Becoming a Fitness Professional

Abstract

Entering the gym we have chosen for our observation is almost like entering a café. First, one is confronted by a large circular desk and smiling faces welcoming one to the facility. Here one can buy lunch-boxes, coffee/tea, smoothies, fruit, energy bars, and so forth. Behind the reception desk, the room expands into different sections. Next to some offices, there is a small shop where one can purchase fitness equipment and clothes. Alongside one wall, there are several large dining tables lined up and windows looking out over a parking lot. In the middle of the room, there are armchairs and coffee tables, decorated with tea lights, which seem to have popped up like small and cozy islands. Clearly this large, welcoming area is constructed in a way that urges visitors to stay a bit longer, to sit down and have a chat. It is lunchtime and fairly crowded, and the ever-friendly service staff at the reception desk seem to have their hands full.