Born in April 1991, I was equal parts active and well-read as a child. I held my first dumbbell in my hands when I was 14. I started formally meditating when I was 18. In order to not have to limit my passion for fitness and health topics to my spare time, I finally gave myself a personal trainer education for my 30th birthday.
Unlike Austrian qualifications, which you complete once and then you have your title, National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)-accredited American qualifications require you to obtain a certain number of continuing education credits and first aid/CPR&AED recertification at regular intervals to maintain certification. Furthermore, I am bound by the certifiers' codes of conduct and ethics; these are based on the gold standard of ethics codes, namely their equivalent of the American Psychological Association.
As a client, you can therefore be certain that my knowledge is always up-to-date and never stops growing. This is all the more important when you consider that “fitness trainer” is a free trade in Austria (and most other countries), which means that no special training or qualifications have to be proven to register this trade with the authorities. So it pays to take a close look at fitness trainer offers!
I had originally started an Austrian certification with one of our best private providers—and then gave up on it again out of sheer frustration at its lacking scientific soundness. I knew that an American-accredited certification would be a better choice after all.
I completed my additional training as a Behavior Change Specialist at the prestigious National Academy of Sports Medicine. This way, I can better support my clients in setting their goals precisely, preparing for any obstacles along the way, and achieving their goals, thus making positive and lasting changes in their lives.
Change can be learned. When people miss their goals, it has nothing to do with popularly suspected character weaknesses—often in oneself—, but with unsuitable approaches in often challenging environments.
I also have the Austrian trade licence "Creation of training concepts for health-conscious people"*, which allows me to customise your training for you. (* original text: "Erstellung von Trainingskonzepten für gesundheitsbewusste Personen")
As an athlete who’s predominantly equipped with fast-twitch fibres, I like to indulge in activities that emphasise strength and speed, as well as tennis—I’ll never win a marathon, but I could outsprint T-Rex. ;-)
Action Personal Trainer Certification, Certified Personal Trainer, NCCA-accredited final exam/certification exam
National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), Behavior Change Specialist
Action Personal Trainer Certification, Group Exercise Certification
Action Personal Trainer Certification, Certificate in Advanced Nutrition
Certificate from the Austrian Red Cross for its 16-hours-long first aid/CPR & AED course
Certificate from Trinity College Dublin on FutureLearn, Exercise Prescription for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease
Certificate from SciDev.Net/Robert-Bosch-Stiftung, Science communication skills for journalists
Certificate from SciDev.Net/Robert-Bosch-Stiftung, Media skills for scientists
Additional Relevant Courses/Certificates:
(In addition to the certificate, some count towards a course of study at university or as continuing education credit points [for example at the Austrian Health and Nursing Association, the Association of Dietitians, the National Academy of Sports Medicine, Action Personal Trainer Certification, National Strength and Conditioning Association, and many more. ].)
07.–11.03.2023
Malnutrition in Older People
(Medical University of Graz on iMooX)
03.–07.03.2023
Eating Pleasure in Old Age – Supported by Nutritional Geragogy
(University College of Teacher Education Styria on iMooX)
21.02.2023
Athletics for Physical Education
(Graz University of Technology on iMooX)
08.02. – 20.03.2016
Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance
(Monash University on FutureLearn)
09.11. – 13.12.2015
Intercultural Communication
(Shanghai International Studies University on FutureLearn)
28.09. – 22.11.2015
Logical and Critical Thinking
(The University of Auckland on FutureLearn)
21.09. – 06.12.2015
Preventing Chronic Pain: A Human Systems Approach
(University of Minnesota on Coursera)
14.09. – 25.10.2015
Buddhism and Modern Psychology
(Princeton University on Coursera)
01.09. – 18.10.2015
Tibetan Buddhist Meditation and the Modern World: Lesser Vehicle
(University of Virginia on Coursera)
29.06. – 28.08.2015
Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression
(The University of Melbourne on Coursera)
06/2015 – 09/2015
Meditation Instruction Certificate
(ExpertRating Solutions, Chandigarh, Indien [Onlinestudium])
18.05. – 28.06.2015
Psychological First Aid
(Johns Hopkins University/Bloomberg School of Public Health on Coursera)
02.03. – 19.04.2015
Social Psychology
(Wesleyan University on Coursera)
25.02. – 05.05.2015
The Body Matters: Physical Activity, Injury Prevention, and Rehabilitation
(McGill University on edX)
01.01. – 23.03.2015
Introduction to Genetics and Evolution
(Duke University on Coursera)
30.09. – 04.12.2014
Musculoskeletal Anatomy
(Harvard University on edX)
01.09. – 20.10.2014
Sports and Society
(Duke University on Coursera)
21.07. – 15.09.2014
Exercise Physiology: Understanding the Athlete Within
(The University of Melbourne on Coursera)
24.02. – 07.04.2014
Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
(University of California, San Francisco on Coursera)
27.01. – 21.04.2014
Introductory Human Physiology
(Duke University on Coursera)
20.01. – 10.03.2014
Nutrition, Health, and Lifestyle: Issues and Insights
(Vanderbilt University School of Nursing on Coursera)
Professional Background
Less relevant, but perhaps interesting: after graduating with honors from 3-year Federal Commercial School, I worked my way up from working as a security guard to various positions in retail to proofreader, editor and translator of German and English. On the side, I volunteered as a Mentor (assistant teacher) in a couple of Coursera courses I had previously taken. After that, I decided to become self-employed, completed the above further training and founded McLay Personal Training e.U.
