POLOKWANE – The dedication of personal trainers to their clients and to their own workouts is often so outstanding that others wish to emulate them as far as personal fitness is concerned.
Personal trainers have extremely hectic schedules and people often wonder how they manage to keep up the pace, both in their personal training and their clients.
Heinrich Wolhüter (Wollies), a personal trainer at Body Life Gym says his day usually starts at 03:45 when he gets ready for work.
“I see about 25 clients a day and I give high intensity interval training classes to a group of people. I see each client about 45 minutes to an hour, but I also have cases where I train more than one person at a time,” says Heinrich.
He says their busiest times during the day are between 05:00 and 08:00 in the morning and 17:00 and 19:00 in the evening.
“One of the biggest challenges of being a trainer is time,” says Heinrich, who usually leaves work at 19:15 in the evening.
“Time is a challenge because it is very important to make time for family and friends throughout your week, the only reason I am still sane is because of my wife and her support,” he says.
Heinrich usually takes a break between 11:00 and 13:00 and has lunch with his wife, Solene.
He then takes a power nap for about 20 minutes to gain energy for the rest of the day.
To relax, he and Solene go mountain biking or watch movies.
Although his job has its challenges, Heinrich says there are also rewards.
“Everyday is a new challenge with different clients who have different needs. It is an amazing feeling to make a difference in their lives, not only physically, but emotionally.”
His advice to budding personal trainers?
“Make time for yourself, for family and friends. Don’t stop learning new things, the industry is growing more and more every day, so learn more to be able to keep up.”
