Personal Trainers and the Art of Fitness – Door County Pulse

After a long day of work, it’s often difficult to find the motivation to hit the gym, much less develop a consistent workout regimen. For those struggling to do so, personal trainers can transform a solo endeavor into a team effort.

The number of personal trainers in Door County has been increasing over the last several years, said Trish Araujo, personal trainer and owner of Door County Fitness Studio in Sister Bay. This trend is not isolated to Door County, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes fitness training and instruction as an industry growing at a faster-than-average rate. The Bureau predicts it will continue to grow by over 47 thousand jobs in the next decade.

Araujo left a multi-decade career in chemical engineering to pursue a career in fitness. When she moved to Door County in 2016, she was one of two personal trainers in Sister Bay.

Now, several contract out of Araujo’s studio and the nearby Sister Bay Athletic Club. One such trainer, Matt Stone, was encouraged to pursue training professionally by Araujo and another local trainer, Ashley Lusk.

“They [Araujo and Lusk] both just saw that it was something I was passionate about and interested in,” Stone said. “I was looking to make a move career-wise, and this was something that was a lot more in alignment with who I am and what I like to do.”

In addition to these Sister Bay businesses, 30- and 60-minute personal-training sessions take place at the YMCA locations in Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek. Potential clients fill out a request form to indicate their goals and reasons for seeking out a trainer. 

Sturgeon Bay is also home to a number of private studios offering personal-training sessions, including an Anytime Fitness location and the Armati Collective. The latter is a gym dedicated to CrossFit, a branded fitness program that focuses on functional movements at relatively high intensity. The Armati Collective offers group classes and semi-private training sessions in addition to one-on-one sessions.

Brady Nieman, Armati Collective head coach and personal trainer, described the environment as a community where people encourage each other to succeed.

“It’s amazing to see people do things that they really never thought that they could do, or would be able to do again – to be able to see clients and members smile while exercising,” he said.

How Trainers Help

Those who seek out personal trainers are as varied in age as they are in fitness goals. Stone, for instance, sees clients ranging from high-school athletes to senior citizens.

Because of that, creating customized fitness regimens is an essential aspect of a trainer’s job. Many trainers, like Araujo, first meet with new clients at a free consultation session to discuss their goals. After the client’s goals are established, the purpose of sessions is to build routines and habits that clients can continue practicing after they stop seeing her.

“My goal is not to have someone that has to come to me for the rest of their life,” she said. “It’s teaching them and instilling that confidence so that they can feel confident going to the gym themselves.”

Many trainers, having gone through their own fitness journeys, are empathetic to the fears and insecurities of their clients. Keeping a light, casual environment can help reduce those nerves, especially for newbies, Stone said.

“I think a lot of people have this idea of the personal trainer being kind of like a drill sergeant or a football coach,” Stone said, “Really, what I try to do is just make it where you’re just meeting a friend at the gym and they’re going to take you through the exercise.”

Encouragement is key too, Neiman said. Celebrating continuous progress and little wins helps keep clients motivated.

“It’s really just about putting things into perspective, saying ‘Hey, this is where you’re starting out, and that’s OK,’” he said. 

Because everyone has different abilities and fitness goals, finding the right personal trainer is like finding the right hair stylist or mechanic – sometimes it takes a bit of shopping around to find a good fit. Neiman encourages clients to pursue different trainers if the fit doesn’t feel right after a couple of sessions.

Nieman and many other trainers are employed directly by their gym. That is the case for trainers at both YMCA locations, the Armati Collective and Anytime Fitness, where sessions can be booked by reaching out to the studio or gym directly. Araujo can similarly be contacted through her gym, the Door County Fitness Studio.

Other trainers, like Stone in Sister Bay, work independently but contract with studios to use their space and equipment. Many of these contract trainers have their own website – Stone’s is mattstonepersonaltrainer.com – and can be booked by reaching out directly.