Background
Brittany Adams is a certified personal trainer who works at Wattage in Chicago, IL. She primarily focuses on strength and interval training and works with individuals as well as groups. In addition to being a personal trainer, Brittany is a Certified Precision Nutrition Coach. In this portion of her career, Brittany works with clients for a year creating new eating habits in small steps. For example, the first habit for a client might be to make sure they eat protein with every meal, or to have 5 servings of vegetables a day, etc. Therefore, over time Brittany is able to transform the plates of those she works with instead of just telling them exactly what to eat, which aligns more with her own personal values. After meeting with Brittany, here is what I learned:
When did you start working in the field?
Brittany has been working in the personal training field for a year.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in personal training?
Brittany decided to pursue a career in personal training because of her background in gymnastics. Brittany was a gymnast from age 4 until her senior year of college at Western Michigan University. While at Western Michigan, she obtained her B.S in Biomedical Sciences and had the intentions of being a science teacher. However, as a personal trainer, Brittany is still teaching, just in a different way. Therefore, she knows it is the perfect path for her!
Who/what was your biggest influence when you were starting on your career path?
Brittany’s biggest influence were her strength and conditioning coaches at Western Michigan University.
What is your favorite aspect of your career?
Brittany’s favorite part of her career is the process she goes through with her clients. She enjoys helping people see results whether it’s lifting more weights, changing their body shape, just feeling better about themselves, or increasing energy levels. Therefore, she enjoys leaving a mark on her clients and being a part of the transformation.
What is the most challenging aspect of your career?
Brittany believes that one of the most challenging aspects of her career is the hours. Her career is based off of working around the schedule of her clients, so she could have days that begin before 5 am and don’t end until very late at night. Another challenging aspect, but something that Brittany enjoys at the same time, is figuring out how to cater workouts to every individual. Some clients may have certain bodily injuries or pains that she’ll have to work around but still give them the challenging workout they are looking for to accomplish their goals.
What advice would you give to emerging fitness professionals?
The advice Brittany would give to emerging personal trainers is to ask questions, shadow other trainers, be personable, and to do your reading/research.
What sets you apart from others in your field?
Brittany stands out from other personal trainers because of her ability to relate to her clients. In addition, she has the skill set to create dynamic workouts that her clients genuinely enjoy and end up walking out the door feeling accomplished. She believes that she is able to successfully figure out what her clients want from their workouts when they come to her.
Goals for 2016
Brittany’s goals for the remainder of the year are to continue to increase her client list at Wattage. In addition, she hopes to build her list of certifications as well. Brittany hopes to eventually go back to school for kinesiology or Exercise Science to enhance her own personal development. By doing this, she hopes to reach out to more people and impact more lives.
