In my opinion, you are going to continue reading this because you want to hear what I have to say. And who they hell am I you may ask? I am a lot of things….an observer, a student, a teacher, a leader, and a friend. I am a professional, an educator, and a coach. I remember being asked what I did for living years ago and replying, “I’m a personal trainer”, and everyone kinda looking at me like I had 3 heads.
“You mean you show people how to use those machines?”
“….Mmmmm, close….I help fat people get skinny and I help slow people run faster, and I help scared people be brave…and I help weak people be stronger, and I help diseased people become healthy”.
So, being labeled a personal trainer has come around over the last 3-4 years. Being one is not as foreign as it used to be when I first started out. Of course, they’re those that started out before me. Oh, yeah…they were called Biff, Zach, and Lance. They were the biggest guys in the gym with the darkest tans, and the highest Ottomix shoes around. They wore bandanas, belts, and earrings in the gym. They smelled like protein and they had more weightlifting gloves than some women had shoes. Some were old too…frequently telling me stories of feats pastbig benches, big deads, big squats….torn pecks, bad backs, and messed up knees.
So these guys eventually fizzled out and a new breed of trainers came around. These trainers came out of college with degrees and athletic backgrounds. These new trainers came out of aerobics rooms and sought out certifications. These new trainers rose up out of the dungy gyms and became students of the game. These new trainers used what they learned in books and did research on themselves. They understood the function of the hamstring in a lunge is to decelerate the movement….they understood the function of the rotator cuff…they understood that cardiovascular performance was directly related to functional capacity. These new trainers even looked professional. They wore khaki’s, polo and golf shirts, dress shoes, and had smiles. These new trainers practiced what they preached because they learned in their own trainings; they learned in athletics; they learned in step classes; and they learned through trial and error. These trainers had a passion to share the knowledge they obtained with the average joe and once they were able to help their first client…a confidence was born. These trainers understood that their passion was becoming their bread and butter. These trainers began to understand selling their services was part of the game and they wanted to market their success to more and more clients. They understood they can achieve longevity in this field, rather which assuming it was a short term career detour. They made money! They helped people lose weight! They helped the weak become stronger, and the youths become more athletic. They wore the distinct “Trainer” label on their shirts and they carried their own business cards! Soon, word of mouth was the best sales tactic they could use…client were referring friends and family! Results were being noted everywherein the gym, at family reunions, at church gatherings, in public, and in homes!
But then “they “came…
Yes, then the ones that had little or no experience came in. The ones that wanted all the glamour without working for it. The ones that thought their time was too valuable and demanded to be paid more. The ones that followed all the false prophet magazines. The ones that felt they were destined to be trainers.
I wrote this article because in 6 years of direct personal training and 3 years of direct management of personal trainers, I have had the opportunity to interview 43 “wanna-be” trainers in my career. Some were destined to be good trainers and I hired them, some were destined to waste my time. I have the opportunity to instruct classes on personal trainers in community colleges in Connecticut and each year, I meet over 100 new people wanting to become a personal trainer. I workout in 4 different clubs 3 times a week and I have the opportunity to observe trainers in action. I teach workshops on advanced strength training techniques for trainers 4 times a year and have the opportunity to speak to trainers in their first year “on the job”. I talk and I listen, and I realize that 50% of the trainers fail. Here are my top 5 reason why:
1.) Trainers Think Their Time is TOOO valuable.
This one perturbs me to no end. Since when is your time to valuable to help someone? Many trainers charge up to $100 an hour for their time! I’m sorry but I would never pay anyone $100 for anything. Trainers tend to set their price based on what “more important things they could be doing at the time of the session” (playing with the kids, watching that DVD, making dinner, going out shopping, etc), rather than setting their price based on their level of expertise and background. Too many trainers want the Ferrari as soon as they get the driver’s license. I detail this in my book “Secret Skills of Personal Training”in order to achieve longevity in this field, you have to position yourself to “service others”. Personal training is not a self-serving career. You help others…you give yourself to others, you sacrifice crappy hours, and dealing with different personality types to help others. The time of the less fortunate (or less healthy in this case) is more valuable than ours…because they don’t have as much left as we do.
2.) Everyone Wants to Be a Trainer
This one I can feel for. Some people develop a desire to help others. I truly understand that testament to help another human in an unfavorable condition. But…just like everyone is not meant to be a doctor, lawyer, and astronautneither is everyone meant to be a personal trainer just because you went through the Express line at your local gym for 12 weeks and lost 14 pounds. That doesn’t make you a professional. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be something in life…but to be good at what you do in this field is what separates you from everyone else.
3.) Millionaires Grant Everyone Permission to Call Themselves Trainers
Okay…over the last 2 years there has been an incredible influx of personal training studios, boot camps, websites, and products. This saturation has caused harm in the personal training industry. Many of these personal trainers are encouraged to market themselves and develop half-assed programs. Are they purposely developing half-assed programs? No…but that is the level of competence out there because they are focused more on making a buck through marketing and easy cash. So THEY are making tons of money off of these newbies. And potential clients don’t know the difference. And another detrimental effect of all of this is: newbies are great at advertising, developing websites, and using sales strategies; but when it comes to training a client….they suck! So the client is “turned off” by the lack of experience, knowledge, professionalism, creativity, and responsibility by these newbies and guess what?
The field has been overly clogged with people wanting to share their services BEFORE they are actually good at them! “Our field is labeled a JOKE!
4.) Trainers Don’t Workout Themselves
I see this one from time to time. Trainers encouraging their clients to perform a one-arm , one leg standing cable row with rotation on a
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