Post 5: Leader Profile
Profile a person or an organization within your discourse community that excels at what they do. Share what you know about them with a focus on what makes them exceptional.
Personal trainers are considered to be professionals within the fitness community. Their main objective is helping clients to achieve weight gain, weight loss, health improvement, or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Personal trainers responsibilities including assessing clients’ fitness ability, organising one-on-one training sessions, identifying targets and tailoring exercise plans according to clients’ needs, providing nutritional plans and encouraging clients to adhere to those plans, help clients’ with challenging workouts and motivating them by proving positive results, taking notes and keeping record of clients’ progress; most importantly, maintaining a positive attitude and professional relationship with clients’ (Hanley, 2017).
By the end of our six-month contract, I had fully recovered. I was able to do fitness activities and carrying on with my life after the injury. My physical and mental health was improved; I was no longer in pain or needed assistance, and have achieved the toned body that I have always wanted. I thanked Mike for all of his exceptional support and personally praised him to the manager. Mike has made a difference in my life, and I wish him the best of luck in the future to come.
(351 words)
References:
Hanley, J. (2017, Dec). Job profile: Personal trainer. Retrieved Jul 26, 2018, from Graduate Prospects: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/personal-trainer
Post 4: Conflict
Describe the kinds of conflict that arise in the discourse community you’re writing about in your blog. Focus on one particular example of a conflict, describe the situation and how it was resolved.
In a fitness setting, conflicts may arise in every situation. Whether it is two members who are fighting over equipment on a busy day or a disagreement between a personal trainer and a member. It may also be the case of a dispute with management from members or among staff.
In my experience, it all started with a gym towel. Each member was given two towels for every gym session. The rule is if you lose your towel, there is a penalty charge. This is to raise awareness among members and reminding them to take responsibility for their belongings. However, the rule may not have taken into account thievery situations, and this has occurred to me.
After my workout, I often shower and hang my towels outside the cubicle door. Unfortunately, they were both disappeared that day. I then brought this issue to the attention of the staff. However, they insist that I should pay the charges for the two towels as I have lost them. I disagree and told them that another member of this gym may possibly have stolen the towels from me. The staff took it to their manager, and finally, they decided I would not need to pay for the lost towels. However, they will not provide me with any more towels for the rest of my membership.
Another issue I have experienced whilst at this gym is the class schedule. There are numerous classes that operate throughout the week. I particularly enjoy Zumba and HIT (High-Intensity Training), and always try to attend these classes whenever possible. However, over the course of time, these classes were reduced from 7 hours to 2 hours a week. Several times, there was a lack of instructors led to the classes being cancelled unnoticed. Members, including myself, were raising concerns to the staff. However, the situation remains unchanged after several months. A number of people have cancelled their membership to rebel against management. Eventually, the manager has apologised and made an announcement that classes are back to normal operating hours. The explanation was due to their business reconstruction, which led to a lack of staff.
After my membership expired, I did not renew it as both of the experiences have left a bad taste in my mouth. Since then, I have yet to join another gym but will be getting back into fitness in the near future.
(397 words)
Post 3: Trend
Discuss a trend related to your discourse community. Think about a recent shift or change and reflect on what it means for the topic of your blog.
In previous blogs, the discourse community of health and fitness were introduced. As previously mentioned, there are many reasons for individuals to become gym members, but the ultimate goal within the community remained as health improvement. In this blog, I will focus on the “holistic health” trend that has recently been promoted within this community, in particular, the shift in consumers’ attitudes toward a healthier lifestyle.
According to Statistics of Canada, 20% of Canadians aged 18 and older are obese (Statistics Canada, 2014). This record is alarming as obesity was known to be relating to major health issues, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and certain types of cancer (Tjepkema, 2006). Our body requires good nutrition to function most effectively, and by consuming unhealthy foods, we are risking the development of short and long-term mental health problems, including depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease (Mental Health Foundation, n.d.). An unhealthy diet would also lead to weight gained, which could lower self-esteem, thus preventing these individuals from participating in social activities.
However, the health overview of people is shifting in recent years. A report by Mintel, a UK market research firm, reveals 45% of Canadians feeling guilty after consuming what they considered to be unhealthy food, 63% Canadians believe what they eat can affect their emotional health, and 84% of the people believe it can impact their physical health (Mintel, 2017). According to Nielsen, a data management firm, “52% of Canadian consumers are proactively trying to lose weight in an effort to take charge of their health. In particular, more than half of Canadians are eating healthier than they used to, 59% say they’re actively purchasing healthy foods, and 38% say they exercise regularly” (Nielsen, 2017).
The media is partly to thank for the rise in healthier trends, as it sends out repeated behaviour reinforcement messages e.g. pictures of fit people exercising, health foods adverts, fitness promotions etc., thus lead people to believe it is socially acceptable to live a healthier lifestyle (Sandle, 2016).
“Superfoods” including salmon, berries, raw nuts, green tea, quinoa, broccoli, kale etc., are heavily promoted amongst the health community as they are rich in vitamins and minerals, particularly fibre, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids etc. (Healthline, 2016). Personal trainer Billy Polson, founder and owner of Daikadi Fitness Performance in San Francisco, recommends his clients to maintain a well-balanced diet for daily activities, especially for exercise performance as lack of proper fuelling could lead to tiredness, exhaustion, dizziness and nauseous (Villacorta, 2017).
Overall, by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we could eliminate risks of chronic diseases and improve our physical and mental well-being.
(439 words)
References:
Healthline. (2016, Jun 2). 7 Superfoods for Good Health. Retrieved Jul 23, 2018, from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/superfoods
Mental Health Foundation. (n.d.). Diet and mental health. Retrieved Jun 23, 2018, from Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/d/diet-and-mental-health
Mintel. (2017, Mar 01). TWO IN THREE CANADIANS AGREE EATING HEALTHY POSITIVELY IMPACTS EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING. Retrieved Jun 23, 2018, from Mintel: http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/healthy-eating-impacts-canadians-well-being
Nielsen. (2017, Mar). HEALTHY HABITS MAKE HEALTHY CANADIANS. Retrieved Jun 23, 2018, from Nielsen: http://www.nielsen.com/ca/en/insights/news/2017/healthy-habits-make-healthy-canadians.html
Sandle, T. (2016, Jul 21). Social media helps drive healthy eating choices. Retrieved Jun 23, 2018, from Digital Journal: http://www.digitaljournal.com/life/health/social-media-helps-drive-healthy-eating-choices/article/470637
Statistics Canada. (2014). Overweight and obese adults (self-reported), 2014. Retrieved Jun 23, 2018, from Statistics Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-625-x/2015001/article/14185-eng.htm
Tjepkema, M. (2006). Adult Obesity.Health Statistics Division. Toronto: Statistics Canada.
Villacorta, M. (2017, Dec 06). 5 High Performance Superfoods That Are Great For Exercise. Retrieved Jun 23, 2018, from Huffington Post: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/manuel-villacorta/5-high-performance-superf_b_10496780.html
Post 2: Skills Inventory
Write about the skills, knowledge and attitudes you’ve developed by participating in this discourse community. Explain how some of these skills might transfer to a professional setting or be valuable in the career you’d like to pursue.
I enjoy being active and keeping fit, thus fitness has always been a passion of mine. Regular exercise enhances better sleep and improving my appearance. It also helps to raise my mood and self-esteem. I find the gym to be a good social spot as everyone communicates effectively in different pursuits. The main objective is health enhancing, and it can be achieved through activity groups, personal training sessions or independent training.
The gym can be a very challenging place, not only for beginners but also for experts. Perhaps consistency is one of the most difficult challenges to overcome. An inconsistency exercise routine will not lead to the desired result. It also requires great determination, patience, and self-motivation, as fitness is a long and strenuous process. Many people set out their goals, but over a period of time, lose their interests and surrender.
Frequent gym-goers would gain organising and time management skills as they become proficient in balancing between work-life, social life, and workout time. Their gym schedules consist of different exercises on different body parts, each day throughout the week. E.g. “leg day on Monday”, “abs day on Tuesday” etc. Attention to details is crucial as mistakes in positioning or performing could result in fatal injury.
Personal trainers are certified individuals who provided exercise prescription and instruction for clients, helping them to achieve their goals. During training sessions, a good communication between participants and personal trainers would lead to effective collaboration. Regular training and a balanced diet will result in a physically and mentally healthy body, thus achieving both parties’ objectives.
As a health-aware individual, I obtained certain knowledge on exercise and fitness, including diet and nutrition, body and muscle functions, to maintain a balanced and healthy exercise schedule. Recently, I have discovered my new interest and aptitude in dancing through Zumba fitness program. Not only is it fun as you can dance along to the music while exercising, but it also helps with burning calories and gaining muscles flexibility.
The skills I attained through this healthy lifestyle would be extremely beneficial for my future career as a Zoologist. The job requires physical strength to carry field equipment; attention to details when conducting experiments, taking measurements, and preparing reports; excellent communication skills to liaise with work colleagues, management, government agencies and the public; time management, patience, determination, and self-motivation, are valuable skills and assets many employers would be seeking for (ECO Canada, n.d.).
Success requires dedication, time and effort, strong ambition, and aspiration. Not many people are able to conquer these challenges, however, the result will truly be rewarding for those who earned it.
(433 words)
References:
ECO Canada. (n.d.). Career profiles – Zoologist. Retrieved Jun 1, 2018, from ECO: http://www.eco.ca/career-profiles/zoologist/
Post 1: Introduction
Introduce your community to a general audience that might not know it as well as you do. Share what draws you to it and explain what role you play within this community. You will be writing about this community throughout the course, so be sure to choose something that’s important to you.
I have been going to the gym for several years, usually three times a week. The gym that I normally go to is a community consists of hundreds of members, including new joiners, long-term members, personal trainers, and other in-house staff. The membership fee is not the most affordable. However, people choose to go here, as it has a variety of equipment; everything is being kept clean and tidy, the staff are extremely helpful, and it is located in the heart of the town centre.
There could be many reasons as to why a person would decide to join a gym. Some may want to control their weight, others may want to combat health conditions and diseases; or for some others, being sociable at the gym is a good enough reason to keep them motivated. As for me, I find that exercising helps to boost my endurance as I try to push myself to the limit with each session. It enhances better sleep; and by improving my appearance, it also helps to improve my mood and self-esteem. Whatever the reason is, the common goal of any gym-goers remained similar, to improve their health.
The equipment here ranges from the most basic e.g. Barbells – iron bars that is essential to strength training, Dumbbells – handlebars with weight on the opposite ends for bodybuilding, or the Stability Ball that can be used with different exercises; more complex machines including Hyper Extension Bench to train the lower back muscles, or the Smith Machine that assists with squat workout. The gym also offers exercise classes e.g. Bodycombat – a cardio workout influenced by martial arts, GRIT – a high-intensity training designed to effectively tone muscles, shape body and burn calories, Yoga; and many more.
The membership fees are monthly, and there are different packages to accommodate each individual’s needs and budget. The sales team often promote offers by sending emails, letters or handing out fliers to members. For anyone who is interested, a meeting arrangement would be scheduled to show new joiners the facilities. The staff would often communicate with members about their experience, either face-to-face or surveys.
My experience with this gym has been very positive so far. I will continue to go there, and would highly recommend it to others.
(376 words)
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