Fitness professionals are just one of the many groups of people to have their livelihood turned upside down during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of us are either fully self-employed or are contract workers who get paid hourly or per class. Because of the extreme uncertainty, most of our personal schedules have been reduced and if you do work for a studio, your hours have been modified to accommodate this.

Lucky for me, this turned into the perfect time to redirect almost all of my energy in continuing to build my own business, Discover You, as my eventual dream is to work solely for myself. I love the studios I work at, but at the end of the day, I ultimately want my business to thrive. I cannot thank this community enough for supporting me, sending encouraging words and messages, and choosing to feel your best with me. It means more than words can say.

The things I am proud to have accomplished since March include:

operating a full online virtual class schedule via Zoom
maintaining personal training virtually with private clients
running two success online At-Home Wellness programs (to be continued in September)
launching an On-Demand Video library
launching an at-home series of educational webinars (starting THIS Tuesday)
putting myself out there via IG Lives (something I don’t think I will ever fully get used to)
feeling the support from clients near and far

Post-class recording from my condo studio aka my kitchen!

Despite all of the success above, one thing I have felt personally as well as talking to my fellow fitness professionals, is the toll this pandemic has taken on us too. Especially if you are in the group fitness world, clients come to us to brighten their day, which on a good “normal” day is something instructors and even one-on-one trainers enjoy about the job. However, during these unprecedented times, we have been struggling alongside our communities and the rest of the world. We get a rush from leading a group of people through a live workout or teaching a private client a new technique, and now we are stuck behind a screen, talking to ourselves in our homes. We have had to shift our perspectives and expectations into what our careers look like and make the most out of the situation.

Some of the things I have learned professionally over the last 100+ days include:

being relatable to your clients and vulnerable to things not going perfectly is much more appealing to your community than being perfect
when you try your best, people meet you with encouragement and support
becoming open to learning new skills and having the patience to sort it out and troubleshoot (still working on this one!)
remember what you love about this job and channel that virtually - for me it is connection, so I love that I can still stay virtually close even when physically far
you can still have an impact on someone’s day or life even from a screen
listen to what you need and remember it is okay to not be okay*

*This one is a big one for me. Sometimes as leaders, you are expected to be able to handle anything. People look to you for guidance in challenging times and this time we don’t have all the answers as we are affected by the same thing our clients are experiencing. We don’t always have to have it altogether. I have actually learned to create a more balanced schedule during all of this so that I can take care of myself and in turn, give the most to my community.

Fitness will never return to exactly how it was and I am okay with that. This obstacle is just the challenge I was looking for to boost my business to the next level. I am excited to see where the following months take us. This business is not where it is today without the support of so many people around me, so sending you a huge virtual hug and massive thank you!

Yours in self-discovery,

Rachel

Being a fitness professional during the Covid-19 pandemic