#SUCCESS-STORIES: DISCOVERING INNER STRENGTH
STEEL Team
June 5, 2024
Personalization in training is not a new story but has not been truly appreciated in the fitness industry in Vietnam. #Success-Stories is a series of articles by STEEL, built on real-life stories, aiming to provide a closer look at the collaborative process of personal trainers and clients with different physical conditions, personalities, and lifestyles. Above all, it is a story of the effort to deliver tailored experiences, an ideal training environment, and optimal results for each individual. Because every person is a unique individual, and there is never a one-size-fits-all formula.
For many people, going to the gym often serves as a tool to achieve specific goals such as weight loss, muscle gain, or sculpting the body. However, at STEEL, during the training process, many individuals discover hidden capabilities, find passion, and transform physical activity into an integral part of their lives.
Ms. Ngoc Anh (24 years old) is one of the typical examples undergoing this positive transformation. Coming to STEEL with the simple goal of fat loss, she has found both joy and inspiration to reveal aspects of strength that were previously unexplored. This story is narrated through the sharing of Coach Le Dung at STEEL - an individual who achieved the Gold Medal in the Push & Pull Meet 2022 and played a crucial role in inspiring Ms. Ngoc Anh throughout the past 7 months.
Customer Profile:
- Age: 24
- Training Goal: Fat loss, increase buttock size
- Training Duration: 7 months
- Initial Physical Condition: Body with excess fat, lacking firmness
Ngoc Anh is a student studying abroad who previously underwent an effective weight loss process, resulting in a reduction of over 10 kilograms. However, upon returning to her home country, a lack of exercise combined with an uncontrolled diet led to a regain of weight. Her body accumulated excess fat, became loose, and lost firmness. As a result, her overall health declined compared to before.
Having had experience in training, Ngoc Anh possesses some fundamental knowledge about health and nutrition. She knew what she wanted and clearly defined her goal at STEEL, which was to lose weight and reduce body fat.
My approach to Ngoc Anh involves gradually progressing from basic techniques and increasing difficulty based on the client's condition.
Despite having training experience, many of Ngoc Anh's techniques are not precisely accurate, leading to a decrease in workout effectiveness. From this observation, I started by re-instructing the most basic movements such as squat, hip hinge, and shoulder bone movements with the easiest variations (including goblet squat, dumbbell Romanian deadlift, machine row). The number of sets will range from 2-3, with around 12-15 reps or even up to 20 reps for some exercises. After a short period, once Ngoc Anh has mastered the techniques, I transition to more complex and challenging exercises.
Regarding nutrition, my focus is on providing basic knowledge about calorie intake and expenditure. To achieve the goal of weight loss while maintaining muscle tone, I particularly emphasize the importance of protein. Consequently, I provide support for Ngoc Anh to self-adjust her diet to achieve both workout effectiveness and a certain level of comfort.
After a period of training, I noticed that Ngoc Anh has potential in strength-oriented exercises. Therefore, after consolidating her techniques, I introduced more complex variations of exercises while gradually increasing the weight. Specifically, I designed the progression for Ngoc Anh to move from goblet squats to barbell squats, from dumbbell Romanian deadlifts to conventional deadlifts with a barbell, or barbell bench presses, etc. For these compound exercises, I designed a low rep range to optimize strength development, usually around 6 reps or fewer.
Ngoc Anh responded very well to this training method. She enjoys and is not hesitant about lifting heavy weights. The weight used in squat, bench, and deadlift exercises progressed weekly, becoming a significant motivation for her to surpass her own records. Ngoc Anh even frequently proposes to increase the weight to challenge herself. Outside of workout hours, she often follows female powerlifting athletes for inspiration. I sincerely hope that, in the future, Ngoc Anh will confidently showcase herself on a competition stage.
Typically, many women coming to the gym are concerned that weightlifting might make them "bulky," but Ngoc Anh has shown a special curiosity and enthusiasm. Each conquered weight level or the joyous attitude during daily workouts is evidence that this approach suits Ngoc Anh well. This reinforces my belief that each client is unique, and trainers need to consider each individual as an independent entity, rather than adhering to societal standards, thereby overlooking the opportunity to explore potential in each person.
Additionally, in my view, personalization in training is not only about designing exercises that best fit physical capabilities but also considering factors such as lifestyle circumstances and the timing of application. Recently, noticing that Ngoc Anh's work has become busier, leading to increased stress, I decided to modify the training program to reduce the weight and simultaneously increase the number of reps. The purpose is to alleviate pressure on the central nervous system, which should not be overloaded at the current moment.
As a personal trainer and a companion throughout the training period, I also need to try to understand and be flexible in cases where clients are too busy to come to the gym regularly. In such situations, I frequently communicate, monitor, and encourage clients to engage in light walking during the day or adjust their dietary intake to prevent weight regain.
As of now, after 7 months of training, Ngoc Anh's weight and body fat have significantly decreased, while muscle mass has been developed, and her hip circumference has increased by 4cm. Consequently, her physique has become much more slender and toned compared to the previous period. Additionally, Ngoc Anh's health has improved, with better sleep and a more optimistic mindset.
However, the most significant change is that Ngoc Anh has developed a genuine passion for exercising. This has made each workout enjoyable, less tiring, and serves as the foundation for Ngoc Anh to maintain a long-term active and healthy lifestyle. The gradual conquest of strength exercises has further strengthened Ngoc Anh's self-confidence, helping her discover the hidden strength within herself that she had not noticed before.
Thanks to Coach Le Dung for these insights.
