Schoolbooks to Kettlebells
School Books to Kettlebells
An Interview with Personal Trainer Theresa Rogers
by Mark Nycz
College life is tough, between classes and work, it can be difficult to find balance but that didn’t stop Theresa Rogers from achieving her goal of being a personal trainer. Motivated by the sheer desire to help others, Rogers recently completed the ACE personal trainer course offered by Illinois Central College and is now one of two personal trainers on staff at the ICC Cougarplex.
After having a bad start into fitness Rogers learned her lesson. She lost 50 pounds in an unhealthy way by not easing into a fitness regime. Since then she has learned about having the proper balance and planning out your nutrition.
“I feel a lot lighter, a lot healthier and I have a lot more energy,” says Rogers as she talks about the difficulties of adapting to a healthier diet and lifestyle. In order to balance out a life of eating right, working out along with school requires a great deal of time management. One aspect that is also import, according to Rogers, is taking time for yourself; whether it’s reading a book or simply taking a nap. “There’s a lot of days where I don’t wanna get out of bed” says Rogers, “Naturally as humans beings, we all need a break and we all kinda get use to that break”. She talks about the difficulty of starting up again after taking a break and how the same can apply with schoolwork too. A change in her eating habits helped boost her energy during the workouts and while it was the hardest aspect to change it was also very rewarding.
With the help from a friend she was slowly re-introduced to the gym. By having someone there who knew what to do played a big part in getting her started. “That first day at the gym was very scary for me” says Rogers as she laughs thinks back to her first time entering a gym. “We just kinda started out walking the track, running a couple of laps and ever since then I just haven’t left the gym”.
From exercises to proper dieting, Rogers has the know how on many common topics within the world of fitness including the ever controversial topic of cheat days (a day set aside to indulge in unhealthy food). Rogers said, “A lot of people think that if you workout enough you can eat whatever you want”. She went on to explain the fallacy of this. While keeping her diet relaxed on special occasions, such as birthdays and holidays, she follows the 80/20 rule of nutrition. She explains this as simply eating healthy for 80% of your meals in a day. Along with that comes the less healthy 20% that could include a piece of chocolate cake after dinner or a sugary coffee drink in the morning (a personal weakness of Rogers). Following this rule allows one to have small portions of the things they like throughout the week without falling into the potential trap of binging on those things on a “cheat day”.
Rather than simply taking the online course, Rogers decided to take the ACE certification course through ICC. The ACE, or NCF, is a 30 hour course that teaches students the science, math and psychical exercises needed spread out over the course of several semesters. Classes include curriculum like Principle of Training, Scientific Basis of Human Movement along with non-fitness classes such as Introduction to Business, successful completion of the course results in a personal trainer certification. “I could have gone online and gone through ACE” says Rogers, “The ICC one basically gave me a more in-depth study and spread it out over time which allowed me to balance my school life, personal life and work life”. Having experienced staff teaching and helping was a big perk to taking the course for Rogers. She is working hard to use the education she received to give back to others at ICC. “A healthy body and a healthy mind go hand in hand. In the gym or in the classroom, finding a balance and doing what you love is the key to long-term success”.