A course that I was enrolled in during the spring semester of 2022 at IUPUI was Theory & Practice of Cardiovascular Exercise. A requirement during this course was for students to create a professional exercise video or teach an in-person group fitness class at Boner Fitness Center in Indianapolis. My choice was to teach a live fitness class where I would work with a classmate to create a strength and balance workout for elderly individuals. 

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Teaching an in-person fitness class allowed me to not only have human interaction after several years where in-person activities were constrained, but I was able to apply the two years of knowledge that I had learned about exercise principles to a live fitness routine! 

Most importantly, the clients that I worked with during this experience provided my partner and me detailed feedback on our teaching skills. Since this teaching experience, I have been able to refine my strengths as a personal trainer and continue to build upon my weaknesses!

Because I had the opportunity to practice my skills and hear constructive feedback from those I instructed, I feel that I have an advantage as I transition into more into personal training over the coming years because I already know what abilities I need to develop to maximize my potential as a young practitioner!

 

Opening American Muscle Factory has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have seen the effort, grit, and determination needed to start a venture of this magnitude by my mentors. Besides character qualities that I have seen and learned from my partners, I have gained an extensive understanding on fitness management and the fundamentals that are key in starting a facility. While my degree in Exercise Science will serve me well as a personal trainer and online coach, the day-to-day operations of AMF has allowed me to see how business dynamics are carried out. Some skills that I have developed from this experience have been better time management, acute organizational skills, and an understanding of accountability when it comes to fulfilling my role as a member of a team. While I am a former student-athlete coming from a background of team sports, I have to apply my role-playing and communication skills differently in a real-world scenario of starting a business. When I am a practitioner in the field who is working full-time in the health and fitness industry, I feel more assured that what I have learned over the last 12 months of helping open American Muscle Factory will allow me to be a more patient, a more thorough, a more keen, and a more personable professional with my future clientele.