Ask An Expert

“How much personal information should I be sharing with my clients? Where does the line get drawn of personal vs professional?”

I’ll be honest – I have a group of my clientele that I consider to be my family. I genuinely love and care very deeply for these people. My wife and I invited these clients to our wedding. We wanted to spend the most important day of our life with them. Furthermore, we have been invited to their special occasions amongst spending quality time with them socially on the weekends. This kind of relationship takes quality time to build and is based solely upon trust. This trust has grown and continues to grow more powerful during each of our sessions together.

Personally, I pride myself on running a personal training and health company with the number one goal to always help my clients become happier and healthier physically and mentally. It’s this mentality that I always strive to help them create a better version of themselves. While personal training is indeed very “personal,” inadvertently you should never cross a line or become unprofessional. This behavior only leads to inappropriate tension and awkwardness, which doesn’t help the client progress to reach their goals. So, how did I go from training a first-time client into developing a bond in which they would become family while keeping it professional?

Articles
Business
Expert Advice

Body Language for Personal Trainers, Teachers and Group Instructors

With a competitive work environment, gone are the days where people would come to us willingly for change. No matter the field, we are always on display to positively promote our product. Not only are we teachers, instructors, or personal trainers, we are also salespersons. Having positive body language will land us more clients and students with positive results. Here is an article on the importance of displaying positive communication to others. It will also help as you navigate through working with others and seeing even indirectly how they feel.

Business
Marketing
Personal and Professional Development

Maintaining Your Integrity As A Personal Trainer

Every personal trainer worth their salt knows that fad diets and exercise programs don’t work. According to a Business Insider report by Chris Weller, this is primarily because in most cases, the science behind these so-called revolutionary fitness hacks have been either blown way out of proportion or optimized to make a certain eating plan or workout appear more effective than they actually are. Unfortunately, these quick fixes are what sell and some personal trainers have started using them to build a solid client base more quickly. But is sacrificing your integrity for the sake of getting more clients really a good idea? Well, the short answer is no—and here’s why:

Business
Personal and Professional Development

How Personal Trainers Can Build Client Retention

The personal trainer industry has experienced excellent growth over the past five years, with weight loss services and customized workouts being the most solicited services. Research indicates that the upward trend is poised to continue. Consumer confidence is growing and median incomes are expected to rise, meaning that Americans will have more to spend on health and fitness. Currently, income levels are nearly at pre-recession levels, which is good news for the health and fitness industry and the economy as a whole.

Business

You’re Right, Personal Trainers Aren’t Sales People!

 “It’s not my job to sell people, it’s my job to train people”

With words like pushy, annoying, sleazy and yuck springing to most peoples minds when they think of a salesperson, it’s little wonder personal trainers hate being associated with this label.

And with the rise of more and more people becoming personal trainers in today’s already saturated market, getting reoccurring paying clients can be almost as difficult as getting a perfect squat.

So can you really be a successful personal trainer with lots of paying clients without being the ‘pushy’ salesperson?

Have a look at the top reasons why personal trainers aren’t salespeople and what can be done about it to create the perfect balance between the two titles.

Ask An Expert

How do I get personal training clients?

How do I get personal training clients?

It’s a question I heard every time from trainers.

A full-time personal trainer needs 15-20 clients to work 30-40 hours/week considering that the average clients train 2-3 times a week. What other business do you know only needs 15-20 customers? Building up relationships with your clients is the only way to succeed. They love you, not your gym. You must take responsibility for your business and yes, it’s your business even if you work for somebody else!!

I have two rules for success. These two rules have been applied in my career for the past 20 years:

Expert Advice

Attention All Personal Trainers: Guess, Do Not Assess!

Much like my dietary advice this article will go against the grain, so to speak. Every personal trainer is taught that they must go through a thorough assessment with their clients. The more information they gather, the better. Well, after 17 years in this business, I do far less assessing and far more guessing – not to be different, but to be efficient. I have found many similar patterns that exist among individuals, and through the years I have developed systems of training that produce “reproducible” results. Where the client fits into these systems depends on their individual needs and goals. Often, assessments can be conducted through the training process, rather than a separate entity on its own. This can save the client time and money and can actually lead to better results.

Educational Organizations

National Council for Certified Personal Trainers (NCCPT)

About NCCPT
The National Council for Certified Personal Trainers (NCCPT) was started in Southern California by John Platero in September of 1995, when he was promoted to Director of Personal Training for a chain of health clubs called LA FITNESS.

Faced with the common problem of having to increase revenue without a qualified staff, John decided to create a vehicle by which he could recruit new trainers, teach them the basics and provide these future professionals with a system to earn a good living, while they continue to learn and grow as a Personal Trainer.

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