With the gyms closed, sticking with your workout routines is more challenging than ever. This year, getting or staying in shape for summer is an online endeavor. Luckily, Laura Su of LS Training is here to help.
Laura specializes in fitness education, nutrition education, and strength training. “I try to help clear the waters because there’s a lot of misinformation out there about exercising and eating right,” she explains. “I try to bring the most current and reliable research to people so that they can make correct, informed decisions with the knowledge that they have.”
With the stay-at-home orders put in place, Laura is focusing on growing the online side of her business, which she started a year ago after working as a personal trainer at Ian Fitness and LA Fitness.
“I’m focusing more on having virtual sessions either through Zoom or FaceTime, and I’m really trying to put more resources out there for people to purchase or for free,” Laura says. “I’m offering a lot of virtual training slots right now. If anyone is interested, we can take one of those into a consultation call. It’s complimentary, and I can help give them ideas about what they might need to be doing at home.”
Online Training and Nutritional Coaching
Laura is currently offering two online programs: one focused on training and the other on nutrition coaching. Both of these programs start with a consultation call where you and Laura discuss your goals, expectations, and limitations.
“For online training, I develop a personalized workout training program and send it to you via this app called Everfit. Everfit works great because you can leave real time feedback on the workout. They (clients) can send video for form checks. I can see how much weight they’re using, how difficult they rate a workout, how long it takes them to do the workout, etc. These workouts are updated weekly.” Laura says.
As a nutrition coach, Laura helps educate her clients about nutrition and gives them tangible ways to help measure meals. “Each client gets a PDF that gives them according to their goals how much they should be eating – how many proteins, carbs, and fats they should be eating.” Laura says. “Nutrition coaching is really an all-encompassing educational, sustainable habit-forming program. I don’t really give meal plans or do calorie counts or anything like that.”
Misconceptions About
Strength Training for Women
Laura’s primary niche is strength training for women – which is often riddled with misinformation.
“There’s a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions around women in the weight room and girls afraid of getting bulky if they lift weights,” Laura says. “My mission right now is to tackle those misconceptions and find women who are sick and tired of programs and diets that don’t work. They want to set tangible goals for themselves. They want to make progress, they just don’t know how and where to start. It starts with knowing the basics of strength training and basic nutritional concepts, and that’s what I’m all about teaching.
“See that man over there squatting like 400 pounds – we’re not gonna start there,” Laura laughs. “Resistance training or strength training is really subjective to one’s ability – especially starting out. You can give a child a two-pound bar and if that kid starts lifting it over his head just for fun, that could be classified as strength training.”
Laura strength-trains six days a week for sport. “I’ve tried to become bulky and – trust me – it’s the hardest thing in the world. Women just don’t make enough testosterone compared to men to get to that level of muscularity.”
For Laura, constructing workout routines based around strength training for women is about helping women become more empowered with what they know. “I enjoy working with women and watching them evolve.”
Personal Training is More Difficult
Than You Think
“People often think that personal trainers are just counting reps for you and checking form. A lot of people come into the industry… but a lot of these people also often leave very fast because it’s a very demanding, high-paced kind of lifestyle,” Laura says. Often, a personal trainer’s day starts at 5 or 6 A.M. and doesn’t end until 8 or 9 P.M.
“The people who stick around are usually the people who are super into the physiology and the biomechanics behind exercise. Exercise and movement is their passion and something that they know from bottom to top but are still always trying to learn about.”
A lot of a personal trainer’s job goes beyond workout routines. For example, if someone wants to lose weight, they require more than just exercise. There are also lifestyle and behavioral changes that need to be made. As a trainer, Laura is there to help her clients set strategies and goals and with habit-forming skills.
“The biggest misconception (about personal training) is just how knowledgeable and how passionate you have to be to be in this industry.”
Creating Workout Routines During Quarantine
“The biggest thing everyone should do right now is to stay active and establish some sort of normalcy or a new routine,” Laura says. “Establish some sort of schedule so that exercise or workout time is integrated into that.”
To start, Laura suggests doing small, simple activities like going for a walk or getting up every hour from your computer to do squats, planks, push-ups, or sit-ups.
“Just try to get your body moving. Once you fall into a routine… start thinking about your goals and what you want to be accomplishing with your at-home workouts. Also, reach out to trainers you know for advice. They’re always looking to help educate you and provide workout tips of their own. I have a YouTube channel that people can check out. I have some mobility exercises on there that can help you out.”
You can also find Laura on Facebook and Instagram, which has over 450 posts highlighting various kinds of workouts.
Laura earned a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science at Seattle Pacific University, where she was also on the rowing team. She’s also been an avid equestrian since she was three and loves to ride horses in her spare time.