SNN July 2018

AJ Pouoa is making a big difference to the Auckland SCI community by sharing her own story and her work as a personal trainer.
injury was. Looking at me you would think I was handling everything
well, mentally and emotionally I was a total wreck. All I wanted to do
was sleep and hope it was all a bad dream.
I continued to follow the rehab timetable and go to workshops to
listen to other SCI people’s stories and hear how they dealt with life
in a wheelchair. It was good to hear that there is life after SCI and
that was reassuring. At the same time, I was fighting an internal battle
within myself. I was referred to a psychologist and that helped put
things in perspective.
It must have been tough being such a sporty person and letting go
of those dreams?
Before my accident I lived quite an active lifestyle. I played Rugby
Union for Glenfield in 2016 winning the women’s development
division competition, I captained the Pt Chevalier Buccaneers
Women’s Rugby League team for two years and played national level
Rugby league for Akarana 2015 and selected again for 2016. I also
dabbled in some boxing, winning my fight in April 2016. I trained five
days a week, twice a day. Three times some days as I’d go to footy
training after the gym. I worked a full-time job and played sports on
Saturday and Sunday during the winter and trained six days a week
at the gym in the off season.
I had a lot of goals and trained hard to achieve them, so to have all
those goals wiped out in one night was also difficult to deal with. I
felt like I had lost my purpose in life…well what I thought was my
purpose in life at the time.
You went on to study to be a personal trainer with Fit College NZ,
what was the feeling like when you were accepted and what was
the study like?
I was ecstatic! I did not think they would say yes. Then to be offered
a scholarship was a bonus. I spent the next four months being
carried up and down stairs twice a week by my class mates and
tutors because the floor the class room was on was the one floor
the elevator didn’t stop. Funny when I think about it now but to be
honest at the time I felt a little embarrassed, but it was something I
had to deal with to get to where I needed to be. The bigger picture
was clear in my mind and that helped me be confident enough to
not be so shy or worry about whether they minded or not.
You must be proud to be one of - if not the only - personal trainer
(PT) in a wheelchair in NZ?
I kind of am, I don’t really think about it to be honest. I’m happy
knowing that I was able to show other people with SCI that it is
possible. I’m proud of the fact that I was able to inspire one of the
boys with Cerebral Palsy that I train at the Spinal Unit to enrol in a
Personal Trainer course and he is doing really well.
“A PT in a wheelchair is not something you
see every day, or hear of very often.”
To me, it’s what you achieve after you’re qualified that that counts.
A PT in a wheelchair is not something you see everyday or hear of
very often, and I knew it was going to be hard to get clients who are
willing to see past the chair and trust in my skills, but I knew I had
to trust in my abilities first. I knew what I was capable of and if I just
put my head down and work hard at my craft, word will get out and
people will come, and they did.
Does your own experience help with your work, because you have
been there yourself and you know how hard it is?
Absolutely, going from client to trainer I think is important to have
that experience. To know what it’s like to be in the clients’ shoes
really does help. When I think back to when I would train and to see
how my trainers interacted with me helped me understand body
language, signs of fatigue or stress and how hard to push the client.
How to keep them on track with their fitness goals and to believe
that anything is possible if you work hard for it. Some people have
the misconception that PTs yell and scream at you to get you moving,
that certainly isn’t the case. A calm, confident and positive nature
worked for me and still does as I train my clients.
What do you enjoy most about your role? It must be hugely
satisfying to see people achieve their goals?
What I enjoy most about my role is to see the change in people.
From “OMG I’m going to diiiiiiie!” to pushing themselves to fit in that
very last rep. Working with the Strength and Conditioning classes
showed me that people’s attitudes change when they start noticing
the difference in their fitness level and/or their body. Seeing them
realise “yes, it is possible to achieve my goals!” I get that because I’ve
been there before. It’s awesome when your client comes back to you
and tells you that because of our trainings, they were able to play a
whole tournament and were not tired or sore and that they could’ve
played another few games. Coming from a sporting background, I
get that. I remember the feeling of the first time I played an 80min
game of Rugby League with half time being my only break. From
then, I knew that if I wanted to keep up that level of strength and
fitness I had to train harder and more often.
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