Next, we are going to get you to answer some of the questions that personal trainers and coaches ask new clients. This can be confronting for a lot of people. Talking about one's own health and decisions around health can stir up feelings of anxiety, shame, and confusion.
But it is also an opportunity to connect with a client, reassure them and have them know someone is there to help and change the narrative. How coaches approach these conversations is key. “It’s not what you say it’s how you say it” – but we will touch on that a bit later in the exercise prescription modules. For now, have a look at the questions and have a go at answering them yourself.
In this video, you'll hear from Justin, Riaan, and Davy, 3 of our Sports Tutors.
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You’ve heard from some of the NZIS team how they found their passion for health and fitness. Now it’s time to share yours. If you feel comfortable, record an introduction and upload it to the forum. Alternatively, write an introduction and share some images.
Not sure where to start? You might want to mention:
- Your name (you should definitely mention your name)
- Where are you located? (Maybe there are others studying nearby!)
- Why did you choose to study personal training?
- What does health and fitness mean to you?
- What are you most looking forward to about study and working as a PT?
Check out your peers’ introductions. Do you have anything in common? Let them know!
Being a personal trainer is all about connecting with your clients. You’re supporting them through tough times and celebrating wins.
Dealing with the tough times
When you study to be a personal trainer, you too will go through tough times and wins. It’s a field dedicated to growth and part of that is giving and receiving feedback. Feedback can be confronting. Putting yourself out there to receive feedback can make you feel vulnerable. These are very valid feelings.
It’s important to create a safe space where you encourage and support your peers. It can also be helpful to build resilience. This allows you to respond in a positive way to feedback, recognising that it is crucial for a growth mindset. Build a community of continuous improvement – ask for and welcome feedback.
Building resilience will be helpful when it comes time to seek employment or grow your own personal training business. You’ll need to take risks to grow your business and build your client database. Hopefully, these risks will be met with great rewards, but it is also possible that there will be hurdles along the way.
Resilience is the capacity to recover from adversity
Adversity is a hardship – a state of serious or continued difficulty. How we approach these hardships determines if we become stronger, more resilient, and thrive when obstacles come up.
Those with resilience often have an easier time facing challenges simply because they will persevere.
Seeing setbacks as opportunities for growth makes you more prepared to deal with them. You’ll be encouraged to seek out challenges because you know they will move you forwards.
The good news is that resilience isn’t a fixed personality trait; we’re not born with a set amount of it.Sandberg, 2017
Building resilience takes time. All our experiences can either help develop our resilience, or knock it back. Either way our capacity to face adversity is continually changing.
Dr Lucy Hone is a director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience. Watch the video to hear how she coped with loss and her three key strategies for building resilience. Content warning: The following video contains sensitive content about the loss of a child. You do not have to watch.
Dr Hone’s key strategies for building resilience:
- Understand the suffering is part of life
- Tune into the good
- Ask yourself, ‘Is this helping or harming me?’ (Hone, 2020)
Take a moment to reflect on your own resilience and adversity that you have faced. What is one thing you can do to grow your resilience?
