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Active Listening: Hear What People are Really Saying. (2020). Retrieved 17 March 2020, from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm

Crouch, P. (2020). Two Types of WarmUps. Retrieved 12 March 2020, from https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/two-types-warm-ups-8562.html

Patel, D. (2020). 14 Proven Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills. Retrieved 12 March 2020, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/300466

The Role of the Sports Physiotherapist. (2019). Retrieved 17 March 2020, from https://www.physio-pedia.com/The_Role_of_the_Sports_Physiotherapist

What are the daily tasks of a Personal Trainer? – Focus Training. (2019). Retrieved 17 March 2020, from https://focus-training.com/4-daily-tasks-of-a-personal-trainer/

Isaac’s last few responsibilities included personalised shopping list, exercise plan and a food guide to help get his clients started. It was important to keep up with his clients and keep them up to date with ways that they could progress, he would do this every 3-4 months. During my last few hours working with him, he produced these small packages to each of his clients with different body types and body goals. This gave me the opportunity to really understand a client’s needs and also grasp what diet and exercise that best suits each body.

With all the duties of a PT, I really understood the importance of being organised. I also found that time management and prioritisation was key to becoming a successful PT. I believe that I can take what I have learned and use it to my advantage in my career prospects in the future.

Prioritising my time, working with the clients and doing enough admin work to keep a business going; these things were hard to adapt too at first. I found myself busy at every moment of the day, but with planning and keeping strict time schedules I was able to overcome this challenge and eventually the days seemed smoother.

I have learned how to be patient when it comes to taking on a new task or clients. I found myself taking on clients who had children, insecurities on how they were being looked at and how big they were, clients who could not follow through with the exercise because exhaustion. Being patient has allowed me to think strategically on completely evaluating every situation.

My communication skills has change immensely when it comes to my expressing my thoughts on paper and explaining new activities I set for the group. Before I take on a task, if I am uncertain on how to explain an exercise or assignments, I ask for help to understand my duty and for feedback to reflect and improve.  For instance, for one of the task I was set to do at my new job teaching multi sports, I was told I would have to teach tennis. I had basic knowledge of the sport. I informed the teacher about my lack of knowledge and he gave me a few drills I can give to the kids and on top I was able to think of a couple of us due to my exposure to the sport.

At the present, I find myself reflecting on my day teaching multi sports. I have knowledge about almost every sport there is but when it comes to teaching it, I find myself thinking about what I could have did better, if I was engaging enough with the kids, was I positive enough or was it fun. Once I reflect on each, I would research a sport I want to teach, practice the drill with my little brother and ask him for his feedback to see if he enjoyed himself.

As a physiotherapist, you need the ability to be creative. my placement helped me how creative I can be when you know the needs of your clients. Depending on how server the injury can be, you can change the activates your clients do or show them a different technique. When the body adapts to the routine, the body needs to progress in increasing weight of flexibility. I will have the key points on how to change up a routine when it activating different muscle groups when the body adapts.

Customer service has also improved when I have to discuses private information, meeting and greeting other and finding a solution to a problem. It is important for a physiotherapist to have this skill because it is mainly what their job consists of. Knowing how to deal with people’s emotions through pain and conversing with the client can sometimes be difficult because they know you are there to help but if you do not choose your words wisely in a vulnerable situation us can definitely have a negative effect.

Working on this placement has helped me improve on my time management. It is important to organise your time as a physiotherapist to inform your clients when they can seen and how long for their session. Time management is good to be punctual with be it helps you accomplish more in a shorter time that can either give you more time for yourself, lower stress levels and helps you focus that can lead to more success in your career.

Critical thinking is another valuable skill to have, as a physiotherapist, it helps you make logical decisions, weather it is to solve a problem for a client or in your studies. It is a must that you understand the materials or how to assess a situation correctly so that you can find alternative solutions and problem solving.

Currently, my degree in sports and exercise science will help gain access to a higher relevant and unexpected role as a choreographer, clinical scientist, sports and exercise psychologist and more. Moreover, the expertise I was exposed to, assisted me with a coaching job because the of the skills I needed from my placement to have been accepted was knowing how to instruct a class, communicating, good interpersonal skills and an active listener.https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/veerasaa/files/2020/04/cv2-final-version.png

My time on this module has been insightful. This year of 2020 I am taking my time to be more resourceful. I had to retake two modules over; work placement is one that I failed at. I failed this module once before because I didn’t take my time to understand it, life had got in the way and I was unable to prioritise my time.

This module helped me handle searching for jobs in a professional manner. I have an understanding for what people look for on a CV; how to stand out and most of all, if you want something in life you may have to start from the bottom to get to the top. Moreover, because of this module I know have two jobs that I did not expect to get into without my experience at my placement.

The experience and skills I gained from my placement has helped tremendously. I now work at Harris primary academy school teaching multi-sports from ages 5 to 11 and my second job is working at gyminfinty as a gymnast coach. I do not have a qualification as a gymnast coach but they so offer training to become a coach. Once I complete the training I will be able to have a class of my own to teach.

My overall thoughts on my module and placement are still hazy because I am still unsure about what I want to do once I gained my bachelor degree. I have gained two good jobs from my placement and I know it can be a safety net if my future job goes downhill but I am still having a hard time knowing whom I want be in the next 5 years. I hope I have this same module next year because it has helped in a certain aspect. I was struggling to find jobs that I wanted to help me find out what it is that I want in life. I now have a better platform to stand on in the sports industry.

From this module, I enjoyed the guest that came in and spoke our class about their accomplishments, how they got to where they are now in life and how they can help offer a placement to work with them or get in connect with people they know who can offer us a placement.

From my work placement, I enjoyed going through the challenges I once avoided because it taught me lesson I questioned myself on. It helped boost my confidence when leading a group, I was clear and concise when speaking and how to project my voice in an appropriate and opened way and many more. This placement is not my desired career path but a stage in my life I had to go through in order to get closer to knowing my future career path. With that being said, I still do not know where I will be in the next 5 years but I do know that I do not want to be a physiotherapist or a personal trainer.

I presented a power point with an elevated pitch which had to explain my journey so far such as my academic background, my hobbies and what work experience I had. I included my career aspirations and what I need to do to achieve my goals. I found it difficult to be reflective and to present these reflections to a large group.- I always found myself just going with the flow of life and never know what my day may consist of the next day.

The biggest challenge I had to face during my placement was planning a 20-minute workout in less the 24 hours and managing the time to switch to the next exercise. I was not prepared to take on this task as I was only allowed to shadow and observe. I was instructed to only plan the activity and say when to switch as he explained and demonstrated it to the group. The reason why it was a team effort, Isaac wanted me to focus on my time management and involving me on the placement to see how well I would do. I was nervous because my time management is not the greatest and I was also nervous if the workout was not intense enough.

If I was able to do anything differently for the module and placement, I would have looked for the role I assumed I wanted which was to shadow a physiotherapist. When I started the module, I had an advantage because I was on this module for the year of 2019 doing the same procedure. I thought because of that reason I decided not to start looking until mid January. I emailed a variety of hospitals to find a placement shadowing a physiotherapist but it was either a short time stay, 3-4 days to be specific or it was only offered to 16-18 year olds. As time moved on and I did not hear from anyone else, I chose to get in contact with my previous work placement to see if I can work under him again. I joined at the time he was doing the Challenge 28 (C28) again.

The module and placement benefitted me as a person, student and exerciser because without the experience I gained from it, I would have not progressed in a way I needed to be for my future career. This module help me understand how important it is to set goal, be clear when writing, answer questions at the simplest form and then expand to how and why. I am still uncertain of my future career but I am a step closer on who I am becoming as a person, and who I don’t want to be in life. As a person, I also now know if I do not know something, ask because it can lead to failure when not seeking out help when it is needed.

The placement has helped me get into two jobs that offers me a higher paid job role compared to working in a bar or supermarket and knowledge to what I may need in my future when it comes to communicating clearly, enhancing my strengths and weakness and a higher platform in the sports industry. Also as a person, I am now taking my time to be more of an active listen, I tend to stop myself thinking on how to argue my point back without hearing the entire story or interjecting when the person is still speaking. I focus my thoughts on the situation, then elevate it and respond in a considerate, sympathetic manner depending on the topic of discussion.

Work experience as a student through unpaid placement was definitely valuable. Once I graduate and head out into work, I will utilise all the knowledge and wisdom I learned from shadowing a personal trainer who had his own gym. From the placement, I attained the knowledge that was transferable between different jobs. I found that potential employers look for these thing to join their team. With this added to my CV showing that I have experience in the job roles I may search for, this will separate me from other candidates.

Business etiquette, organisation, problem solving, teamwork and practical are just a few examples of how I grew as an employee. Although I received support from my university for completing these tasks. From being on the sports and exercise course, I was able to find a connection that helped me for future goals and job roles.

Understanding how to communicate in an email or a phone discussion may appear to be easy, however when you fail to understand the situation it can leave a negative impact. The job roles I was exposed to before my placement, did not make me feel the embarrassment that I once felt at first on how to a telephone appropriately.

The most informative task from my work placement was instructing the group with the warm ups and cool downs; engaging practically gave me the experience I needed to evolve as an employee and the confidence to show leadership. This role did not only help me physically, it showed me how well I am maturing and progressing mentally.

My least informative task was sending emails to clients to give let them know what activity or programmes will be running for the following month. The task was important because it is a form of promoting and engaging with your clients for them to know the latest news and a reminder that your health is important. But, I don’t feel like it was beneficial because I already knew the basics of how important it is promote a business. I didn’t take on any new information from this task.

Throughout my fourth 10-hour block placement, I was set to monitor each client progression individually, meeting with two clients at the start and two clients at the end of the session. I took part with accompanying Isaacs to discuss their progress from the first week of the Challenge 28 up to the week before the end of the challenge. Isaacs and myself discussed their weight progressed or not, what they can do before the end of the challenge and their diet.

This role links to my future career because without feedback of their progression, the clients will not know their results, uncertainty or not aware if they made much progression. Progression reviews gives an opportunity to know how hard your client been working and what could be improved. Taking the time out to go through the client’s progression to help refresh their mind and motivate the client push harder into the last week of their training.

This task was critical thinking. As a personal trainer and physiotherapist, critical thinking in one of many skills to have because it is an act of analysing and evaluating situations that you may have to judge to come up with an alternative plan. Moreover, physiotherapists need to ensure that they provide the correct exercise based on the individual condition. When discussing their progression, you will either celebrate their achievement or may have to come up with a treatment plan to have a change of result.

Throughout this week of placement my role for the remainder of the week was to assist clients in exercise to minimise the risk of injury. The importance of the role was to ensure the care of the clients, it is the personal trainer responsibility to make sure that the equipment or exercise is completed correctly. If the new clients are unsure of what is being asked of them or using a piece of the equipment incorrectly, then it is likely for them to injure themselves. After an explanation and demonstrating is shown to the clients, the clients are to proceed with the activity. When the client is not executing the movement correctly, he or she is to stop immediately and then shown how to perform the exercise correctly with assisted help from myself, when performing a dead lift.

With the knowledge I have gained from this week, I am confident with what exercises causes injuries when performing exercise. For example, when I was helping assist a client with an exercise, I had to ask for the consent to touch them first and help assist them with a deadlift. The client was not in the correct stance for the exercise and was causing strain to the lower back and shoulders. My client was not in the right stance and when lifting, his back was hunching forward over the bar.

The client stance needed to be with feet flat on the floor, bend at the knees and grab the bar with hands shoulder width apart whilst Keeping their head looking forward and chin up. As the client carryout the movement, the clients back must be straight at all times with head facing forward throughout the exercise, lifting the bar using their legs and driving their hips forward. The exercise should be an explosive movement using their legs and glute strength. The aim of this exercise was to maintain a strong spine from the start of the lift to the end. My client was not in the right stance and when lifting his back was hunching forward over the bar.

The example I gave is one of many exercises I had assist with them whilst talking through the exercise. This task gave me the advantage of knowing how to approach a client when asking to help assist them, explaining to when the exercise is done incorrectly, what injuries can occur and how to avoid or reduce the risk of injury.

The challenges I had to face with this task was engaging with the client on a one to one basis and asking for consent before assisting them with help if it required me to give them a better understanding of how their back had to be positioned.

I can overcome this challenge by taking notice of my “posture, choose my words well, be auditable and maintain eye contact” (Bruce, 2017). Watching my posture is relevant to my future role as a physiotherapist because the job role will involve mainly one to one session. My clients need to see that I am confident not just verbally, but my body language speaks volume as well. In face to face communication, as a physiotherapist you are supposed to maintain a relaxed and open posture because you will come across as an approachable person and people are more likely to listen to what is being said.

Another technique I can use to overcome my challenge is to be auditable because if people can not hear what you are saying then it is possible, they misheard what you have said or can do the opposite. It is important to be auditable when addressing others or clients to allow them to hear the information without having to struggle. However, when you are excessively your words, you are likely to come across as an aggressive or demanding person.

I completed 18 hours doing mainly admin due to the numbers of individuals who turned up for training. With the fitness industry evolving, trainers need to keep up with the administration side of work, which involves being organised, marketing, client’s one to one sessions and self- progression (Focus Training, 2019).

Marketing is essential when it comes to promoting your business. It can take up to as little as 30 minutes a day to engage with your community and can increase the potential of your training massively.

Organising your time well is beneficial for oneself.by being organised, you can have an increase of how productive your day will be and can improve your communication between you and your team. Checking with your clients can help reassure them that you care for their wellbeing regular so when they do have an issue about their progression, they can approach you without feeling judged or insecure.

As a physiotherapist, you are expected to work with people and their bodies. Specifically focusing on their physical and mental strengths. It is important for a personal trainer and Physiotherapist to have good time management, in order to stay up to date with their client records. Both job roles must maintain client files such as, what they were assessed on, treatment provided, what their results were and follow-ups. Without keeping on top of files, a physiotherapist  may struggle with keeping track of their clients and can put themselves into legal situations.

The role of an administration as a personal trainer was not what I expected. I now have a clear understanding of what it takes to become a successful trainer when dealing with clients and keeping record of their progression.

It takes a lot of dedication and commitment as a personal trainer. I am aware of how to market, how to stay organised and planning group workouts. The skills I developed within this position was communication and an active listening. The first couple of weeks I was given the role to instruct the warm-ups and cool downs.

When it was time for me to Instruct the warm-ups and cool downs, I found It nerve wrecking because I was out of my comfort zone and a lack of confidence when explaining myself. I did have an advantage, I had the practical skills and knowledge on how to conduct warm ups and cool downs correctly. Overtime, instructing the group became an easy because of how frequently I was conducting the activity.

I had to explain the exercise whilst demonstrating and active listening. I was able to find information through the Internet for a detailed example of each exercise and feedback from Isaac on what I need to improve on.

I can improve my listening by making a conscious effort to listen to others without interjecting, listen until they have completed communicated their message. For me to see myself progress with this skill, I need to pay attention, show that I am listening, provide feedback and respond appropriately. With this information, I can make it a conscious habit by not allowing myself to form an argument, interject whilst he/she is speaking or lose focus on what is being said, Active listening.

Side of work, which allowed me to broaden my knowledge on how I become a successful physiotherapist whilst gaining my experience as a personal trainer. Handling the admin side of a personal trainer I had basic knowledge on how to market, send emails and make calls that I was not aware that Isaac was doing all admin work, the practical session and meal plans by himself on top of having a personal life. With the experience I gained I am not able to incorporate all of my knowledge into my future career path; this has given me an advantage on where to start first and how to improve day by day.

The activities I had to undertake this week correlate with my future job role as a physiotherapist because as a physiotherapist you are not only handling the practical side of the job role but also the admiration side and a teacher. Between both job roles you must advise to your clients on a safe and active lifestyle, evidence based advise on how to minimise risk of injury, be accessible, having good communication skills and interest in the athletes or clients you are working with. Without these important skills, you are unlikely to be successful since it is vital to engage with clients to let them know that they will reach their goal with you (Physiopedia contributors, 2019)

I was given an administrative role to start off my work experience. I was handling booking for clients, managing the Whats’app group and tracking the client progression.

The administration role links to my career path of a physiotherapist, as it is important to create health programmes for each client to see how well they are progressing. With the individual information I was able to help plan a realistic goal to achieve within a specific time frame.

Personal trainers can either have one to one session with clients or group sessions whereas a physiotherapist focuses on one person at a time to reach their goal. This can be from losing weight, flexibility, and resistant machines whilst providing them with all information they require to use equipment.

Within this placement, I was able to find alternatives to keep my clients motivated to have them continue with the goal their desired goal. Positivity is key for upholding the number of cliental. As a personal trainer you are more than a teacher, you are a motivator, mentor, friend and workout partner.

The Skills I developed whilst the first 10 hours of my placement was, an active listener, communicating and creativity. As I am now exposed to the process used to create programmes for a client or a group and the structure of how to conduct a class from start to finish.

I am at the stage of completing 20 hours at placement, I noticed I lacked confidence in instructing a group. I could be unclear when explaining what to do and I found myself demonstrating straight after. Speaking to my mentor could increase my confidence and help with my verbal communication and research strategies.

During my placement, the C28 programme focused on the full body from cardio, body toning with resistance and core exercises. I was able to instruct the warm-up and cool downs. The activities I set out for the group were basic stretches to prepare the body for the work out and to return the body back to the resting state.

For the warm-up, I started the group off with a 5-minute brisk walk, increased the brisk walk to a light jog for another 5 minutes to prepare them for a run. When the run was completed, the personal trainer (PT) took over to start the main work out. The warm-up took place either outside of the venue depending on the weather or inside of the venue whereas the warm-up would consist of a fast pace cardio warm up. Cool downs is a slow-paced workout routine that gradually decrease intensity by walking in place until everyone can control their breathing for approximately 10 minutes followed by a full body stretch which helps improve flexibility. I start the cool downs from the bottom half of the body and work my way up until the full body is stretched. Starting from rotating the ankles, calf stretches, hamstring, quadriceps, gluts, hips, upper back, arms, chest and shoulders to relax all major muscle groups in the body, (Crouch).

Shadowing a personal trainer can benefit me by having the ability to design and execute one to one sessions or a group challenge to attain their goals in a safe and effective way.

A personal trainer and a physiotherapist have similar job roles; they both have knowledge of the human anatomy, an understanding of functional exercises, basic nutrition and the fundamental principles of exercise. Both roles also must understand their client to carry out a screening and a client assessment before informing their client to take part in any activity or movement when conducting the client evaluations, initially and progressively.

Both roles must have yarn to help others in need to reach their fitness or health goals when carrying out exercises that allows them to increase their cardio, flexibility or resistance training. Both roles have v to have the ability to also motivate, empower, encourage and uplift their clients to push them to keep going. By knowing how well both roles link, by shadowing or working as a fitness instructor gives me a clear view of how this career role is for me.