Week 5

February 15-19: Week 5 and I'm still figuring out the kinks in being a personal trainer. It's so different communicating with clients and administering exercises as a professional than trying to encourage a friend to keep up with you in a workout! I'm realizing the people's different personalities cause them to respond to things in very different ways. Some of my clients are verbal and expressive and it's easy to tell when an exercise is too hard, too easy, or just challenging enough. They complain about exercises they don't like and challenge themselves through the ones that they do. Their feedback makes sessions go by quickly and enables me to build a relationship with them so that each of us are more at ease during workouts. In addition, the more feedback they give me, the more feedback I feel I can give them on how to perform the exercises. These conversational exchanges build my confidence and theirs, which definitely results in an overall better experience. Clients who give less feedback are much more challenging to work with and engage in the routine. If an exercise is too high in intensity or they have difficulty moving their body in the way it demands, without feedback from the client, I am unable to observe their distress and therefore will not adjust the exercise. As the exercises and routines progress in complexity, I am learning to ask clients for feedback to establish with them an open system of communication. I'm positive it will benefit both of our experiences.