![\"Asher](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PYX3UKPP7JBSTMP2PIWOYNWQPU.jpg\")
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Asher Kondziela stands in front of an equipment rack at the nonprofit gym, Prism Moves, in Portland, Ore., on March 30, 2026.<\/p>\n
Julie Sabatier \/ OPB<\/p>\n
Asher Kondziela is leading a class at Prism Moves in Northeast Portland on a sunny weekday afternoon. <\/p>\n
This is their third class of the day. There are five people in the class and they\u2019re each doing things a little differently. <\/p>\n
Kondziela says that, in addition to working one-on-one with people, they try to coach each person in a class so that they can work out at the level they\u2019re comfortable with. <\/p>\n
\u201cI always say, whatever\u2019s written on the board is the guidelines, it\u2019s the suggestions, and then we definitely branch out from there,\u201d they said. \u201cToday, we\u2019re front squatting … then from there, we\u2019ll go, OK, but if this part of the front squat is uncomfortable for you, because sometimes, you know, this bothers people, here\u2019s another option. And then if that also bothers you, here\u2019s another option.\u201d<\/p>\n
People have all kinds of motivations for hitting the gym \u2014 mental health, weight loss, building strength or finding community to name just a few. Sometimes, finding the motivation to keep going can be tough. That\u2019s where a coach can come in. <\/p>\n
For OPB\u2019s \u201cAt Work With\u201d series, we wanted to learn more about what it takes to be a fitness coach.<\/p>\n
Attuned to other people\u2019s needs<\/p>\n
Asher Kondziela is the founder and executive director of this nonprofit gym. Prism Moves is focused on making fitness affordable and accessible, especially for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities. They explained that, before creating their own gym, they were working as a personal trainer out of other fitness spaces. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of my clientele were women, humans in the queer community, humans that repeatedly told me they didn\u2019t have a space they felt safe in to work out as themselves,\u201d they said. \u201cI envisioned a space where those humans were centered and not, you know, the typical, \u2018gym bro\u2019 image being centered.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, what does it take to be a good fitness coach? According to Kondziela, a big part of it is the ability to be attuned to other people\u2019s needs. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I look for in my coaches, and what I think makes good coaches, are people that know how to listen to their clients, coaches that can really connect with their clients and learn when it\u2019s OK to push, when it\u2019s not OK to push, and also understanding that everyone\u2019s goals are different and that not everybody\u2019s goals needs to be weight loss or looking a certain way or competing,\u201d they explained. <\/p>\n
Not focusing on weight loss or changing the way your body looks sounds good, but it also seems like a tricky thing to do in a fitness space. Kondziela explained a bit about how that works for them. <\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of focusing on weight loss, we focus on your body getting stronger,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n
For example, they look at how much someone can lift or a particular movement they can do and how that changes over time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll sometimes have clients say they\u2019ve noticed muscle mass, they\u2019ve noticed muscle tone. So, things like that where it\u2019s focused more on what you can do versus the weight that you\u2019ve lost.\u201d <\/p>\n
A listener asked for advice about finding a fitness coach who is a good match for them. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have a lot of people reach out and say, \u2018I want to work with a femme coach only, or I want to work with someone who has experience with gender-affirming surgery.\u2019 So things like that,\u201d they said. \u201cThe more detailed information you\u2019re willing to give us about what you\u2019re looking for, what your comfort levels are, the better we can match you to a good coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018People will surprise themselves\u2019<\/p>\n
Tristy Taylor is a regular at Prism Moves. She says she\u2019s been coming to the gym for about five years. <\/p>\n
\u201cI like to tell my age as well: it\u2019s 53,\u201d she said. \u201cI also weigh 400 pounds as well. So, those numbers feel important to share.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor also shared that she has been doing Olympic weightlifting and power lifting for almost two decades, but when she went through menopause, she really needed some guidance. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy body has changed a lot, so I had to literally change how I lift the bar, which sent me into a spiral of depression,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
![\"Tristy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PJ654RDXJFETRHPE7K5XKQBWSI.jpg\")
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Tristy Taylor has been coming to Prism Moves for about five years. Pictured here on March 30, 2026, Taylor is trying a new way to do squats. She says she enjoys trying new moves with the support of a fitness coach.<\/p>\n
Julie Sabatier \/ OPB<\/p>\n
She credits the coaches at Prism for helping her adapt and see that she didn\u2019t have to stop lifting; she just needed to change the way she did it. <\/p>\n
She recently tried a new move during Kondziela\u2019s afternoon class. She had been doing squats with some large weights and she moved over to a station that was set up a little differently. Instead of using a barbell to lift in front of her, she had the bar and the weight over one shoulder so she was squatting with the weight behind her. <\/p>\n
She said it was a little scary at first, but Kondziela coached her through it. Taylor says having a coach to help her figure things out in real time is key to finding success with something new in the gym. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love when there\u2019s a new exercise that I\u2019ve never heard of, I love like, \u2018oh, can I do this?\u2019 And, you know, often I can\u2019t in the beginning, and then it\u2019s fun to adapt,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I like that kind of problem solving … If I were by myself, I\u2019d just be like, \u2018I can\u2019t do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Kondziela says that\u2019s one of the most satisfying things about coaching. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will surprise themselves, and it\u2019s always so much fun when they do,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Asher Kondziela stands in front of an equipment rack at the nonprofit gym, Prism Moves, in Portland, Ore.,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[253995,337,97],"class_list":["post-578721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-at-work-with-exercise-portland","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}