Tell us a little bit about you
Hey, I am Coach Wen Shian! I am currently a Strength and Conditioning Coach, National Level Powerlifting Athlete and a Studio Manager of MOVE Private Fitness Malaysia. I am known for my contrasting personas I have in my own training (yeaa powerlifting kind) and the person I am outside of it (dealing with clients, peers etc). Therefore, I don’t bite! But my coaching style is based on a high care high challenge approach. And that’s what I’m known for amongst my clients.
What is your mission, and what are your values and aspiration?
My purpose statement is to inspire and transform people to be stronger mentally and physically and therefore I decided to embark on a mission to become a coach to help women out there to achieve greater sense of confidence and fulfilment in life.
What is your philosophy around learning and personal development?
In terms of learning, I actually enjoy exploring mental wellbeing and spirituality. ‘You are what you think’ is the quote that always keeps me moving. However, it’s not only about how I build my mindset, but it is also about how well I can influence the people around me to work on their wellbeing. I believe I’m more of a nurturer type of person and I’m super addicted with the process of building people from nothing to something. Hence, the people that I look up to in this particular subject matter would be Jay Shetty (Author of ‘Think Like A Monk’).
How did you build your personal brand?
I believe in showcasing what I stand for and what I specialize in 80% of the time on my social media and leaving the rest to show the other side of me. You can see a mix of the tough side of me, the soft side of me and definitely the fun side of me! My strategy is to intentionally schedule time and use tools such as ‘Notion’ to make sure I can hold myself accountable for my content creation.
What do you do on your spare time? How do you invest your time?
I spend most of my spare time working on my Production Capacity, a term comes from the famous book by Stephen Covey “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that signifies activities that allows me to develop while preserving myself such as reading, listening to podcasts, reflecting, and decluttering my mind 😊. NOPE I’m not as boring as it sounds…I’ll still allocate quality time for my family, friends, and my partner!
What does your own training regimen look like?
Well I’m a powerlifting athlete so I do have a coach to hold me accountable for my training program. Nothing fancy, SBD (Squat, Bench, Deadlift) all day every day. Specificity is King.
What made you pursue a career in fitness?
‘Your daughter is very chubby’. That was what someone said to my mum in front of me when I was 14 years old. Although it was casually said, it hurt me A LOT. But you know in life you have two choices, you can either let your situation breaks you, or you can let it make you stronger. I knew either way was going to be hard, but I chose the “hard” that would make me stronger. Fitness has changed me for good, both mentally and physically and I wanted the same for others and therefore I made it my mission to inspire and help people to transform their lives through fitness.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Let it be my clients or my team members, I enjoy guiding them to achieve something they never thought possible! The sense of fulfillment and satisfaction receiving on both ends are such magical feelings! Also, I enjoy surrounding myself with growth-driven and passionate people in the fitness industry and I never knew learning and growing could be so fun until I met them!
How do you aim to motivate your clients?
I always believe that being a coach, there are 3 hats you’ve got to wear which are the hat as a coach, the hat as a friend and the hat as a servant. Why? Because wearing the hat as a coach means I’m ready to challenge my clients when it’s necessary and without this hat, I’ll end up getting little to no breakthrough for them. Now of course, I’ve got to wear the hat as a friend of theirs to chat about things beyond the sets, reps and loads in the 4 walls in the studio. That’s when rapport is build further and my clients look forward to our time together even more!
Lastly, wearing the hat as a servant is going to allow you to become the top few in the fitness industry. But wait, don’t get confused between a servant and a maid. A servant means someone who has the heart to put the needs of others ahead of their own personal interests and goals. This requires a strong sense of empathy, humility, and a willingness to listen and learn from others. Well let me tell you, coaching is more than just about the science! By placing some emphasis on developing the Art side of coaching will definitely take you very very far!
Do you recommend getting a fitness qualification/certification over gaining actual experience first, and why?
Well, this predominantly depends on the professionalism you want your reputation to carry.
Personally, I believe qualification and experience are equally important. I do recommend getting a fitness certification first to build up one’s competency as a coach. Also, legally speaking, every trainer must understand what the job scope of a personal trainer is. For instance, creating a meal plan or giving a medical diagnosis are apparently not within the job scope of a trainer.
However, certification will not guarantee that one is a great trainer. Practical experience is definitely a big piece of being a Personal Trainer. For me personally, skills that are beyond the book knowledge that are necessary to be grasped are the art of communication and rapport building with clients.
What does a day in your shoes look like?
My typical day is kind of repetitive but satisfying at the same time… My working time is quite flexible, so I can control and adjust my schedule based on my priorities. A typical day in my life will be packed with clients’ sessions, team meetings, self-training, content creation and meal prepping. It sounds tiring but it is actually smooth and fun! I really enjoy the interaction with my clients and my team. In fact, I learnt a lot about business, finance, medicine and much other practical knowledge from my clients 😉
How would you define success?
To me, success is being able to live out my personal mission: Making a positive impact on the lives of others. To achieve that I have to constantly work on my production capacity (such as upskilling, reading, etc) to make sure I can always give my best to deliver valuable inputs to the people who need me. Otherwise, staying put with my mindset and skillset will just mean that my impact will be limited.
What are some of your tips to pass to current and/or emerging exercise professionals?
The most important skill that I have learnt throughout my years as a personal trainer is MANAGING EXPECTATIONS. Yes, knowledge and exercise cueing are important, but at the end of the day we as exercise professionals are dealing with HUMAN. As personal trainers, we work with individuals to help them achieve their fitness goals. It is hence very crucial to be able to help our clients to set realistic expectations so they do not become discouraged or frustrated when they don’t see immediate results. For instance, it’s normal to have a client who expects to lose 5kg per month with just 1 hour of training per week, living a sedentary but stressful lifestyle and having poor sleep quality.
As personal trainers with proper knowledge, we know this is barely achievable. However, when expectations are not set properly in the first place, this is where dissatisfaction and client drop-off will take place. For me, never ever overpromise just to close a sale. Last but not least, when we manage expectations, we build trust with our clients by being honest and transparent about what can realistically be achieved. Guess what, trust is one of the essential elements in any coach-client relationship.