Work placement Connor Ollis – Task 5 (P7)

Introduction - overview Phoenix fitness gym Phoenix fitness gym is located on Parkside road, Kendal. It’s a fully kitted out gym with equipment ranging from treadmills, exercise bikes and weights. With 20+ classes a week varying from aerobic training to circuits and even Brazilian Jiu jitsu and mauy Thai, it has the widest range of classes in the local area. The gym is owned by a father and son team, the gym is family and therefore has the ability to listen to what you want personally.

Monday My first day at the gym went really well, I was shown around the gym, the equipment and the matted area upstairs where they do the wide range of classes. I was also shown the kitchen pod area where people can come in and make food or have a drink, they can also ask for a protein milkshake to be made up for them with a small price of £2.50 to £3 and will be made up in your own bottle if you want it to be. I was also shown the rota for the classes during the week and met the staff that worked there, they were nice and friendly and didn’t make me feel unwelcomed at all.

Tuesday On Tuesday I was on a late day, it went quite fast because I was always doing something, came in on the morning and I was assigned to clean all the equipment in the gym that wasn’t being used. Then I was invited to join in/over watch an aerobics lesson that was in the morning which went on for about an hour, I took notes on everything that was done and the way that he took control of the lession. Then I was given a small lunch break and when I came back it was quite dead business wise but that was good because then I could shadow the few people that were in the gym.

Wednesday Mid week was actually quite busy, 3 lessons were on a Wednesday afternoon/evening, the tummy and bums session which took place early afternoon, judo/open mat and to finish a Brazilian boxing session. I over watched all the sessions and took notes on how the lesson was run and how it was designed, they worked hard and the enthusiasm in the teacher was there. At the night I got to know the staff a little more that were there because the gym was pretty much empty and all the days jobs had been complete.

Thursday Thursday was a late shift because most of the classes are on a Thursday, the reason behind that is because it fits more for everyone that participates in the sessions. There was a tummy and bums session in the morning that had around 6 people taking part in and then there was a child’s open mat judo session followed by an adults open mat judo session. I over watched all these sessions, I personally felt I would learn a lot more by watching than taking part. There was then a long break/wait until the next session that was early evening, that was a Maui Thai boxing session which was very interesting.

Warm ups and cool downs The warm ups were woven into the session quite clever because the warm ups were exercises/ drills from the main session but just toned down a bit to be not so aggressive. The cool downs were quite simple but they worked, the cool downs involved partner stretches and slow jogs around the edge of the exercise mats.

Shadowing I shadowed on a lot of the sessions ranging from the child’s open mat judo sessions to the Brazilian boxing sessions to just normal gym. Over watching people lifting heavy weights and assisting when I was needed to assist someone that wasn’t so comfortable/ confident with using that piece of equipment. I watched over on the maui thai boxing sessions, I didn’t get fully involved because I didn’t feel comfortable/confident joining in on something so aggressive and full on when I hadn’t even seen it in person before. Over watching the judo open mat sessions I got to learn about some moves and tricks on pinning an opponent and getting the opponent to the floor. I also got to see the spirit of the teacher at work, he truly does love the sport and he loves teaching a lot more.

Achievement's I feel that I achieved quite a lot from my time at phoenix fitness Kendal, in the little time that I was there they opened my mind to new sports and ways of teaching and the spirt that they have running through them for coaching/ teaching their chosen sport. I felt comfortable being there and I felt that I could ask anything that I wanted, I don’t normally act that way in places that I haven't been in before and people that I have just met, so I feel like I achieved in improving my confidence.

Conclusion Overall I enjoyed my time at phoenix fitness Kendal, they were an amazing team and welcomed me in, I wish I had more time there to show them who I really was and get more into things, they showed me a lot and opened my mind a lot more to sport in general and gave me motivation to get back into things which I thank them for. I enjoyed the sessions that they provide and the wide range of sports and equipment that they offer for everyone. I also appreciate that they answered every question that I had for them as honest as they could, that really helped me out to understand certain things that I didn’t click onto at that moment and they didn’t judge me for not understanding.

Strengths Areas for development I understood jobs that were given to me Appearance – turned up in the correct sports clothing Initiative, when I turned up to the work placement, I knew what jobs were at hand and got straight to them. Punctuality – I turned up by a few minutes every time, I could work on my time keeping. Confidence – my confidence was a little low at the time so I didn’t join in on the sessions that were going on. Enthusiasm – I was quite tired in the mornings and found it hard to motivate myself.

Targets / Aims / Objectives I need to work on my time keeping, turning up late to work on a regular basis could end up in me losing my job even if it is only by a few minutes, the way that I can do this is by getting up early / not taking so long to get ready In the mornings. I should look at boosting my confidence, going to a local club and socialising more within the sports community and just being more confident in general. The enthusiasm, I should look at boosting my self-esteem too and trying to pick myself up when I enter the work place, try to block out all the problems outside of work.