Tell us a little bit about you
I’m Danielle and I am originally from The Netherlands. I’ve been almost 10 years in Asia, of which 7 years in Singapore. A lot of people might know me for being that tall ang moh, because I’m 185cm. I’m also a passionate runner and enjoy participating in races such as the upcoming Spartan, Hyrox and UACombine. Furthermore I am a mom of 2 girls (2 and 4 years old) and they are also the reason for setting up ActiveWomen Pte Ltd.
What made you pursue the career path you are now on? What was the main catalyst?
I started my fitness career initially after moving to Singapore from Malaysia. In Amsterdam, where I’m from, I finished my Bachelors in Communications and had experience working for Magazines (Yes, something totally different than exercise!). Coming to Malaysia I worked for a Dutch company, doing typical office work. It was ok, but I did really miss that human connection. When I moved to Singapore it was initially hard to find a job.
I always did modeling on the side. Since modeling requires staying in shape I developed a big interest in fitness and nutrition. I thought combining these 2 (modeling & fitness) might be a good fit!
Thankfully a big commercial fitness company here in Singapore wanted to hire me and provide in-house education and a good support network to get more knowledgeable in personal training. The first day in the gym I was second guessing my move to the fitness industry. It’s so different from office work! But thankfully I was welcomed by a great team, and happy I continued this journey.
My first personal training job gave me the foundation to later make the step in setting up my own company ActiveWomen.
After getting my first baby, I noticed I needed more freedom in my hours. Also I wanted to focus on only training women and especially pre- and post-natal. That is where my passion was. During my own pregnancy I felt there was a lack of prenatal workouts, besides the usual pre-natal yoga, and wanted to make a change in that. Same goes for the post-natal support. After a 6-week check women are told they are ok to go back to exercise. But in the meantime their body changed so much and they definitely need more guidance and adjustment in exercises.
Do you recommend getting a fitness qualification/certification over gaining actual experience first, and why?
I’m happy that I got offered a job in a commercial gym that offered both experience and certifications at the same time. Coming from an office job and bachelors, I needed an income as well. I felt going back to only study was like a step back. In this setting l gained experience by shadowing experienced trainers and training the easier clients while I continued getting feedback from the senior trainers.
Although, I do feel the certifications did give me a big boost in my confidence while training clients. Definitely when you’re just starting out, you tend to second guess your ability of being a trainer. Besides I also think the certifications gave me a better understanding of certain problems clients came across.
Now, years later, I still invest in certifications to improve and keep my knowledge up to date. But if you’re getting certifications to proof your clients how smart you are, then definitely save your money. I believe in the end; yes it’s about knowledge, but mostly on how you can bring that knowledge to your client, how you can build rapport with your client and above all are you able to help your client with the goal they have in mind.
What does your typical day look like for you? Is it as fun and smooth as it often looks?
As a younger trainer without kids, when I started out, my days would usually start at 5am wake up. Being in the gym by 5:45am for the first 6am shift. Training clients, maintaining cleanliness in the gym, helping members. Official shift would last till 2pm, but usually you would train a few more clients after that time or sometimes hang around for a workout.
That changed for me during my pregnancy and when I became a mom. I tried to work a lot more efficient to be able combine family life with personal training.
Nowadays running my own business and having 2 kids I adjusted my routine to that. I usually wake up 6:40am, give my kids breakfast, make myself ready, quick breakfast smoothie and coffee. Then go 7:15am to my first client. Thankfully I have an amazing help who assist me with bringing the kids to school so I can train clients in the morning. Usually I train clients at the same location till 9 or 10am. Then go to my next location where I train another 1 or 2 clients. By 12 o’ clock I need to rush for school pick up. Be home by 12:45pm, have a quick lunch and my next client is usually 1:30pm and 2:30pm. Then go for school pick up again for my oldest one at 4pm. My last clients are then usually 4:45pm and 5:45pm. And then it’s time with the kids. After the kids are to bed, I finish my day with a workout in the gym or a run at 9pm.
Ideally I train between 6 to 8 clients a day. If there are any cancellations or less clients I usually fill it up with admin work such as tracking client sessions and finances, but also maintaining the website or social media. For my own workouts I try to keep to 2-3 weight training sessions and 2-3 runs a week. It’s a busy schedule, but thankfully I’m able to plan my own hours because for me being there for my kids is also important.
How did recent advances in tech & innovation help elevate your career? What are some examples? Is it always positive?
What changed most from were I started, tech wise, is that I went from writing on loose papers and notebooks for client training to Google drive excel, to now an easy web platform to better keep track of their workouts. That made a big difference! It’s more time efficient and it’s all on one spot.
Also that almost every client has a smart watch helps! It gives me and the client a better overview of how much they actually move and energy burned daily as well as during workouts.
But also an insight in sleep and recovery. Definitely for new moms; going into a difficult workout while their energy is very low because of little sleep doesn’t always work. So then we can adjust the workout accordingly.
How do you define success, and what are some of the challenges you had to overcome?
Success is for me happy clients and a full schedule, but also let’s not forget the importance of money coming in.
Challenges are when clients are inconsistent, because life happens. But that also usually means that they don’t reach their goals as fast as they hoped. So going through that with a client is one of the more difficult sides of personal training. Although the more you train clients, you will come across different scenarios of client’s challenges and it gets easier to deal with.
Same as dealing with clients that consistently come late, cancel last minute or oversleep sessions. Those are some challenges as well. But again, I think with experience it gets easier to handle.
Other challenges are usually the finance side of business. Personal training always has a few highs and lows in the year. Clients on holiday give a low for example. When you just start out this can hit hard. And still does. But with the years you learn to get better prepared for it by making sure to have a replacement for that client slot or use your time wisely by doing a course or more focus on online work.
Lastly, when clients decide not to continue with you. Even after years in the business, it is still hard. Because usually you build a good rapport with the client and it’s sad to see them leave.
Usually I try to find out the reason. If it’s goals not met or your training than that’s definitely something you know you need to improve. More often it’s clients moving away, or money related. I usually try to offer more budget options or something they can do on a distance, like an online program.
Who do you look up to in terms of learning from and who’s your ‘idol’?
I have done quite a bit of courses to learn more about women’s fitness. And I think some of the ladies who set up those courses have achieved so much and I admire how far they have come already.
A few of them are: Jenny Burrell, Molly Galbraith and Jen Dugard. Those are overseas experts I follow on social media and done courses with because their ideas align a lot with mine.
Here in Singapore a few small business owners in fitness who I admire are: Jasmine Danker, Lizzie Corbs and Holly Kuzmiak-Ngiam. I’ve worked with them in the past, and I admire that they have all made the jump to set up their own studio. That takes courage! They are knowledgeable, but above all are friendly, willing to help clients and colleagues alike, and have a positive attitude.
What do you enjoy most about your career?
Seeing my clients grow! I love to see them transform in their health and fitness; inside and out. Seeing them getting more confidence. Getting stronger, more energy and being able to go through life pain-free.
What does your training regimen look like?
My routine at the moment is training for Spartan, UACombine and Hyrox races. So that’s a combined style of running and strength but also agility & speed. A hybrid focused workout you might say.
I try to run 2 shorter runs during the week (6km) and 1 longer and more intense run (7-10km) in the weekend. Besides that I aim for 2 or 3 strength training sessions of which one includes more high intensity style workout and 2 just strength focused. I think the most tricky part is making sure my legs are rested enough for my run on the other day.
What is your mission, and what are your values and aspirations?
My mission is to help women stay active, get fitter and feel more confident through personal training; especially pre- and post-natal. We do this through slowly progressing their exercise and checking in with them on how they feel. I hope to expand my team of female trainers even more, so that we can help more women. But also expand to offering more group classes and online, to offer different levels of training, on different budgets.
What are some of your top tips to pass to current and/or emerging Exercise Professionals?
Keep in mind why your are a personal training. Remind yourself of why you like it and your goals. It’s easy to get caught up in the grind of doing more and more. But you definitely need to give yourself enough time also, to workout yourself, to have some “me” time, because usually we are so invested in our clients, it can also be very draining.
Make sure you do a new course once in a while, to learn new things and get inspired again.
If you work for yourself, you might want to set certain targets and goals. Again, if you train clients day in and out, it might feel like you don’t have time for the business side of personal training. But that’s also important!
Lastly, find your specialisation. What type of client do you enjoy training most? Or are you good at? This is how you diversify yourself from the others that way.