Fitness Instructor: Industry Experience Report and Learning

This report details a student's industry experience as a fitness instructor, specifically assisting a trainer for a hockey team at Ontario Khalsa Darbar. The experience involved applying fitness and health promotion programs, teaching exercise techniques, and communicating with diverse individuals. The student reflects on the skills gained, including planning training schedules, motivating players, and learning about various exercises like the single leg Romanian Deadlift and lunge variations. The report also highlights the use of technology, such as tablets and wearable sensors, for exercise demonstration and performance tracking. Furthermore, the student discusses the importance of communication, nutrition, and training program design. The experience enhanced self-confidence and provided insights into the importance of trainer-client relationships, stress management, and the application of technology in fitness training. The report concludes with the enhanced knowledge of training and exercises, as well as soft skills like communication and motivation, preparing the student for a future career in the fitness industry.

Running Head: Industry Experience 2
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE 2

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Industry Experience 2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Reflection on learning................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
Reference list..............................................................................................................................7

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Industry Experience 2
Introduction
I have been working as a fitness instructor in Ontario Khalsa Darbar and my role was
to assist the fitness trainer of a hockey team. The experience and learning from this course
has helped me to understand the way of helping people to stay fit and well. At that time, I got
the opportunity to train the members of the concerned hockey team about handling different
equipment that supports them to be healthy and fit. On the other hand, I was allowed to teach
them some simple exercise forms and techniques. This event was very important for me as it
has helped me to apply the learning from fitness and health promotion programs practically. I
have learned to communicate with different kinds of people and the processes to teach
exercises to a team of different kinds of people. In this assignment, I am discussing my
learning from the internship. Additionally, I am mentioning the usefulness of this learning in
developing a good career in the future.
Reflection on learning
I have learned different skills while working as a fitness trainer assistant in the Khalsa
Darbar School. I have understood how to plan and achieve different goals. As opined by Roy,
Roy, Chevrier & Cardinal (2018), for achieving goals, it is essential to plan effectively. In
this training internship process, I have helped the trainer to plan the training schedule of
players to increase their fitness level. Planning a training schedule is very essential to obtain
desired goals of fitness such as flexibility and muscle strengthening. I have also learned how
to motivate players to deal with pressure. Many hockey players lose consistency due to
inability to deal with pressure. They feel nervous during the big games and lose their
consistency. I have motivated them to push themselves out of their comfort zone and give
their best. This has helped them to increase their ability to handle pressure. As said by
Gonzalez & Seelig (2018), learning about dealing with pressure is essential to reach the
success level in any aspect of life. I have also learned

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I have also gained experience about different exercises from my senior trainers in the
team. I have previous ideas about these essential exercises for field hockey players, but while
working as an assistant; my knowledge level about these exercises got increased. I have
learned about single leg Romanian Deadlift. It is an essential exercise for strengthening the
hamstring in a lengthened position. This position of hamstring is essential during controlling
the ball in field hockey (Weaver & Kerksick, 2017). Performing this exercise following rules
can help a player to avoid hamstring injuries during a match. Moreover, my knowledge level
got increased in performing lunge for strength exercise. I have learned different techniques to
perform this exercise and this can help me to guide players in future. This exercise helps to
strengthen up the muscle, which helps to decrease the risk of injuries and increase
performance of players.
My technical knowledge also got boosted during this internship process as an assistant
field hockey trainer. I have used various latest technologies like tablets to demonstrate
players the techniques of exercises by showing video tutorials. His has helped me to ease the
process of providing training to players. As mentioned by Sullivan & Lachman (2017), latest
technologies like wearable sensors help top track performance in real time. I have learned to
use different gadgets that help to measure essential parameters of players like heart rate and
breathing rate, which is essential for training. My communication skills also got enhanced
during this internship process. It is essential to communicate with players to gain ideas about
their requirements. Different barriers like language can occur during this process (Tuchel et
al. 2019). I learned different techniques of interaction with players for providing them health
information.
Nutrition is another essential factor, which is essential for a player to maintain fitness
level. As a sports trainer, it is also essential for me to have prominent knowledge about this
sector. From seniors, I have learned different nutritional requirements of a hockey player.

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Moreover, knowledge about making nutritional schedules and guidelines is also gained
during this internship session. Moreover, my knowledge base about training programs has
also increased. It can be seen that many players got injured during training sessions, which
occurs mainly due to unstructured programs. Poor training program design may cause
muscular imbalances and it can also cause due to adopting improper techniques of training.
During the internship, my self-confidence has increased, which will help me in the
future when I will train people about wellbeing and fitness. As mentioned by Burgess (2017),
the confidence level of people enhances if they get support from their peers and instructors.
In this case, the fitness instructor of the hockey team has encouraged me a lot in
communicating with the team and training them. He has shared his experience with me and
told me about the process of motivating players. It has helped me to understand that as a
trainer I will need to motivate people along with the training for engaging them entirely.
Huda, Sapulete & Zulfikar (2018) have stated that a trainer, firstly, needs to identify the
current level of fitness of clients. After that they need to determine the fitness goal for the
clients and help them to achieve those goals. At the beginning of my internship, I
communicated with the team members of that Hockey team to know about their vision
towards fitness. I have found that they are maintaining a good fitness level through regular
exercise and healthy diet. However, I make them understand that they need to learn about
more forms of exercises to increase their level of fitness. It can help them to improve their
performance in the future (Romero, Pitney, Mazerolle & Brumels, 2018).
My senior has mentioned that players face chronic stresses at many times and it
affects their physical and mental wellbeing. Trainers are responsible to motivate them for
meditation sessions to release stress. I have decided that I will focus on this fact as well in my
life to deal with work stress in the future. As mentioned by Yokesh & Kumar (2018), trainers
of this modern age must be aware about the latest advanced technologies that can help to

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assess and enhance the level of physical fitness of individuals. Throughout this training, I
have been introduced with different advanced equipment. I have experienced the use and
importance of that equipment for people to maintain fitness. I think this knowledge will help
me to train my future clients about using fitness equipment. On the other hand, I will be able
to assess the fitness status of my clients with the help of technologies in the future. According
to Okamoto, Moro, Yamashita & Asama (2017), a trainer becomes a part of a clients’ life and
goes through different mental conditions. However, if I can help clients to achieve their
fitness goal it will ensure mental well being of both me and my clients. On the other hand, I
have learned that a trainer needs to be calm and patient at every situation to motivate clients
continuously. I have learned that I need to show a positive attitude while providing training to
clients for developing good relationships with them. It will help me to make them follow my
instructions for being fit.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that from this internship process both my technical and theoretical
knowledge about training and exercises has increased. This can help me to train field hockey
players in future professional careers. I have learned about the latest techniques and use of
technologies, which is very essential for a modern day trainer. Moreover, soft skills like
communication, motivation and planning will also prove beneficial in my future career.

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Reference list
Burgess, D. J. (2017). The research doesn’t always apply: practical solutions to evidence-
based training-load monitoring in elite team sports. International journal of sports
physiology and performance, 12(s2), S2-136. Retrieved from:
https://journals.humankinetics.com/downloadpdf/journals/ijspp/12/s2/article-pS2-
136.pdf
Gonzalez, G. B., & Seelig, D. (2018). Personal Trainers' Knowledge, Attitudes, and
Behaviors Toward Dietary Supplements. Missouri Journal of Health, Physical
Education, Recreation & Dance, (28). 1-12. Retrieved from:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steve_Chen16/publication/327513973_Teamwor
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Age_Pirates_Could_this_Strategy_Work_in_Today's_Contemporary_Sports_Setting/
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this-Strategy-Work-in-Todays-Contemporary-Sports-Setting.pdf#page=32
Huda, M. S., Sapulete, J. J., & Zulfikar, Z. (2018, May). Exercise Method of Hockey Basic
Technique Skills. In International Seminar on Public Health and Education 2018
(ISPHE 2018). Atlantis Press. Retrieved from:
https://download.atlantis-press.com/article/25899765.pdf
Okamoto, H., Moro, A., Yamashita, A., & Asama, H. (2017). Toward Sports training service
with the interactive learning platform. In Serviceology for Smart Service System, 231-
236. Retrieved from https://www.ritecs.co.jp/doc/ICServ2015-
fullpapers_2column_R2.pdf
Romero, M. G., Pitney, W. A., Mazerolle, S. M., & Brumels, K. (2018). Role strain, part 2:
perceptions among athletic trainers employed in the professional practice setting.

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Journal of athletic training, 53(2), 190-201. Retrieved from:
https://www.natajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.4085/1062-6050-214-16
Roy, M., Roy, X., Chevrier, J., & Cardinal, C. (2018). Planning and monitoring of sports
training: What is it and how to teach it. LASE Journal of Sport Science, 9(1), 91-123.
Retrieved from https://journal.lspa.lv/files/2018/1/LASE_Journal_2018_9_1_92-
124.pdf
Sullivan, A. N., & Lachman, M. E. (2017). Behavior change with fitness technology in
sedentary adults: a review of the evidence for increasing physical activity. Frontiers
in public health, 4, 289. Retrieved from:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00289
Tuchel, J., Burrmann, U., Nobis, T., Michelini, E., & Schlesinger, T. (2019). Practices of
German voluntary sports clubs to include refugees. Sport in Society, 1-23. Retrieved
from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2019.1706491
Weaver, A. N., & Kerksick, C. M. (2017). Implementing Landmine Single-Leg Romanian
Deadlift into an Athlete's Training Program. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 39(1),
85-90. Retrieved from
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/FullText/2017/02000/Implementing_Landmine_Sin
gle_Leg_Romanian_Deadlift.10.aspx
Yokesh, t., & Kumar, a. s. (2018). Impact of sports engineering and various types of
advanced technologies in sports. Ganesar college of arts and science, 349. Retrieved
from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Drg_Vigneshwaran2/publication/
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