Personal trainer reveals how her personal fitness journey helps clients

A plus-size personal trainer has opened up about the negative comments she has faced from people online, just because she doesn’t fit their physical ideal.

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A personal trainer has revealed how her own fitness journey inspired her to take on a role helping others achieve their dreams.

Becs Clare, from New Zealand, said she was the kid who would often be “sick” on cross country day at school.

She told news.com.au she had always been overweight, but it wasn’t until she left high school and starting university that she began taking the gym more seriously.

With the help of a personal trainer, Ms Clare was taught how to lift weights, how to increase her strength and she was taught about flexible dieting.

Becs Clare reveals she has faced judgment in the fitness industry. Picture: Instagram/@bloombybecs

“I fell in love with lifting weights and how that made me feel. So I decided that I wanted to help other people feel the same way,” she said.

“When I told my family that I was leaving university to go and study to be a fitness professional they were shocked.”

Before starting her qualification, Ms Clare said she was nervous she was going to be the biggest person in the room – and face criticism.

Her fears were unfounded. Instead she found herself in a supportive environment – but that changed when she started portraying her fitness life on social media.

“There was definitely, and still to this day, there’s so much stigma around fitness professionals and what people think they should be or what people think they should look like,” she said.

Ms Clare said the way she looks may impact whether clients sign up with her or not, but if that is the case she wouldn’t want those clients anyway.

However, that’s not to say it doesn’t get to her. In January 2022, she posted a video to TikTok saying being a plus-size fitness professional “can be really f***ing hard sometimes as some people don’t believe you belong in it”.

“Being told you’re not good at your job – that just because you’re in a bigger body means you shouldn’t be able to tell people how to be healthier, how to lose weight, because ‘clearly you can’t do it yourself’,” she said teary-eyed in the video, “that sh*t f***ing hurts.”

Ms Clare has come a long way since posting that first video on the platform. Now she focuses on creating a safe space for the clients she does have.

“It’s just about connecting with another human, on a human to human level, rather than necessarily coming across as an authority figure,” she said.

New Zealand trainer reveals her personal experience helps clients. Picture: Instagram/@bloombybecs

“Yes, I’m the person in the relationship who knows the strategy to get them to the place they desire to be. Beneath all of that is living, human experience.

“It definitely helps that a lot of my clients [I can] relate to … on a very personal level, whether it’s mental health-related or being in a plus-sized body, or the relationship with food – there’s usually some sort of common ground.

“It’s just about building a really powerful, strong connection with somebody and allowing them to be seen by someone – to feel accepted and listened to and understood. [That] is probably the way that I like to approach it.”

She is now helping others. Picture: Instagram/@bloombybecs

She said she has been in position where a trainer has asked her to do box jumps, but that is just not something that works for her – and understands a lot of people would be in the same boat.

It’s this personal experience that helps her connect with clients and informs how she works with them.

In terms of her own fitness journey, Becs no longer seeks validation from the scales. She has moved on from constantly tracking calories and feeling compelled to work out twice a day, to feeling accomplished within herself.

Her current passion is powerlifting, and she is competing for a spot in a national competition.

“I’m definitely a strength training fanatic. I love powerlifting. So most of my personal goals are around lifting more than I did last week,” she said.