Case Study: Liam Pogson

Introduction:

Liam Pogson is a personal trainer and fitness instructor who has studied Level 2 and 3 courses with CMS Fitness.

Background:

Born Huddersfield in 1991, Liam has lived in Mirfield all his life, attending Battyeford Primary school and the Mirfield Free Grammar high school. He then spent two years at sixth-form college.

Previous jobs:

Has always worked in the fitness industry.

Route into a career in fitness:

A Huddersfield Town fan, Liam played football at primary school and cricket through high school and college, until he started working in the fitness industry, which meant working evenings and weekends. 

After gaining a Btec in Sport at Kirklees College, he got a job as a fitness instructor, which was when he first began thinking about his future career options. At the same time, he started competitive body building, which inspired him to want to become a personal trainer so that he could help others to get fit and transform their physiques.

Training with CMS:

While working as a fitness instructor at the Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL) gym at the Huddersfield Town grounds, Liam met Hadyn Luke from CMS, who was training groups at the gym.

Hadyn was able to give him more information about the various courses on offer and Liam went on to study with CMS for a Level 2 Award in Adapting Fitness Instruction for Adolescents and a Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training, qualifying in 2018.

Typical day:

A typical day when working at Top Bodies gym in Huddersfield is to start training clients from 9am when the gym opens. Liam will then train himself, followed by further clients.

If he’s working at the stadium, he will usually have clients in the morning then teach fitness classes in the afternoon.

He also spends part of his time working from home, making nutrition plans and working with clients online.

“I do a lot of online coaching and have won new clients from this,” he says. “I also put up posters at Top Bodies, advertising myself as a personal trainer, and will soon to be training at Dewsbury Sports Centre, another KAL site. I also win clients through word of mouth and online, through putting transformations on social media and running competitions.

The learning process:

The Level 3 Personal Training course Liam followed involved workshops with practical work and some theory, for example how to do consultations, how to win clients and how to run a PT business (see our blog on How to Start a Personal Training Business). This was supported with work books for exams in areas such as nutrition and anatomy.

“There was lots to read through, including online, but I really felt it was beneficial,” he says. “When it comes to revising, it’s all about managing your time.”

Key achievements:

“Competing in body building for the first time at BNBF – the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation competition in Manchester – and coming third. I also came third in my next competition at the WABBA International UK Championships in Batley. The following year I trained a competitor for the Bikini Class of the Rhinos Classic Bodybuilding competition in Lincoln. She came fourth, and helping her was a great learning curve and a great achievement, as you’re under pressure and in charge of someone else’s progress.”

Key challenges:

“There are a lot of challenges, such as time keeping and time management, but I would say the biggest one is that you’re under pressure to provide results for your clients. That means every attention to detail needs to be spot on, with their training and nutrition.”

Benefits of taking a CMS Fitness course:

“You will definitely learn a lot through CMS that you didn’t know previously, from anatomy to how to plan sessions, and you can develop your learning even further as they provide a vast number of courses,” Liam says.

“I’m focusing on increasing my personal training client list for the time being, but I’d consider doing more courses with CMS in the future. I would definitely recommend CMS: you will get all the help and support that you need to further your learning and pass the course.”