients who cheered her on. Going through all of this made her an understanding, patient teacher.  

Empathy plays a huge role, as does being objective with her clients. At the beginning, some of her clients called her “slave driver”, or “Barbie”.  Even though they called her names, Georgeta needed to understand what they were experiencing and took the time to comprehend their challenges. By doing so, it fosters a foundation of trust and a bond is formed which leads to better results.  Georgeta becomes part of her client’s lives, she becomes “family” and is often invited to clients’ weddings or to their homes.

Her most challenging client was a man in his mid-sixties who was severely depressed.  He was unable to focus. Georgeta started seeing him 3 times per week for 20 minutes each time. He would not talk and often cried. She worked with him for 6 months during which time he saw a psychologist. Six months later, he was working out 60 minutes three times per week. Georgeta worked with him at Gold’s Gym and through the MAA.  He finally started to love working out on his own. They still keep in touch and exchange birthday wishes. 

Special moments of growth for Georgeta were during and after her hip injury which gave her more empathy for others. She learned to become more resilient and realized that overall health is not only physical, but mental as well.

Georgeta also provides important on-line training which her clients adore.  She must be authentic, have integrity and be present as if she is providing live personal training. For example, she may say “Ensure your knee shoots over your toes or I’m going to show you how to do it.”  She asks clients to practice, sends them drawings and explanations.  She is transparent and is simultaneously passionate about her clients and teaches them to be their best self. Her job is rather like a nurse – to empathize, to listen, to understand and to resolve issues.

In her spare time Georgeta enjoys walking, reading, taking a luxurious bath and being on-the-move.  Her 3 cats Pufi, Rufus and Luna are her Canadian family.  She loves nature, classical, pop and heavy metal music and dancing.  Her father and brothers are very proud and supportive of Georgeta.  Although she finds it difficult that they are so far away, she knows they are protective of her and want her to stay in Canada, a safe country, doing what she loves best.

Georgeta would like people to know that to be in their best physical form they should remove the fear and know that they can trust her not only as their trainer, but as their friend.  She says it is difficult to start up, but by taking one step at a time, people can achieve their goals.

Georgeta’s daily guide to excellence in 7 lessons:

1. Take action:
You may be able to make it look like you have things under control, but you will not achieve excellence until you take action.

2. Put in what you want to get out:
This means that you must stick with your excellence habits in order for them to give you a good return on your investment (ROI). Remember to put in deliberate effort. Prioritize quality over quantity.

3. It gets easier:
It takes effort to develop a habit, especially a healthy habit that will not result in immediate benefits or results.

4. Create a schedule:
Schedule important habits into your day.

5. Identify key habits:
To live a life of excellence, identify key habits that can transform your health, wealth, and relationships, then carry out these habits every day.

6. Improve your morning routine:
If you start good habits in the morning, you will be more likely to continue your day on a positive path.

7. Develop more positive daily habits:Even doing small things like talking to other people who you believe are excellent, or taking time to stretch to do some deep breathing can add up to a lot more than it may seem.

“Everyone needs to take appropriate breaks for their mental and physical health, but we should not just sit around and let time pass us by or wait for excellence to come to us.”

We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, therefore is not an act, but a habit! Aristotle

For more information check out georgetaserban.ca or call 514 885-1613.