You spend your life looking after the wellbeing of others
– but are you looking after yourself?
WORDS: ANDREW WARD
n many ways I consider
myself to be a lucky guy. This
year marks twenty-five years
since I started working in the fitness
industry, and it’s been a great quarter of
a century full of adventure, fun and
fitness. During this time my job
responsibilities have ranged from
casual gym floor work in 1980s
Melbourne to an executive role with a
Hong Kong-based US multinational.
These days I’m happily grounded back
home on the banks of the Yarra where
my focus is on a corporate health and
wellness strategy that involves creating
new connections between this sector
and disadvantaged communities.
My
work
may
have
varied
enormously over the years, but one
thing that has remained constant is
my passion for staying involved in the
industry in a practical capacity: 2014
also marks 23 years of my teaching
group exercise classes. Twenty-two of
these were consecutive, and saw me
teaching a variety of programs from
freestyle step and HiLo, to Les Mills
BODYPUMP™ and CXWORX™, as well
as mind body practices like yoga and
Pilates. In 2013, however, it all came to
an abrupt and shocking halt for me as
I found myself – for the first time in my
life – with a serious injury that stopped
me dead in my tracks.
A knee reconstruction is not an
uncommon injury, but when you work
in our industry, which usually requires
mobility as a bare minimum, and in some
cases an elite level of fitness (group
fitness instructors), the consequences
of such an injury can be far reaching. I
was, indeed, faced with some significant
I
22 | NETWORK SPRING 2014
challenges. In addition to the professional
repercussions, the injury also greatly
affected my personal time because, like
many in our industry, I live an energetic
life of playing sport, volunteering and
enjoying active time with my family. The
gap between my usually active life and
being practically disabled with a long
road of rehabilitation and recovery
ahead of me was vast. More shockingly,
I realised that if I hadn’t had the
foresight to put plans in place around
medical and personal insurance, I could
have found myself in a very difficult
predicament financially.
Eight months of injury, surgery,
rehabilitation and recovery taught
me some valuable lessons about the
necessary precautions to take if you
work in fitness, because – as I’ll elaborate
upon later – the nature of employment
within the industry means that it doesn’t
provide a lot of support for workers.
As fitness professionals we can have
a sense of indestructibility. I certainly
had this opinion of myself until a poor
landing from a ski jump brought me
back to earth, literally. This ‘invincibility’
combined with the ego that is common
(and often necessary!) among us in
fitness, may also, unfortunately, prevent
us from seriously addressing the risks
we face. How long will you be able to
push your physical limits before your
body starts to give up? What happens
if you suffer an unplanned acute injury?
And if you do, what safety net have you
set up, and who will look after you? Who
will make your car payments, rent or
mortgage payments if you are suddenly
unable to take your classes or train your
clients? You look after the wellbeing of
others every day of your life – but are
you taking the necessary precautions
to look after yourself?
The prospect of implementing the
following suggestions may not excite
you, but doing so will provide great
peace of mind.
1 Protect yourself
professionally
If you are a registered fitness
professional you need to cover yourself
with Professional Indemnity Insurance.
This is critical if you are a contractor
or run your own business, but still
very important if you are employed
or work within a small to large fitness
chain. For the equivalent weekly cost
of a coffee, you can cover yourself
against claims that arise when a third
party, usually a client, alleges that your
professional advice, design or service
as a fitness instructor or personal
trainer was negligent and caused them
a loss (such as bodily injury, property
damage or financial loss).
2 Protect your health
Make sure you have some form of private
m edical insurance. If you suffer a serious
injury (knee, shoulder, ankle, spine)
that requires surgery and don’t have
private medical cover, you simply won’t
progress through the public system fast
enough to get back on your feet. When
your income relies on your ability to
move, demonstrate and lead movement,
it’s critical to minimise any downtime.
In addition to your health, cover for
injury management will entitle you to
some wellbeing services like massage,