Lhong Budhwongsopha
Private Fitness Coach
What was the main reason why you wanted to become a trainer/physio?
From a very young age, I have been fascinated by the CrossFit concept and the way this evolved at a rapid pace. The way these coaches were able to put their bodies to the test was something that captured me from the moment I saw the first CrossFit session.
It is part of my desire to deliver accurate movement to the general public. Through my Masters in Sports Medicine and Sports Science at a leading university in Thailand, the dynamics of human movement and kinesiology are fueling not only my clients but also myself.
Why do you believe everyone needs to have a coach to stay healthy?
Humanity has pushed itself to the limit in so many ways. Yet we are asking more than we can absorb. Coaches have the ability to intercept those areas that need improvement for a better performing you.
For almost all the clients I have been coaching over these years, the same trend is emerging time and time again; being guided by a health specialist accurately through a maze of online health advice and suggestions has by far a better outcome than going it on your own.
What is the biggest misconception / myth out in the world about health and wellness?
There are too many misconceptions floating around there. As a sports medicine and science major, particularly around the topic of children and exercising.
Parents have often expressed their worries about how weightlifting may affect their offspring’s growth. The truth is far from it as all the reports and scientific papers have shown that lifting weights of any kind benefits the overall health of children.
As long as it is done progressively and under accurate supervision.
Particularly nowadays, children need to move more.
For you personally, what makes Aspire stand out from the crowd?
The Aspire core values are unique to the fitness industry. Just like myself, I continue to learn new things that are capturing the essence of good health outside the training session. As a team, we possess so much more knowledge together than at any other fitness centre in the region.
We operate with a growth mindset: our systems are based on constantly keeping our learning cap up and expanding our health horizons through internal processes and information exchange. There is always something new to learn, and Aspire promotes this wholeheartedly.
From your experience as a trainer, what is the biggest struggle for clients these days?
Just saying you need to do something about your health through exercise is never enough. Something more needs to be fueling their desire in striving for whatever goal they have in mind.
I call it that my client needs to have “a fire in their heart”. A burning need to take action and being pushed to the limit, even when a client is not feeling 100%. These mindsets often take over, resulting in diminishing interest to continue.
Without getting the results they want to achieve.
A fun fact about you
There are so many styles of training out there. The choices are endless and personalised to what a coach feels works well. With my studies of the muscles, I have devised a bit of my own style which may look simple, and is based on the Aspire principles, but it has shown that I can push clients beyond their limits.
Knowing in depth how muscles are contracting and relaxing through movement in all planes of motion, it has been said that my sessions may look simple but are absolutely ‘killing’.