Helping people with disabilities and chronic conditions achieve their fitness goals has become a passion for personal trainer Josh Bohmer.
The 24-year-old has been working for Wellington City Council for 2.5 years as a Fitness Consultant at Freyberg Pool and Fitness Centre, and the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre in Kilbirnie.
He says it was through gaining his Bachelor of Sports and Exercise that he discovered the career path he wanted to take.
“In my third year of study I worked with three clients who were all members of special populations, meaning they live with a type of disability or chronic condition. I worked with one individual that had relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis, another who was clinically obese, and the third had chronic asthma.
“Working with them throughout that year was just really rewarding. Seeing them achieve some of the goals they set out – whether it was weight loss or strength, or strategies to reduce the onset of the symptoms of their conditions – was really fulfilling work for me and led me onto the path of rehab.”
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Josh, who grew up in Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast, went on to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Rehabilitation. He is also a Parkinson’s Pro Accredited Trainer and is doing on-going training as a PH360 Lifestyle Coach.
“I really love working with all types of people – my goal is to positively impact as many people’s health and lifestyle as I can. But there’s nothing more humbling than helping someone gain the confidence to do something like walk down to their letterbox to get their mail.”
Josh also enjoys working with people who are recovering from injury following an accident. He says he likes to take a holistic view when it comes to training in the gym – considering all aspects of lifestyle, not just exercise.
“It’s all well and good to give someone a programme to follow, but if they go home and watch four hours of Netflix and eat Maccas for dinner every day, it undoes everything they worked towards.”
Having been introduced to sport at a young age, Josh says he has always been interested in leading an active and healthy lifestyle.
“I’ve been playing cricket since I was five so it’s coming up on 20 years, and I’ve played almost every other sport on the planet since then – football, rugby, basketball, tennis, squash, badminton, cricket, indoor netball.
“In college PE (physical education) was my favourite subject and then going to uni, it was a no-brainer moving into the bachelor degree that I chose.”
Josh is pleased he can now help other people improve their lives through his work. He says building trust and a good rapport with his PT clients and Club Active members is an important part of the job.
“We put people at the heart of what we do. We like to create a community with our members – rather than it just being a gym, a place to come and workout – we want it to be a place where people can grow, succeed, and connect with others.”
Josh says working for Club Active means he has opportunities for further training and development, and he and his fitness consultant colleagues learn from, teach, and inspire each other daily.
Check out Josh demonstrating the 'Workout of the Month' on the Club Active Facebook page
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