Dalton O’Riley

Major: Kinesiology and Health
Company/Organization: Aspen Athletic Clubs
Company/Organization website: https://aspenclubs.com/
Destination: Ankeny, Iowa
Timeframe: Summer 2021
Advisor/Coordinator Email: dpower

Responsibilities

Responsibilities included reaching out to new members and offering them their 2 complimentary personal training sessions courtesy of their membership. The methods used for contacting new members were phone calls, text, and email. I also reached out to a lot of former clients who either left due to COVID, or had a former trainer that was no longer employed here at Aspen. Some general cleaning tasks were assigned such as: cleaning and wiping down mirrors, organizing and rearranging kettlebells, dusting and wet moping, and improving the overall upkeep of the facility. Primarily role was working 1v1 with clients, although I did have some buddy sessions throughout the summer. A large emphasis was put on programming for these clients, helping them achieve their goal, and sometimes even using our InBody570 scale as a way to track and measure their results. Participating in staff meetings was another responsibility, as well as discussing educational topics relevant to health and wellness.

Accomplishments

Although it's an ongoing goal and accomplishment, the idea of being able to sell sessions was a huge accomplishment. Personal training is a pricey service, but I truly believe we as Kinesiology students also have the capability to provide a very high quality service. There is still a lot of strategies to learn and ways to improve myself, but as a whole that was one of the biggest accomplishments. Prior to doing this internship, I had little to no salesman experience, let alone trying to sell my own service. Getting comfortable with a lot of new faces and being able to work with just about everybody makes the selling experience easier and less stressful.

Learning experience

After being apart of Recreation Services since spring semester of 2018, it was hard to adjust to new co-workers, a new environment, and overall just a new and different setting. Coming from an educational setting at ISU to a commercial gym setting was a shock. It can be very competitive, you are essentially your own boss trying to build up your own clientele. Sometimes you may get lucky and have someone off the streets wants to train 3-4x a week, while other times some can only afford to train every other week. There's also beauty in all of those variables listed above - having a little bit of competitiveness can actually help drive a trainer to gain more clients and put in a little more effort.

What advice would you give?

Learn from everybody around you even if you don't always agree. We all bring different experiences and backgrounds, and sometimes there isn't always a definite answer or a 'right' way. Being open minded is largely important in this industry. Continue educating yourself on areas you are weak, and if you have a passion for a certain area, be the smartest person you can possibly be on that topic. Take advantage of opportunities that are presented your way, and often times the things that intimidate us the most are where we find the most growth. Also, be as genuine as possible. Be a good listener, match your clients' energy, and be the reason they have a great day.

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