For my STEP project I chose to obtain my personal training license and work as a personal trainer here at Ohio State. My certification comes from the American Council of Exercise. I attended classes through the spring semester of 2019 and tested for my license in May 2019. I worked as a personal trainer through summer 2019.
While completing my STEP signature project, I had a lot of assumptions of mine change. Going into my class, I assumed that everyone working as a CPT would be the same stereotype; very muscular/fit, and conventionally attractive. However, everyone does not look the same! I also assumed that everyone would be some kind of Physical Education or Human Sciences major. This was also not the case, some of my teachers were Marketing majors, Biochemistry or even Engineering. Sometimes, this led to me feeling like an outsider, as I was trying to fit myself into a nonexistent mold I had created for personal trainers.
Sometimes I would feel down on myself that I was “lesser than” other personal trainers cause I wasn’t in a specific major or had certain fitness goals. My main goals were to just keep healthy and try things I had not done before. I was not super active and fit in high school, and I wanted to change this about myself. It was only when I mingled with other CPTs at Ohio State that I realized that there isn’t a mold we all have to fit. Each person is working towards their best self, and just because my goals didn’t align with theirs, doesn’t mean that I’m less of a personal trainer than they are.
I also assumed that everyone looking into personal training wanted a similar goal; to get an attractive, fit body. However, many of my clients goals were just to get healthier. Many had chronic health conditions that were improved by a regular exercise regimen and weight loss. They might have also wanted to get stronger, but for most of my clients, the primary goal was to get healthier through exercise.
A key relationship I had developed was with a client who had chronic health concerns and wanted to lose weight. She didn’t really enjoy standard cardio options, however she really enjoyed becoming stronger through strength training. I began designing workouts I knew she would enjoy, and eventually she achieved her goals. Challenging clients always pushed me to do my best in my job. I wanted to really help those who had health challenges because fitness is much more than just a physique thing for me.
This transformation allowed me to develop my personal and professional goals. After completing this project, I realized that I was capable of doing something I once said I never could accomplish. I was helping people reach their goals, and I really enjoyed doing it. I want to incorporate this experience into my career in the future, like personal training on the side in addition to a full time job. I think having this balance of interests has really improved who I am as a person.