TrainerGirl

Introducing TrainerGirl by Shari Feuz

Trainergirl is an initiative to cultivate the powerful women of the future by instilling strong health and fitness values in young girls who may otherwise not have opportunity to get started off on the right foot.

How it works

TrainerGirl is a volunteer program. It is a network of female certified personal trainers who volunteer to spend 8 weeks mentoring a young girl (aged 12-17) on leading a physically active lifestyle. TrainerGirl focuses on young girls who have an unusually high number of barriers that prevent them from leading an active lifestyle. There is absolutely no cost for a young girl to participate in the TrainerGirl program.

Who are Trainergirls?

A young girl (12-17) with lack of financial resources to participate in organized sports or physical activities, possibly with lack of female support in the household plus one or more of the following:

• lack of self confidence to participate in school provided physical activity programs
• Distorted body image
• Low self-esteem
• Untrained social skills
• History of physical inactivity
• Obesity

The TrainerGirl Curriculum

• By the end of the 8-week training program (8×1 hour sessions) each TraineeGirl will:
• Understand the 5 components of fitness
• Understand the elements of good posture, how it relates to how her body looks, feels and performs
• Understand how different types of physical activity influence how her body looks, feels and performs
• Know the F.I.T.T.  formula for training each component of fitness
• Know her heart rate training zone, how to check her own heart rate and how it relates to her fitness goals
• Co-create a custom list of affordable physical activity opportunities in her community
• Have a customized fitness program that can be done in the home or community, at no cost, and with minimal equipment

The full Trainergirl program and manual will be available soon!

Commentary by founder Shari Feuz

I change people’s lives everyday.  As a personal trainer my daily job description includes making people feel better about themselves, how they look, feel and perform.  I reduce blood pressure,  improve posture,  battle depression, lower golf scores and tighten and tone a lot of bottoms. It is truly rewarding work, not to mention the reciprocal benefit where I am blessed with the opportunity to spend a significant amount  time with some extraordinarily successful and interesting clients.

However,  only a select few are ever able to take advantage of the guidance of a professional personal trainer.  The clientele of personal trainers, while wholly deserving, are generally in very advantageous lots in life where income is expendable and time is often at their beck and call. Generally they are over 30 years old, established in a career, and most often seeking the guidance of a personal trainer in pursuit of aesthetic improvements. The classic personal training client is hardly a case for philanthropic attention.

Enter TrainerGirl, which recognizes that a shift in the utilization of personal training resources has the ability to not only alter the course of life for many individuals, but also the ability to influence entire communities and even nations. TrainerGirl aims to reach the ‘client’ who has not yet had the opportunity to develop behaviours destructive to their physical and psychological health. The result: strong, healthy & empowered young women. The women of the future.

TrainerGirl is not a smoking cessation program, it is not a weight loss program, it is not a buddy program, it is not a self-esteem program.  It is all of the above.  TrianerGirl is not a parent, or a teacher, nor is it a multimillion dollar Public Service Announcement. It is not an ‘informative website’ or a ‘get active’ poster hanging in the girls high school locker room, there are no girly cartoon characters wearing rollerblades or riding a bike. TrainerGirl is a real trainer, a real girl. It is me, reaching out and holding the hand of young girl and guiding her in overcoming the unusual number of barriers before her,  to set the foundation to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.  This is how young girls become powerful young women. Women who love their bodies and themselves, are in control of their bodies and their life. This is grassroots programming at its best. Anything else is fluff, well meaning, ridiculously over-funded fluff.

More details coming soon!