Louisa - Personal Trainer
What were your motivations for getting into Personal Training?
I have always been interested in fitness. I used to train with a friend of mine and found myself motivating her and pushing her to work out harder and stronger. One day, she asked me “why don’t you train to do this?” and that set the cogs turning in my head.
It was another 18 months before I took it seriously enough to consider though, as I was stuck in a boring job and decided to take my future into my own hands.
What were you doing before the course? Why did you choose The Training Room?
I currently work in IT in a sedentary, office-based computer testing role where I test new functionality to my employer’s website before it gets released for public exposure.
To be honest, I searched on Google for Personal Training courses and saw that The Training Room offered a course less than 2 miles from my house! So, distance was a big factor in choosing this course.
What did you enjoy about the course?
Our trainer, Hasit, was great. He was technical in his approach to our learning and managed to explain things to us in a way in which we all understood – from me, with no fitness background, to someone who has been working around fitness for a while.
I really enjoyed the journey we all went on together. The group of people on the course got to be pretty close and we are still in touch a few months down the line. Also, I really enjoyed the classroom environment and liked learning about stuff that had never crossed my path before.
Were you able to fit the course around other commitments?
Yes, it was not a problem fitting it in. I suppose it was mainly due to the fact that I signed up so early for the course – I signed up in September and the course didn’t start until November – so I had a long time to get to grips with learning again (I had not been in a learning environment since 1991!).
If I had not spent the time before the course learning the basics then I may have struggled for time, as I was completely new to fitness and didn’t have the basic grounding of knowledge!
What was the biggest challenge you have encountered on your course?
For me, the biggest challenge I faced on the course was definitely my nerves for the assessments! I don’t know why I got myself so stressed out about them – I am a pretty chilled person usually but these really flustered me. I think it was because I wanted to do well and was stressed out in case I didn’t!
How have you used your qualification?
So far, I have not been able to utilise my qualification.
I had handed in my notice to my current workplace and was due to start work at DW Fitness First, Solihull but on my final day in the office, the country was asked to lockdown and work from home. So, I had to withdraw my notice and continue to work for my existing employer.
When the country eventually reverts back to business-as-usual, I hope to start at the gym and run bootcamp classes a couple of nights a week locally. I am currently looking at online options in my spare time – I already have a website under construction, a Facebook page & Instagram page ready to go.
Did you utilise the Career Support Team?
I was asked about my preferences when I started and I mentioned that I would prefer a paid position over paying rent – but also pointed out that I was open to anything.
My career support officer sourced me a role at David Lloyd to apply to, but it was not a local gym to me and I didn’t want to travel too far. I applied to and was offered 2 roles, 1 of which I have accepted!
Have you completed any other training since graduating with us?
I was about to book on to the CPD courses for bootcamp in May but again – all plans on hold for the near future.
Having completed the course, what advice would you give people who are considering it themselves?
If you are considering the option, then go for it! I am 45 and from a computing background so if I can do it then so can you!
Ensure you do a lot of studying before you start if you have not had any exposure to anatomy before as it really helped me. As soon as you have signed up you get access to the manuals – make sure you read through these. Also – STUDY! The exam is multiple choice but is not easy – what’s the point of doing something if it’s too easy?
I was very happy with the course and how it as run so go for it! Just make sure you seriously think about the option before taking a course. It is a tough industry and there a lot of PT’s out there already so make sure you’re passionate!