 Blake Ackerman, CPT
Bio Coming Soon...
Questions and Answers
with Blake Ackerman
Below Blake explains how he got into the business of personal training,
his overall approach with clients, his fitness philosophies and more.
Q: Why did you choose to become a personal trainer?
A: I decided to become a personal trainer because of my love for the field of health and fitness. In college that grew into educating others about the exercise and nutrition.
Q: How are you different then other personal trainers? What is your specialty?
A: What makes me different than other trainers is that I apply my education with the proper principles when helping someone to achieve their goals. I train a wide range to clients from the ages of 5 to 84 which means I would probably say my specialty would be to work with all types of clients with all different goals. If I had to pick one it would have to be the athletes just because I used to be one and have trained like at athlete for the majority of my life.
Q: What is your biggest challenge that you face when training clients?
A: My largest challenge with clients is that I really only control what they do for one hour on any given day. This gives a client plenty of time to drink or eat so much that they are not getting the proper benefit from the workouts.
Q: How do you deal with clients who aren't serious?
A: With clients that are not serious I try to find a way to connect with them. For example they may have a vacation coming up that they want to drop a few pounds for so I will keep reminding them of that goal. But if it does become a problem with cancellations and no shows then I do not have problem letting someone go because there my be someone who really wants to fill that spot and could benefit much more from the training.
Q: What is the most important component to personal training that you advocate to clients?
A: That I will give them the tools in which to obtain their goals they just need to decide what to do with them. The client will go as far as they want to they are truly in control.
Q: What are your strengths as a trainer? weaknesses?
A: My strengths as a trainer include: knowledge, personable, creative, influential, and fun.
My weaknesses as a trainer include: Not being in control of the clients. It is frustrating to me that I give them all the knowledge they need and they understand and they still decide not to achieve their goals. Because is someone is not making progress that is exactly what they have done.
Q: What do you think of the ever popular Atkins Diet??
A: The body needs carbs, it is the only fuel to feed the brain. And it is the driving force in the energy systems. Atkins causes someone to get rid of a lot of water and first because there is a lack of carbs. It is very similar to what bodybuilders do before a competition when they dehydrate.
Q: What question do you come across most with clients?
A: Dr. Terry Sheperd, I went through some training with him and worked for him for a while. He is a pioneer in Exercise Physiology.
Q: Who is your favorite fitness author?
A: One of my clients who is a 74 year old gentleman, he is a success for many reasons. He has been with me for 3 years and has achieved his goals. He has worked through a few injuries and has lost weight. Now after a workout he can perform 20+ pull-ups with his own body weight.
Q: Who has been your greatest success story?
A: My advice is to a client just starting is that it is going to be a lifestyle change if you want to obtain your goals. This not just something that is a temporary fix. Exercise and proper nutrition needs to their everyday life.
Q: What is your advice for clients first starting a fitness program?
A: I prefer all types of training because they are all different and it will give different challenges and keep from the monotony.
Q: What type of training do you prefer, one-on-one or group? Why?
A: I prefer all types of training because they are all different and it will give different challenges and keep from the monotony.
Q: What are your personal goals for the future?
A: My personal goals for the future would be to keep all of my clients in homes and at the club. I would like to build a business with Coughlin Fitness and Results where I am booked every single day. Then in terms of future goals I would like all of my income to be passive income coming from real estate. At the same time I would love to continue to train the people that I enjoy training. There are people that I am committed to and they are committed to me and I will honor that.
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