Carson Sup

Responsibilities

With this internship, as a personal trainer, it was a little different since I am solely a commission-based intern and now employee. I created my own hours, and it was my responsibility to build my own clientele/business. Every personal trainer has essentially has the same four responsibilities/duties - selling personal training packages, doing personal training sessions (the biggest part of my job), doing PFA (Personal Fitness Assessment)/Initial Consultations, and selling retail (usually consist of our dry good supplements).

Accomplishments

One of the greatest accomplishments from my experience as an intern at Genesis Health Clubs, has been the personalized programs I have created for various individuals I have trained. You pick up quick, and the knowledge you gain both from ISU and from your internship sight aid in anything that is thrown at you. Over the short ten weeks I have been at Genesis, I have completed well over 200 personal training sessions with close to 100 different individuals. I have trained individuals with injuries of the shoulder, neck, back, elbow, knee, hip, wrist, people with limited range of motion, speech impediments, diseases like scoliosis, plantar fasciitis, Parkinson's disease (received my Parkinson's certification as well), and just recently a woman who has stage four colon cancer.

Learning experience

The greatest lesson I learned upon arriving at my internship site was my limited experience and knowledge in sales. As a commission-based employee, all your revenue/income comes from your ability to sell yourself as a personal trainer. I have learned to become more a people person, and show my confidence in a way that attract clients. Especially in a place like Genesis where we are one of the biggest sellers of personal training in the Midwest with almost 30 personal trainers on our team, you must show how you can stand out from others.

What advice would you give?

The biggest piece of advice I can give you as a student is to learn everything you can from your internship coordinator and veteran employees, and always take in the advice they give you. No amount of schooling can ever prepare you for what is thrown at you in your future career.