Justin Thomas

August 30, 2013

HP 4900

Internship Summary Report
Watagua Medical Center
Paul H. Broyhill Wellness Center

Overview

During my time as an intern, I spent most of my time at the Paul H. Broyhill
Wellness Center completing various tasks assigned by Kris Hartley (head of
personal training staff) and Tiffany Norman (personal trainer and my liaison). While
various other tasks were assigned, some being more minimal than other, I usually
spent my days shadowing various members of the personal training staff through
personal training sessions with their clients. I had the ability to give pointers on
lifting weights i.e. incorrect form, ways to prevent injury and breathing techniques
that should be applied while lifting weights. I was eventually given the reigns for a
couple clients and had the benefit of designing their workout session and leading
them through and/or actively guiding them through it.
Along with following the personal training staff through their sessions, I also
had the privilege or participating in some of the classes that the Paul H Broyhill
Wellness Center had to offer. I had a chance to participate in Crossfit, Quickfit,
Stretch N Flex, Spin 2 and even observe the water aerobics classes as well as the
physical therapy sessions that were provided in the therapy pool. The classes that I
participated in gave me a different insight on working out because I had never
participated in any workout classes at a gym before and I appreciate it greatly and
the experience was great. The Stretch N Flex class was the class that I participated
in the most, and by the end of my internship I was leading specific parts of the class
if not the whole class.
Once my hours changed, I began to become more active in a program the
Paul H Broyhill Wellness Center offered named Thrive. Thrive is a cardiac rehab
program designed for people that have had a heart attack or stroke, been diagnosed
with AFIB or have any other heart issues but dont want surgery. These people got
the message and made the choice to better their life with education, exercise and
improvements to their diet. I quickly became immersed in this program, building
relationships with clients and giving pointers on what they could do to prevent
certain things. The guidelines for this class were as follow; check in-which included
blood pressure, pulse and oxygen level; exercise- which included exercise on the
treadmill, elliptical, upright/ recumbent bike, nustep and the arm ergometer; weight
session-which included various weight barring exercises to gain the participants
general strength.

Objectives

a) Watch, observe and learn from members of the personal training staff as I
followed them through training sessions.
b) Instruct segments of and whole exercises classes until comfortable with
doing everything associated with the class.
c) Become familiar with blood pressure (what is high/low, what an irregular
heart beat sounds like, and be able to put on heart rate monitor
effectively)
d) Obtain and sharpen skills associated with working in a fitness/gym
setting. I.e. voice projection, encouragement, and cooperation with co-
workers.

I worked to set objectives for myself that felt I needed to sharpen as well
as ones that I was nervous about and didnt have the confidence to jump in
and do immediately. I particularly had a problem speaking up/ counting to
fast when leading exercise classes. I was speaking loud enough for me to hear
myself along with counting on my pace instead of the pace of the
participants, it took a couple of complaints for me to get the message but
once I found the medium, I had great success. I was unsure what I wanted to
do with a HP degree, but interning at the Paul H Broyhill Wellness Center
pointed me in the direction that I now love and see myself doing in the
future.

Professional Growth

My internship addressed professional growth in these ways; being punctual,
multi-tasking, and being innovative with ideas regarding various tasks. Being on
time has never really been an issue for me until I started my internship. Never
having a job kind of hurt my in that aspect, but once I got in a rhythm of things and
started building relationships with the staff and members of the club, it became
second nature, I wanted to go, I didnt just go because I was required to. While
interning I was often asked to do multiple things at once. This required me to think
and plan how I was going to attack each thing asked of me. Sometimes it became a
little tedious but it never became to much to handle because I knew I could do it and
if I needed assistance or a reminder of what was to be done I could just ask someone
and they would politely inform me on what was to be done. As for being innovative,
this is what took a little while to grasp. Everyone is different. Everyone isnt on a
collegiate athlete level. Because of this, whenever I was asked to lead personal
training sessions I had to get to know the clients. I had to address their ailments,
strengths and weaknesses, goals and what they like versus didnt like to do. I had to
take all of this into consideration whenever creating their workout plan in order to
create something that was specific to them. For instance, instead of making a client
do a standard bench press, I had him lay on the floor and do a plate press. It was
working the same muscles (with isolation) but just a different style and more
comfortable/ controllable exercise than the standard bench press.

Problems
My internship started after the projected start date because of some
password issues along with paper work, but once it started it began slowly. I wanted
to learn and was involved but I hadnt built any decent relationships with any of the
staff and members. It took me a while to get used to the staff; how their
personalities were, how they ran their training sessions and how much involvement
and/or interaction I could have with each session/member/class. I encountered a
problem working with children during a high school strength and conditioning class,
in which a child got hurt and the proper paperwork was not filled out and filed. I did
everything I knew to do and the paper work filling out and filing was not a part of it.
A complaint was filed against the trainer that was in charge of the class because he
let the accident happen when it was the kids fault that it happened anyway. The
trainer that was in charge of the class along with myself had a meeting with Kris
Hartley (head of training staff) about what to do next time etc. Once I adjusted to the
flow of the Paul H Broyhill Wellness Center I think I fit in very well.

Career Objectives

Interning at the Paul H Broyhill Wellness Center opened my eyes to a world
that I knew existed, but didnt know the pleasures of. The reason I was a HP major
was because of my family. I knew that some of the members of my family were
overweight/ obese and suffered from other problems because of it. I knew that I
wanted to help them and should. Being at the Wellness Center daily opened my eyes
to the pleasures of the training staff. Of course clients come in that dont really want
to be there and are doing it because they know its helping them. But on the other
hand, the clients that came in happy, excited and ready to work because they felt a
change in themselves and saw one in the mirror is what I learned to appreciate and
cherish. Even though I wasnt apart of each members training session each time they
came, I saw the work that the training staff had put in to each client along with the
benefit of the client returning to each and every session and knew this is how I will
help my family. I knew after a couple weeks at my internship that I would like to
become a personal trainer. Im a helper at heart and just knowing that I am assisting
someone to attain one of his or her goals in life is pleasurable. I love the feeling of
helping others grow. Thanks to the Paul H Broyhill Wellness Center I now know that
becoming a personal trainer is something that I would love to pursue a career in.

Preparation

I gained knowledge in doing initial assessments (body composition, blood
pressure etc), providing information about facilities (giving tours), knowing how to
check a blood pressure accurately as well as what to notice when checking one, how
to read heart rhythms, how to do a fitness assessment, and general information
about writing and preparing a workout plan for personal training purposes. I
gained the most knowledge and sharpened my skills the most in the fitness area as
well as the cardiac area. Giving initial assessments, general fitness assessments and
writing workout plans fit me the most. Since Ive been an athlete my whole life
including college, how to work certain muscle groups sort of came natural. The
difficult part was knowing the ratio of how many push exercises versus pull
exercises as well making the workout flow for the client. Writing mach workout
plans and having my liaison Tiffany Norman look them over and provide insight on
what she would do helped me to understand the ins and outs along with the flow of
the workout. Thrive gave me the confidence along with the knowledge of how to
check a blood pressure accurately. That program also made me aware of how
serious heart conditions are and how quickly something could go wrong if pushed to
hard. This was scary and informing at the same time. I learned about rhythms of the
heart and it became easy to differentiate between a normal rhythm and an abnormal
one.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies

One of the skills that I learned earning my HP degree that I used most
commonly was to ask questions. In the fitness field, in order to accurately help
someone attain their goals, you have to ask questions. You cannot just assume each
and every person is healthy and just wants to be stronger. Yes, the obvious signs will
help you, but in most cases, if you dont ask the client will not think its important
and will keep it to themselves until its too late. Building relationships is another
thing that I thought was important I picked up throughout my work to attain my
degree. In the health field, as health professionals, we are here to help. If you build
relationships with clients it will become easier to help them because they feel
comfortable with you and will tell you if there is a problem or on the other hand if
something is going good and they like it. Another competency that is under rated is
privacy. Privacy is probably the biggest and most important thing involved with
health that I learned. Clients dont want to be talked about behind their back. They
want to know that what goes on between you and them is strictly between you and
them. It gives them a sense of comfort which will make your experience with them
that more valuable.

Training

Tiffany Norman, my liaison, is certified personal trainer and fitness
instructor. She is certified through the ACSM for both. In order to be a personal
trainer you would have to be certified. Though there are many certifications that are
out now, there are two certifications that are nationally recognized and they are the
ACSM (with concentrations in clinical, athletes and administration) and the NSCA
(with various concentrations). To become a personal trainer, I would have to be in
my last semester of my college career and in a health related field in order to take
the test. The test offers study classes as well as the books needed to study and
prepare for the test, because it is vigorous. I look forward to preparing myself
readily to make the decision of which certification along with what concentration I
would like to pursue my career in.

Future

Like previous stated above, I would like my future to be filled with jobs that
take a spotlight in helping people. My overall goal at this point in time is to be a
personal trainer with a concentration in clinical services as well as athletes. I
understand that this is a long term goal and could possibly take a couple years to
attain certifications is both, but that is a battle I am willing to fight. For now, I would
just like to be in the fitness industry. Im okay with starting at the bottom and
working my way up, because I have some experience but I know a lot more is
required to do the things that I want to do. I am currently pursuing jobs at Lifetime
Fitness and O2, both of which are box gyms. Once my certification is attained I
would love to work in a wellness center setting and work with stoke victims. I am
open to anything that I can find and hope things work out for the best.

Personally, I learned a lot about myself during my internship. I figured out
what it was like to genuinely help someone that wanted it and for that experience
alone, the Paul H Broyhill Wellness Center changed my life. More importantly I
learned that I have more skills and knowledge than I give myself credit for. My
grades were not always the best, which was due to lack of effort sometimes, but
applying the things that I did learn and asking questions about things that I was
unsure about let me know that I needed was a little more knowledge and to believe
in myself. My internship gave me peace of mind that I could survive in the health
industry if I work hard and put my mind to it.

























Annotated Bibliography

Durstine, J. Larry., Abby C. King, Patricia Lynn. Painter, Jeffrey L. Roitman, Linda D.
Zwiren, and W. Larry. Kenney. ACSM's Resource Manual for Guidelines for
Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Williams & Wilkins, 1993. Print.

I used this book in reference to information regarding initial health screening and risk
factors, while performing intial assessments at the Paul H Broyhill Wellness Center. I
also referred to this book when searching information regarding muscular fitness.


Battista, A. Rebecca, Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab Manual. Kendall Hunt
Publishing Company, 2012. Print.

I used this book in reference to the Rhomboid Major versus the Rhomboid Minor. I
needed this information when a trainer asked me different muscles for each, I
couldnt give a complete answer therefore I had to look it up.



Starrett, Kelly, and Glen Cordoza. Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to
Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance. Las
Vegas: Victory Belt Pub., 2013. Print.

I referred to this book when searching information about gain flexibility in your
shoulders and back. Crossfit perked my interest and I looked it up to see what stretches a
client should do in order to increase range of motion.