Everyone knows the struggle of finding the motivation to hit the gym. We’ve all heard how good exercise is for you, but honestly there are times where running a mile on the treadmill sounds like the last thing you want to do. That’s where Kate Zurlo comes in: a junior at Wake Forest who does personal training on the side through Wake Forest’s campus recreation institution. By taking one of her workout sessions, you will find yourself wanting to go to the gym every day.
Already an avid gym-goer, Zurlo became a certified personal trainer through the company ACE this summer. She trains part time through Campus Recreation and has her own online coaching business for both nutrition and fitness in the Winston-Salem area.
Zurlo’s journey to personal trainings started in college. “I’m on the dance team at Wake and we learned how to lift with the athletic trainer and I found that I really liked it,” says Zurlo. “I reached out to some athletic trainers to help me figure out some workouts I could do on my own and they were really receptive to it.”
According to Kate Zurlo, her sessions usually help people get in shape cardiovascularly and muscularly. However, the best part about personal training is not the exercise itself, but the fact that she feels like she can “change people’s mindsets.”
“I think that people can get a twisted idea of health and fitness and it’s amazing to see how people change mentally through the process of me training them,” says Zurlo.
Zurlo elaborates on this saying that clients and students come to her initially with workout goals, but soon their relationship develops past exercise. “Clients come to me for school advice and even life advice. Personal training has been a way for me to help people, in terms of exercise and motivation.”
As for motivation to hit the gym, Kate Zurlo gives one piece of advice. “Everybody starts somewhere. Don’t be discouraged.”