The Biggest Lessons I’ve Learned Working in Fitness

I’ve learned a lot in my almost three decades of working in the fitness industry. Sure, there are the obvious things like technique and the various types of exercise; but the biggest lesson I’ve learned has been about people. I think part of what I’ve learned comes from my own journey and the passing of time, but I’ve learned so much about people and how they relate to fitness. It’s taught me how diverse we really are, and that there is no singular “right way” to approach fitness that will work for everyone. 

The Beginning of My Learning

When I first started teaching, what I loved was a super high-intensity, sweaty workout. I wanted to teach difficult classes and kick everyone’s butts. I was young! Younger than most people who attended the classes and younger than most of my coworkers. I started going to the gym at 18, competed in the team category of the Canadian National Aerobics Championships at 21, and was officially certified to teach at 23.  

I look back at the training I had and at the time it was a lot of new information to consume.  It also only scratched the surface of all that is out there to be learned. I was taught basic anatomy, safety precautions, and how to build out a safe class that gave participants a thorough warm up, the body of the class, and a good cool down and stretch. Fortunately for me, I also had the gym manager as a mentor who worked with me through this journey.  Not everyone has that. I remember completing my online exam for Personal Training and at the end it said, “Congratulations, you are a personal trainer!” Even then, I felt lucky that I had guidance from others who were highly educated in the field, because not everyone had that advantage.

What I Learned About Fitness While Navigating Motherhood

When I first started teaching in my early 20’s, I didn’t have a ton of life experience. I knew exercise was important to be healthy, but I was focused more on my weight and how I looked back then. I was far less aware of the importance of strength and mobility, and I knew very little about what women went through during and after pregnancy. 

Of course, all that changed once I had my girls. I realized pretty quickly that many of the women who returned to the gym after having children were doing so to lose the “baby weight”. Also that they were likely dealing with a variety of issues like sore backs, fatigue, loose hips, swelling, and incontinence. Then there were complications from high-risk pregnancies, and women who had to be on bed rest or developed gestational diabetes. Stress and postpartum depression also affect a mother’s ability to exercise. 

As I aged, matured, and experienced some of these things for myself, I started to understand why someone might opt to not jump in class or why they had a hard time getting to classes daily. They weren’t being lazy; life changes! I knew firsthand how hard it could be to wrangle the kids into the car, pry them off your leg at the gym daycare, and make it to class on time. Some days I barely made it in time to teach, but I never regretted it. About ten minutes into the class, I could feel any stress lift off my shoulders and I always felt better after a workout. It was also great to pick the kids up from daycare after; we all had a break from each other, they were excited to see me, and then we’d all head off feeling happier. 

Discovering Nutrition’s Nuances

Nutrition is another key component to good health. You’ll have better workouts and make more progress when you’re eating well balanced meals and staying hydrated. I’m not qualified to give nutritional coaching, but through my job I’ve seen just how many people struggle with this. It can be very complicated, especially if you have health conditions. 

So many people are looking for a quick fix, and will jump on challenges that promise a lot of weight loss quickly. Unfortunately, these challenges usually involve a lot of changes (and work) over a short span of time. Then once the challenge is over, without help to maintain the regime, people tend to go back to their old habits. They also get burnt out from the intensity of the program.

I used to think that overweight people simply ate too much, but now I know that’s simply not true. Past trauma, lack of sleep, high stress, and hormonal changes all can be part of the full picture. An expert in the area of nutrition is your best option if you struggle with how to eat healthy or meal planning for your goals; I’m happy to refer you to a registered dietitian. 

Discovering Balance in Fitness

When I first started teaching at the gym, I was teaching maybe 3 to 4 classes a week and I’d also go in and do my own workouts. I’d see some people more often than others, but it wasn’t until I started teaching more that I’d see some people morning and night every day. These people might be in the gym for a few hours at a time, and then I’d see them running in the neighbourhood. As I got to know the members better, I started to see the fine line between healthy and unhealthy amounts of exercise.

Through chatting with them, I got to see this firsthand. The person training for an Ironman competition obviously has a lot of training to do. But they will usually have a coach and be fuelling well, sleeping, and taking rest days. I recall one person who practically lived at the gym who definitely had an exercise addiction. When I talked with her one day, she told me how upset she was that someone at the gym told her she was “looking strong”. I was confused, because that would be a compliment to me. She proceeded to tell me that her dad used to call bigger or overweight people “strong”. In her mind, strong = fat. 

Counselling isn’t in my scope of practice, but over the years I’ve learned that addictions and disorders around exercise and eating aren’t always obvious. I am better at seeing the signs, however, and if clients consistently confide in me, I could suggest they seek help from someone more qualified.

Lessons About Fitness While Aging

I’ve met people of all ages who have stopped exercising for various reasons or who never worked out at all. Then as they get older, they start having trouble doing normal daily activities. My mother in law was in a wheelchair, and I remember how considerate we had to be about parking when she was with us. We needed to ensure there was enough space for her chairlift to operate properly, and then we’d need to think about how to navigate curbs and avoid stairs. 

I now see how much thought it takes for some people to plan an outing; where will they park? Are there stairs? Will they have to stand for too long in a line? This really pushes me to keep moving. I want to be able to say yes to trying new activities, and continue to do the ones I love for many more years to come. And to do them well!  

What You Can Take From My Biggest Lesson

Whether or not you can see yourself in some of my lessons-learned above, I hope you take away this one nugget: No matter their age, ability, weight, current fitness level, or stage of life, everyone can do something to maintain or improve their strength and mobility. 

Since teaching Pilates one-on-one with more and more clients, I’ve become very aware of the importance of keeping yourself strong from the core. This means working on balance between both sides, front to back, and top to bottom as well as having good balance. Functional strength training with weights is also important. 

You can do this! All you need to do is take that first, tiny step.