Blog by Cassandra
A personal trainer is much more than that person you meet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a good sweat session. By the book, we make sure our clients are assessed regularly and provided a great program that outlines training protocols to reach optimal movement, physicality, mind-body connection and performance in relation to goals set between the professional and client. We make goals inside and outside of session that also relate to lifestyle, nutrition and health. We refer out when aspects of our job reach beyond our scope of practice but need to be addressed. There are a lot of things that happen outside of the traditional job description that are inherently part of our jobs, though. We think about clients when we cook, shop, train ourselves, read and more but just how far does that consideration go?
We claim territory
Everyday at the gym brings a mixed crowd of people; some hopped up on pre workouts and others blissfully unaware of their spatial radius. Generally there are unwritten- although sometimes blatantly written- gym etiquette rules that members follow, but that utopic quality is far from always present. I was never trained in the art, although becoming an atmospherical conductor has definitely come in handy on the floor. Offering an effective and safe space for clients to train is crucial. We make sure to have the equipment they need by setting up stations which subtly state ‘at work’, while also welcoming fellow gym-goers the opportunity to share equipment during rest periods. Training 1 – Social anxiety 0! Each session, it’s important to make sure the client gets the most out of their workout and that is always priority number one. Its important as the professional to make sure this happens without a hitch… tapping someone on the shoulder to ask whether they’re using equipment or to let them know not to cart something across the gym is trivial should it happen once or twice. It happens frequently and I don’t want my client to focus on those encounters with their time.
We think about clients outside of the gym
The consideration we take with our clients often extends beyond sessions and programming time. There are countless times I have been shopping and thought about how a certain item would be perfect for Client X based on their unique personality! The same thing goes between accountability check-ins. I am constantly thinking about whether Client Y is sticking to that lifestyle habit we’ve been working on, silently cheering them on for a quick moment. This cheering branches out into multiple other thoughts, such as “what will we do if this is not the right approach?” or “if they’ve nailed this, we need to work on (insert 2-3 options here) next. YES. That’s it.”
There are hundreds of notes in my phone for when these moments strike, since many times it happens outside of session and away from my computer. We’re truly invested in finding out what makes our clients tick in order to get them performing the most effective and factor-considerate approaches to get the job done.
Our clients inspire us
Over the past five years, having the opportunity to see people from many walks of life make positive changes to their body, mind and holistic health has been absolutely inspiring. It is like a constant highlight reel that shows people pushing past their physical, mental and emotional boundaries to find out just how capable they are and how healthfully athletic they can be. In a macrocosm, it is really emotional to see someone come full circle from a beginner who has a rocky ‘self-I am’ relationship, who then becomes a healthy, confident version of themselves who has full command of their body! Same thing goes for the advanced clients who continue to unlock more masterful training and “Self-I am” forms. This really puts perspective into my own work ethic, training tenacity as well as my mental and spiritual health upkeep. The gratitude I have for this continuum phenomenon is unrelenting. I can’t name how many times I’ve geeked out with a client who begins to really grasp the philosophies and science behind what we’ve been working on… each squeak, high five, shimmy or complimentary quip is completely genuine and happy. When clients miss a mark, it creates space for trainers to grow their approaches, but oh, when clients make strides and hit wins, it really is the epitome of a fulfilling career.
