Personal Fitness at West Georgia

Students and faculty members have the opportunity to work with a personal trainer in University Recreation. The University of West Georgia offers a personal training program in the recreation center for students and faculty to work one on one with students who are certified personal trainers.

“It had been turned off for a while. It wasn’t somebody managing the area,” Assistant Director of Fitness Drew Powell said. “So, when I got here, I took it upon myself to find some people that were worthy of training individuals, were able to get a certification and were able to be trained appropriately to work with people one on one. From there it grew and grew as we gained more personal trainers.”

Students who show interest in becoming a personal trainer will be selected for an interview. After speaking with them, the department decides if it is a good fit for the student. They are expected to have the drive, motivation and personality characteristics that would encourage a comfortable environment for the trainee. Chosen individuals are required to be trained for a minimum of a semester internally, and after six months of employment they have to receive a nationally recognized certification such as the American Council on Exercise.

“I became very interested in fitness when I was a sophomore in college and my passion for personal development combined with the desire to help other people led me to become a personal trainer,” said trainer Megan Johnson.

Students and faculty interested in receiving a trainer can go online to the UREC website and fill out an application expressing interest or go to the Campus Center to do it in person. Someone from the department will be in contact within 48 hours letting them know the application was received, and they will be matched with a personal trainer that will reach out within a week.

Before purchasing a package of sessions, clients will receive a free consultation and assessment. The main goal of the consultation is to find out why someone wants a personal trainer. The assessment focuses on the goals the client identified.

“The assessment is based off that conversation. Say the person is interested in joining an athletic team, then the assessments we do will be focused around goals that would then get them on that athletic team,” Powell said.

The number of sessions the client decides to do is between them and the trainer, which can vary from one to 15, and prices correlate with the number of sessions chosen.

“Our goal is that they work with [the trainer] long enough so that they gain enough confidence and internal motivation for them to work out on their own,” Powell said.