I don’t think of myself ain my mind as a trainer, more like this is
just what I do. But after last week I had to reaffirmate that
I need to check my ego at the door if I am going to continue to be a trainer, I
thought I would sum this up, in my own opinion, for anyone wondering about
hiring a trainer, becoming a trainer or if you are a trainer.
I have a fantastic friend and a fellow trainer who had some
struggles last week too. The emotional draw from her on mundane matters to critical stuff is nothing short of a
miracle. She is an amazing person and I
am so glad to have her on my side. She
has made such a positive impact on me as a trainer…so Joan, this post is for
you.
What does make
a trainer good and why are they so hard to find? Good trainers are hard to find at a
commercial gym. Not impossible, just difficult, and for good reason.
Good trainers usually
have a waiting list and their facilities can be a bit pricier to train at. This makes commercial gyms and the trainers
they have readily available on staff convenient and easy….but that doesn’t
define good.
Commercial gyms rarely pay their trainers well. I have worked at two commercial gyms and
interviewed at a few others and the most they are willing to pay for someone
with my experience, certifications and education (pay is based on your level of
certifications and I have some of the higher level ones) was $30 an hour. The client is usually charged about $60 or
more for the session PLUS their membership fees. Clearly the commercial gym is making a bulk
of the money you are paying to have a trainer. Not to mention if a trainer isn’t training,
they aren’t making any money. Commercial
gyms only pay the trainer for their time with clients. The rest of the time the trainer is on deck
walking around mingling with gym-goers, working on sales and building a
clientele is on their personal time….and time my dear friends, is your most
valuable commodity.
This is largely why good trainers are not found at a
commercial gym. They have bills to pay
too and there are more lucrative opportunities elsewhere, like being
self-employed. This may mean you train
outside sans air conditioning or without heat in the winter; and without
fancy, new equipment that a commercial gym would provide; or the convenience of
a shower. These conditions can be a turn
off for some folks. Which is a shame,
I’ve had some of my best workouts with a sand bag…..that was the only
“equipment” used. There was no fancy
outfit, I didn’t even have shoes on.
The fees an independent trainer charges are chump
change. PERIOD. Let me just put that out there. If you want a diet/body-lifestyle make-over
and are looking to get healthy, and a stronger body and mind, and you require
the services of a trainer to assist you with motivation, education, experience,
guidance, and keep you accountable, putting a price tag on this service is not
just difficult, but near impossible.
And
your trainer is not able to buy a Mercedes off of what they are charging
you. Here is a good example, I currently
cannot take physical clients at The Gym Cellar because of my “real job” (the
one that DOES pay the bills) but I still have e-clients. I can take six
e-clients – that is the number that allows me to dedicate enough of myself to
each and every client in addition to being a mom, wife, dog owner, DoD employee
and all the other stuff I have going on.
I charge $90 for a six week plan.
If I have all six slots filled I am making $360 a month. And although $360 a month is a handsome chunk
of change, it is not paying for my mortgage, my electric bill, etc. More like piano lessons, jujitsu for my
family and a tank of gas. It is very disrespectful to my time and efforts when a client does not pay on time, or I hear from other folks I
consider outstanding trainers offering the best services in there area, being questioned on
their fees or someone stiffing them. The
price tag on saving your health, life, every relationship you have, your
families well-being and your emotional health is priceless. And besides a good trainer will train you to
be self-efficient, you won’t need their services forever, budget for it.
You don’t need an MD behind your name to be a good
trainer. I am discouraged when I see a
doctor…an actual DOCTOR = $100K education and with a valid practice, not setting a good
example for healthy living, i.e. drinking soda, smoking cigarettes, or having
overweight children.
Our society puts a lot of value on doctors and in my opinion a lot of
them are NOT living up to these expectations. Good trainers are self motivated
and appreciate what is most important in life.
They listen, they care about YOU, they do not judge, and they recognize
that no one is perfect and they focus on YOUR root problems….which more than
likely the root problem has NOTHING to do with your lack of moving your body more
and sitting around less…and sure as heck won’t be solved with a prescription.
A good trainer has years of experience, they’ve made
mistakes in finance, relationships, and career choices, parenting choices, in
the gym with the iron and with their diet.
They were not born good trainers they were wielded and brandished
through the fires of life and through failure, skinned knees and their eventual
successes. When you have your interview
with a trainer (and YES, you should interview each other) they should emulate
in body, mind and personal choices how you want to grow in getting a stronger
body and mind. Picking a trainer at the
commercial gym that is convenient but does not represent the values that you want
to emulate will get you nowhere but $60 lighter. I have heard too many times “I just want to
learn how to use the machines, that is why I just went with the trainer at the
gym”. They are clearly stating to me
they have no faith in the trainer’s ability to motivate them, to help them grow
into a stronger, healthier person and they are tricking themselves into
thinking learning how to use the machines at the gym will get them to a
stronger, healthier place in body and mind.
As a trainer I have learned many, many things that I hold
valuable and as irreplacaceable life lessons that I apply to other aspects of
my life, not just training.
There is a definitive difference between listening and
learning. I have had many clients look
me in the eye and shake their head up and down, smile and even throw out a
“yes, yes!” as we discuss their diet, the importance of cutting out grains,
sugars and fake sugars, the importance of drinking water, an exercise routine,
being on time for scheduled appointments, personal challenges, payment and
everything that goes into training. But these same enthusiastic listeners will
show up to a training session late, dehydrated to the point they can’t do the
whole routine, and have a reason why they can’t pay today. Not everyone wants help….another key
important lesson I’ve learned.
People are emotional creatures and we tie emotions to
people. A good trainer should be someone
who is looked at with respect, trust and understanding. The only way you get there is through
building a relationship….and YES, this is a relationship!! If I don’t have the energy for another
relationship I shouldn’t take on new clients.
I am not going to be able to help someone unless I respect their
emotions and their emotions may include intimidation, fear of failure, fear of
the difficulty of something, fear of trying something new, fear of being judged
and criticized. I need to have the
energy and enthusiasm to deal with their emotions or I am just another burden
for them and they become a burden to me.
This isn’t a fair situation to anyone….know your limits.
Stories…a KEY piece of training….humans have spent thousands
of years evolving through stories. Our
brains are hard wired and ready to learn from stories….TELLTHEM! I can’t express this enough; I use stories to
teach my daughters all kinds of life lessons.
Nothing explains why you should drink water more than “the one time in
boot camp when that one recruit didn’t drink enough water and they pulled down
her shorts on the PT field and shoved a thermometer up her butt only to then
throw her ass into an ice bath to bring her internal core temperature down so
her brain didn’t cook.” Morale of the story…DRINK WATER or be embarrassed,
abused and scared for life.
People WANT TO be useful and interesting…..let them know
that you find them useful and interesting.
Applaud their abilities and keep the reprimanding to a bare
minimal. And never, EVER judge or
criticize someone. Of course I know what
I would do in that situation. Duh….but
this isn’t about me……which leads to….
Don’t take it personal….again this isn’t about ME. And I have been the brunt of more defensive,
deflecting or projecting of self choices/worth/issues than I care to
recollect. This is probably one of the
tools I have learned from training that I still struggle to apply. It is hard when you are…in your mind, sharing
your own nurturing, loving and personal environment for people to learn freely
and ask questions without judgment….and someone takes your help as offensive
and judges you. Harsh words hurt
everyone, and usually the person that is spewing their negative comments at me
is doing it with the intent to attack ME….so I used to think.
I have come to realize that it isn’t about ME, it is about
them. Their issue is that what I am
doing or suggesting makes them uncomfortable with how they are currently doing
things. Makes them question their
priorities, their validation, their values, how they spend their time, how they
are leading their families, if they are one of those “sum of five friends” that
would be reflected well upon? And of
course it is not my job to provide self-validation, I respect all opinions but
I appreciate those opinions that are presented in a positive tone vice an
attack on me. I don’t need
self-validation from folks outside “my circle”. I know who I am, where I want to go and the
person that I want to be and how I need to get myself there each day. Someone who is struggling with these
challenges is always likely to attack someone that to them is perceived as
“pushy” “a know-it-all” “a hippie” “insert slander here”.
If you are not passionate don’t expect your clients to
be. This is a no brainer. I cannot get onto Facebook and complain about
the shitty hand of cards I was dealt that day and then tell a client to suck it
up when they complain about a bad day.
Surprisingly, trainers are real people.
We have private lives that can include
a spouse, children, a home to run, groceries to be bought, food to be
prepared, homework to supervise, games and practices to shuttle to, dogs or
cats, moms and dads, in-laws…you know LIFE.
Not all the time are things going perfect in my world, but I take on the
attitude that if I stare at the negative stuff hard and long enough it will
gobble me up, chew me hard and shit me out.
I choose to not live that way because it really serves no purpose other
than simply feeling sorry for myself, I don’t sleep well, I don’t train well, I
don’t feel good and I start to find a bunch of stuff in my life that I don’t
like. It is a miserable way to live and
I refuse to live that way and encourage my clients to not live that way. There is ALWAYS a good point to every
situation. Focus on it and you will start
seeing solutions for the crappy stuff.
I hope this gives you a little insight to finding a trainer, or becoming a trainer. Good luck with your training. “Stronger,
smarter, better….get after it.” Joan Karp
