Stephan Venter
Q: What area of fitness are you currently working in?
I'm the owner of Vibrogym®Active, and work within the Whole Body Vibration Training Industry. I've been able to set up my own personal training Studio in 2006 using VibroGym® platforms and training clients almost exclusively on the vibrating platform. This allows them to cut down their training time considerably but still get awesome results because the platform amplifies their training time to be similar to that of a much longer session. Also every session is personally trained which adds extra benefit.
Q: How did you get into the fitness industry?
I started my studies in 2005 at the International Wing Chun Academy and became a Wing Chun Instructor, this lead me to take my passion for sport and fitness to FIA to become qualified Personal Trainer. I started my Personal] Training career with Fitness First and then decided to start my own gym and never looked back.
Q: Your reason for being in the fitness industry?
I get great sense of personal fulfillment when I get clients to do things they never thought possible. Initially when I started, it was because I lead an active lifestyle and thought I could make something of this but more and more it's becoming more the feeling of accomplishment after success with a client.
Q: Any gripes about the fitness industry?
From a trainer point of view: I think a lot of fitness instructors out there are spending so much time on getting clients to do the perfect movement or most 'functional' movement, that they forget to spend any time on the clients awareness of that particular movement itself. What functions go into a movement and is the client truly aware of them, it's not as simple as 'keep your back straight, hips back etc. Start Up Instructors don't get much training on how to instruct awareness through movement, and some don't ever get there. If exercise is suppose to make us stronger, healthier & fitter, why are there so many broken bodies out there? The industry needs to get better at this to become truly effective in the modern society.
Q: Did you study any areas of exercise or fitness?
I did my Wing Chun Instructor grading at the International Wing Chun Academy, Cert III and IV in Fitness - Personal Trainer at the FIA and recently completed my Diploma of Sport and Diploma of Remedial Massage at the FIA.
Q: How important do you think it is to update your learning in the fitness world?
I think it's important if you want to be a trainer for longer than the national average of <18 months. It's very simple, if you keep your education up, your clients see it and notice that you care about becoming better at what you do. They will love you more for it and you will become better at dealing with various client goals. Because not every client wants weight loss and bigger muscles.
Q: What would you like to see happen in the industry over the next few years?
It might be biased, but I would like to see Vibration Training grow bigger and better, and the only way to do it is to move away from the hype that was created by imitations that you just stand on a vibrating platform for 10 minutes a day and you lose weight, that's the biggest lie. A 20 -30 minute Vibration training session should be just as hard if not harder than the 60 minute workout in the gym. It's by far more superior than any other workout, if instructed correctly.
Q: Any predictions?
Fitness will always be important to clients but clients will become pickier with trainers as they become more aware of what the industry has to offer. This will be good news to the quality trainers out there but bad news to the ones that think they can drift through and train clients with very little knowledge.
Q: What advice do you have for anyone wanting to learn more about fitness?
Start with an open mind, the greater variety in your education the greater your results with clients. Don't go into your education trying to learn too much too soon, if you're in this industry for the long haul, get it right first time even if it takes a bit longer than initially anticipated.
Stephan Venter can be contacted at www.vibrogymactive.com.au / 02 9264 7245
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