Personal training for all at Maroondah Leisure

Published on 23 February 2023

Personal trainers at Maroondah Leisure are passionate about helping clients of all ages and abilities to achieve their fitness goals through programs tailored to meet individual needs.

Michael Schultz is among Maroondah Leisure’s 60 personal training clients, having worked with Personal Trainer Chris White for 9-months.

Michael, who is an above-knee amputee, began personal training after completing rehabilitation following his amputation. A previous member at Aquahub, he signed up for personal training because he wanted “some help getting fit and strong to run”.

Since then, Chris and Michael have worked together to develop his personal training program, consistently evaluating and building on the program to ensure it continues to challenge Michael as he progresses and strives to achieve his goals.

This collaboration between trainer and client is a vital part of personal training.

“It’s difficult to push yourself hard enough and to know what your limits are, so I have enjoyed having someone to do that for me,” Michael said.

“Having Chris’s insight, enthusiasm, expertise and personal desire to work out what works for an above-knee amputee has meant that I have been challenged every step of the way and he keeps finding new and interesting ways to push me.”

For Chris, it is important to support Michael with the perspective of “what can we do and how can we do it”.

“Working with Michael is a real privilege. His determination to give everything a go and tackle every challenge persistently is inspiring - I get goosebumps when he nails something,” Chris said.

“The methods we are using in Michael’s program primarily concentrate on proprioception, which is the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body.

“This relies on constant feedback from Michael and careful observation throughout every movement to find pathways to improvement, modifications we can make, or other movements we can try to enhance what we're doing,” Chris said.

“A lot of our current focus has been on how to manipulate the position of Michael’s prosthetic for the best advantage in relation to the rest of his body. The culmination of this has been Michael completing consecutive Turkish Get Ups - an exercise that is difficult for most people and involves getting up from flat on your back using careful foot positioning and weight redistribution to stand while holding a kettlebell.”

With support, encouragement and guidance from Chris, Michael has achieved great results, including running for the first time in two decades.

“I’m now running, which I hadn’t done for 20 years. My balance has improved immeasurably, as has my ability to control my prosthetic side. My overall strength has also increased across all muscle groups, and we’ve been able to increase my VO2 significantly.”

With running down-pat, Michael is now working towards his current goal: one-legged weightlifting. Chris says this goal will bring “a whole new set of challenges”, but he is confident in Michael’s ability.

“When he said he wanted to do it, my response was ‘You totally can do this!’” Chris said.

Learn more

Maroondah Leisure offers personal training at Aquahub and Aquanation. Open seven days a week, the gyms are supervised by qualified and experienced gym instructors and personal trainers, and the team is here to support and encourage you every step of the way – from initial health consultation and personalised programs to ongoing appraisals.

Find out more about personal training at Maroondah Leisure.