Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lexi Jackson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Lexi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

Late in 2022, after years of training myself and friends (informally) and going back and forth on whether I should get a personal training certification, I finally took the leap and ordered a well-respected course online. While I was studying, I was working out at a local gym that I loved. It had everything I wanted: ample squat racks, free weights, cable machines, isolation machines, a cardio floor, even a pool and saunas across the parking lot. Secretly I was hoping I’d be able to train here one day after I got some experience.

I was always friendly with the staff, so after I’d been studying the course for a few months, I let the gym manager know I was working on my certification. His response was even better than what I was hoping for: something along the lines of, “That’s awesome! I’ve seen you around the past few months and you seem like you know what you’re doing. Would you want to shadow some trainers while you’re studying and train here when you get your certification?”

I was overjoyed, so of course I studied and trained harder. I shadowed some of my now-colleagues, took the test a couple months early, got my certification, and had my first client within a month of getting hired. I still work at that gym and I love it. Switching careers to personal training has been such a positive experience for me overall. I’m so happy I randomly decided to tell the manager I was working on my certification that day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Lexi! I am a personal trainer specializing in functional fitness. In other words, I help people move better in the gym in ways that imitate movements we perform in daily life, and I help address muscular imbalances, or weak areas that compromise form or create pain. In turn, my clients reduce their risk of injury, improve their body composition and bone density, and improve their chances of remaining mobile into old age.

I am most proud of the wins my clients achieve. For example, since we started working together a year and a half ago, one of my clients has gone from barely squatting the bar to squatting her body weight, and deadlifting more than her bodyweight; she can do a pull-up now too. Another person was finally able to sit comfortably on the floor on her knees for the first time in her life. Many of my clients have been able to manage injuries or health conditions more effectively or have achieved significant progress in their body composition goals. They also report living with less pain, better sleep, and feeling more confidence in their bodies. All of these things are vital for overall health and well-being, and I am thrilled I get to be part of the process of building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle with my clients.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

In personal training, observation and listening skills are very helpful for succeeding, and they come into play in many different ways. It’s important to be able to distinguish good form from bad form while lifting weights of course, but it’s also important to be able to tell how much effort a client is using based on what you are seeing compared to the amount of effort they perceive themselves to be making. Some people are really good at estimating their effort, while others wildly over- or under-estimate. The trainer provides an informed outside view the client can safely rely on.

Additionally, it’s important to use these skills to “read the room,” so to speak. For example, some clients are very comfortable sharing details about their personal lives, chatting throughout the session, and taking criticism on form, while others are more reserved or get frustrated with too much correction at once. Sometimes a normally more talkative client will be more quiet and need me to ask fewer questions, or a client who normally has a lot of energy needs me to dial the intensity back while they’re dealing with things in their personal lives.

Working with people’s physical health also includes accounting for their emotional health: many people have historically had bad relationships with exercise or the gym, and part of my job as a trainer is to help build positive associations with exercise—that involves meeting them where they are and being a positive and safe presence for them. Making clients feel comfortable in the gym and look forward to the workouts are some of the fastest ways to be a more effective trainer. If they feel like they can trust and rely on their trainer, they will show up and get results.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was 18, just a week after graduating high school, I was diagnosed with moderate ulcerative colitis. I had been sick for months prior to getting the diagnosis, and when I got the news, it felt like my life was over before it had really even begun. How was I going to navigate this debilitating disease for the rest of my life? How could an 18-year-old who was otherwise healthy just a year before even comprehend having a permanent disease?

I went through many different medications on the journey to managing my UC. I had poor reactions to several of the therapies we tried, even pancreatitis and a lupus-like reaction, before finally getting on a medication that actually seems to work. All this time my health had been a rollercoaster: I’d be able to go to the gym or do yoga for a few months, my condition would worsen and I’d have to stop, then we’d try a new medication and I’d start to feel better, rinse, repeat. But even when I finally got on the medication I currently take, the symptoms improved significantly but didn’t go away altogether. It wasn’t until I was able to get back into shape that I really started to feel “normal” and was able to engage more fully with life, which was something I never expected to be able to achieve again.

Just this past weekend, I ran a Spartan Race for the first time, and not only did I feel great while I was competing, I was in the top 27 percent of female athletes at my race. Every week at work, I get the opportunity to help people who are dealing with the same kinds of issues I was experiencing ten years ago, and I also get to be an example for the kind of progress they can make if they dedicate themselves too. I wouldn’t wish UC on my worst enemy, but navigating life with it has absolutely made me a better coach and a more empathetic human. I am proud that I’ve been able to learn from it and grateful that I have been able to conquer it so far.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flexwithlextraining.com
• Instagram: @flexflexflexwithlex
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Flex-with-Lex/61563242726710/?mibextid=JRoKGi

Image Credits

Emma Delevante