Written by: Michelle
Ling, Managing Director of Adonai Group
Posted: October 2010
I recently accepted a
complimentary personal training session with a trainer at the fitness club I
work out at regularly.
Now, before I
continue, you need to know that I was 12kg overweight when I jump-started my health
by hiring a personal trainer. After a year of tri-weekly sessions, I continued
training with my new-found knowledge, sans trainer. Intermittently, I would
engage a trainer to jolt my body out of its comfort zone. However, after a decade of incremental adjustments
to my workouts, my performance stagnated .
Obviously a marketing
tactic, I knew that the complimentary session would end with the trainer asking,
“Would you like to buy a training package?” But I thought, “No harm in learning
something new to improve my workout”. So, mentally armed to
say “Thank you, but I won’t be buying a package”, I met Kurt, the
personal trainer.
From general observations of my workouts around the gym, Kurt
knew that I had the knowledge, strength and stamina to perform intermediate to
advance stage workouts – and the training session he put me through made that
point clear.
Instead of wasting my
time with unconstructive remarks (“you
mean you’ve trained for 10 years and you look like that?”), or putting up a
condescending attitude to intimidate, Kurt took the initiative to identify both
my fitness strengths and weaknesses, turning the session into a lesson on
workout optimization.
By the end of the
session, I knew that my body had benefited from a significant performance gain
of at least 30%. At the same time, I also appreciated some new truths of having
a personal trainer.
Lessons Learnt from My Experience with a Personal Trainer - “Blind
Spot” Spotting. Under Kurt’s relentless
observation, he would correct poor posture and breathing techniques, saving me
from nurturing a bad habit that would lead to painful injuries and expensive physiotherapy
bills in the long run.
- Efficient
Use of Resources. Kurt
customized a programme to my body type and fitness levels in a calculated and
precise manner to optimize the workout. Unlike my own trial and error method,
no time was wasted.
- Savings
in Time and Financial Investments. Leveraging on Kurt’s expertise and know-how, I reduced the time needed
to achieve my desired performance and success. This was more efficient and
effective than investing my own time and finances to gain the same insight and know-how
that Kurt has from his continuous investment in upgrading his professional
qualifications, and his work experience.
- Focused
on Results. Kurt didn’t
dwell on the past. Taking into consideration my present fitness levels and experience,
he designed a new workout that he knew would bring results.
- Commitment. Kurt was committed to helping me reach my fitness
goals. Not because I may buy a package from him, but because he wanted to
uphold his reputation as a qualified professional trainer that delivered
results. As in Proverbs 22:1, “a good name is more desirable
than great riches”.
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Much like my
experience with Kurt the personal trainer, deciding if your organisation needs a
consultant usually sets off the alarms with Skepticism (“Do I really need
a consultant” or “I don’t see the value of their service”) and Fear (“What if this is a waste of money and time?”) that arises and
overwhelms the results that a consultant could achieve.
The truth is: Every
person, or organisation, needs a “Kurt”. Even if it seems that
everything is going well, you'd be surprised to discover potentially damaging
blind-spots, or how your organisation can improve its business processes.
So give
your organisation and your management consultant the fighting opportunity achieve
better results! Allow them to prove their worth – just as Kurt did. You have as
much to gain, as they do!
Remember, the best in consultancy always go for the ultimate
prize: Their Good Name.
To find out how your organisation can perform better,
please contact us via this online form.
