We recently connected with Tamara Nisanov and have shared our conversation below.

Tamara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

I got my first job in the fitness industry when I mustered up the courage to walk into a fitness studio in my neighborhood and ask if they were hiring. I had just completed my certification to become an AFAA Group Fitness Instructor. On my way home from work I would pass by this studio and I thought “I don’t know if they’re hiring but if I don’t ask I won’t know”. The studio owner asked if I could schedule a time to do a fitness instruction for her and we did. I planned and prepared a HIIT training class and I realized I got the studio owner out of breath! She loved the class and hired me on the spot. I started training there 3 times a week while still keeping my full time job, that wasn’t related to fitness. That’s where it all began. I loved the students that came to the studio and truly enjoyed inspiring and leading people towards fitness and wellness success. I still remember playing “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled every time I would finish a class to help the clients know it’s not easy but they got the workout done and put themselves first in that moment. I was proud of them every time.

Tamara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the fitness industry as it helped me live a healthy life beyond a very difficult moment, which was after my mom passed away. As she was suffering from cancer I joined the gym to focus on my health in order to be strong and take care of her. I focused on healthy eating, nutritious smoothies to nourish us and also HIIT and strength classes to feel better. After she passed away I decided this is the profession for me and I jumped in. I became an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor followed by becoming a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. Beyond that I completed multiple specializations and certifications as there is always something to learn in the world of personal fitness training.

My niche is helping the active aging population of 55+ gain strength from within. I truly believe that if you can take the time to listen to what your body is telling you, you will discover what movement patterns feel strong and successful and which others have room for improvement. I focus on the mind body connection with all my clients as they are forever intertwined. Using mindset and awareness to build confidence and mastering fundamental movement patterns, which grow into a variety of strength training movement patterns, I am able to train my clients to achieve their goals whether it’s pushups, box jumps, breathing mechanics, increased golf swing speed, improved posture or a certain amount of weight to lift in a strength training pattern. And these goals are set by clients who are well into their 70’s! I know from over a decade of experience in this industry that it’s important to find the baseline of each individual person and from that I can guide them to grow with success in every rep, set and session.

I am most proud of taking my background in psychology and mental health counseling and blending that with my love of strength training and movement into my practice. I listen to my clients, observe every movement from head to toe and aim to keep their goals top of mind as I encourage them to feel better and move better. I focus on each client as an individual and I’m not easy on them but that’s what they came to me for. To get results and look and feel better, that’s what I really love in the work I do.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I would have to unlearn is the one from the fitness industry which is that each trainer should be known for one thing, such as working with kettlebells or a training a certain part of the body. It’s basically the lesson of choosing and labeling yourself, being stuck in a box to be able to market yourself in the fitness industry. This is the box I was being led into when I first started in the industry as a personal trainer. I didn’t comprehend how I could be known for one body part or one type of training equipment when our whole body comes with us to every exercise and the idea of true life is that there is variety in everything. So I wondered how could I be known for one thing? There was so much pressure and I tried to figure out this label but soon realized that’s not for me and that’s not the truth of human movement. I had to share with potential and current clients that I help the whole body as well as the mind and we can use a variety of equipment to achieve goals. It unburdened me, released the pressure and allowed me to be the best trainer I could be. Not looking at a client as a body part but looking at them as a whole person is the way I knew it should be. This is how I was able to help a variety of clients in various ways, by individualizing their program to their needs and wants. Of course we can be known to specialize in something but I believe that beyond our specializations to understand the fluidity of humans, their needs, desires, movement abilities, confidence, etc. that all can be addressed through thinking beyond the box and actually being limitless. That’s the new lesson I learned and the way I train my clients. It is really freeing to know there is no limit to what can be achieved and to the way we train, we are adaptable and that leads to growth in so many ways.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Truly caring about my clients helped me build my reputation within my market. When working with people there will always be challenges to face, such as their confidence in their abilities, their communication on how their body feels in a certain movement pattern, their stress, fear, level of motivation among others. People are beautifully complex and as I share a real interest in knowing who my client is, what they really want to achieve and what motivates them, I can help them every time we train because the same person is a bit different every day. I think there is a potential to be so focused on the exercises to be done for the specific training day that a movement compensation or a specific emotional resistance may be overlooked which could prevent the client from achieving their best. Focusing on the person from the crown of their head to their toes, including their facial expression to how they connect to the ground, allows me to hone in on what they are capable of, what they need in terms of encouragement for that day, and where they are most successful so we capitalize on that to have the best training day we can. Training this way, virtually which is the way I mainly train clients has also opened me up to be super focused.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tnwellfit.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamaranisanov/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamara.nisanov
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaranisanov/
• Other: https://share.google/xOrRfbYwiYVmVFJN6