Case Study

Mark has come to the organisation where you are working. He says he needs a fitness professional as he lacks motivation to do the workout himself but he has not had one before. He works long hours as an accountant Monday to Friday, lives on his own 10-minute drive from where you work, and he plays football once a week with his friends at the local AstroTurf. He wants to lose weight so he looks good on his forthcoming holiday but he does not know a realistic goal for his body and the time that he has. He has tried weights, cardio, and classes, both high impact and yoga. He says he enjoyed using weights the most out of all of these but was not sure he was doing it correctly or effectively. He wants to sit down with a fitness professional to talk about his fitness journey moving forward.

1. What barriers can you identify that Mark has towards exercise?
2. Using his experience what method of training would work best for Mark?
3. How would you set short-, medium- and long-term goals?
4. Set an example SMART goal for Mark?
5. How often would someone like Mark need to be reviewed and goals revised?
6. How can you exceed Marks expectations?
7. How can we assist to develop his own motivation and adherence to exercise?
8. What important questions would you ask Mark to get to know what could motivate Mark further in his fitness journey?

Practice this scenario with a colleague or pretend a friend is Mark and practice the questions you would, the strategies you would do and the goals you would set for Mark. It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the responses you have to the above scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague or friend and ask them to tell you whether they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your assessor.