NETWORK WINTER 2020 | Page 39

Excuses can become stronger than effort, and enjoyment from exercise may diminish. to reduce impact and load during exercise as pregnancy progresses, as well as the modifications needed when resuming training. This may see you participate in a different group fitness class such as water fitness, adopting an amended lower-impact training style like Pilates, or using equipment that you would not usually use, such as resistance bands and cardio equipment. The benefit of this is that you have the first-hand experience to recommend other forms of exercise to compliment and vary your client’s programming and help them maximise their results. BENEFIT 3: You build relationships with other health professionals Depending on your reason for having time away from work, your period of downtime may involve seeing other health and wellness professionals such as physiotherapists, psychologists, naturopaths, nutritionists or others. The benefit of this is that you can expand your professional network and lay the foundations for future collaboration with individuals that you have gained trust in through first-hand experience of their services. This enables you to confidently refer clients to them when necessary – and vice versa. For example, if you are a trainer working with pre- and post-natal women, having an established relationship with a women’s health physiotherapist (what all post-natal women should see prior to returning to exercise) or a nutritionist can benefit all parties. BENEFIT 4: You strengthen your mental grit The more days you have off from training, the harder it is to get back into your routine. Excuses can become stronger than effort and enjoyment from exercise may diminish. COVID-19, injury or reduced fitness levels following pregnancy challenge you to not only adapt to your environment, but also strengthen your mental grit and mindset and find how moving helps to manage and improve your mental health. NETWORK WINTER 2020 | 39