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Barry Weidner, B.A., Fitness Instructor, Recreation and Welfare Fitness Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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1. I chose this career because...
2. My typical workday involves...
3. What I like best and least about my work is…
4. My career goals are…
5. When I’m not working, I like to…
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1. I chose this career because...
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I chose to become an fitness instructor because I’ve always liked physical activity and sports. I started exercising and working out in the gym when I was 12 years old. My older brother was my inspiration, and he taught me a lot about fitness and sports. Ever since then, I’ve had a passion for fitness. You only have one body, and it is great to build it up and set and achieve goals for yourself.
High school
Sports were a big thing! Being involved in sports helped me realize the importance of exercising and being physically fit. I participated in track, soccer, basketball, and baseball in high school. In track, my coaches noticed that exercising took over. I spent more time working out than practicing the sport. By the time I was a junior, I knew that I would go into health and fitness.
College
I was recruited by Marymount University to play soccer. It was a good-fit proposition, because I wanted to go to a smaller school that had a good health program. While there, I worked in the campus fitness center as a supervisor. My duties included helping people develop good training programs and teaching them how to do exercises properly.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Health Promotion Management, Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia
- Bachelor of Arts, Communications, Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia
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2. My typical workday involves...
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Barry teaching classes using large stability-exercise balls
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My typical workday revolves around performing my major tasks, which are:
- Training people: creating exercise and strength-training programs for individuals. This includes providing motivation and teaching a variety of exercises for each muscle group. I find that a variety of exercises is the key to keeping training fun, and that’s why people come back to me. My training days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I usually train two to three people per day for 1 hour each.
- Teaching classes: facilitating group exercise using the large stability-exercise balls. I teach two 1-hour classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Administering the center: signing up new members, orienting new members to the gym and the equipment, responding to members’ questions and giving them advice, and preparing bulletin board displays with fitness articles, information, and a variety of exercises, including an Exercise of the Month.
- Reading current fitness and health articles to stay up-to-date and increase my knowledge.
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