View Full Version : New Personal Trainer!
I just got my personal training certification from Fitour and am in the hunt for a good job. I was just wondering if any of the pros out there have some good advice for a rookie like me in the great field of helping people get better! Thanks in advance!
C.Coronato
01-13-12, 4:40 pm
Congrats brotha. I have found its difficult to break into the industry because you have to have time and willing to go for a while with little pay. Get a job first and put yourself out there. Try to stand out and be different than every other trainer out there. Dont be that meat head guy who tells everyone they are doing it wrong. Offer suggestions and show them how it may benefit them and they could feel it more by making slight changes.
One of the things I was really looking to push was that they aren't paying me to tell them what to do. They are paying me to teach them how to do it so after a few sessions they wont need me there anymore. It doesn't sound like the best way to keep regular clients, but I felt that it is the right way to approach them. Even if they leave and don't need me after 2 months or so I will feel like I did my job.
Speaking as a PT myself, I'd just like to say congrats & good luck. You're going to have to put in the hours, certainly at the start to get your name, face & rep around. Especially if you're going to a gym where they already have a few trainers there who are already established. It might feel as though you're banging your head against a brick wall at the start, especially if those established trainers look like shit, rarely do any training themselves & are all about gimmicky, complex movements yet pick up clients at will.
Just hang in there, & practise what you preach. My clients always tidy their shit away. If they're too knackered after their last set, I put the stuff away. If not, I actually tell them to put it back. They do that when I'm not with them too, because they know if word gets back to me that they didn't, I'm going to tear them a new one.
Also, 1 other thing. Most of our trainers don't even acknowledge their clients unless they're having a session with them. It sounds obvious, but if I see a client benching, for example, I'll walk over & spot them for a set or 2. Whilst this seems obvious, I've seen trainers walk past clients & give little more than a grunt in their general direction.
I speak to a lot of members who don't want/need a trainer, and believe me when I say, when a trainer is being a complete 'end...
...people take notice!
Carrnage
01-22-12, 12:21 am
I just got my personal training certification from Fitour and am in the hunt for a good job. I was just wondering if any of the pros out there have some good advice for a rookie like me in the great field of helping people get better! Thanks in advance!
Be different than everyone else. Don't be another "generic" personal trainer.
Promote yourself via video blogs/training videos/nutrition videos all over the web and locally. Tell your gym's employees/management, friends about your goals.
And never stop learning. Learn atleast 5 new things every day.
Like I said, be different than everyone else.
Thanks for all the advise guys! Means a lot to hear from everyone who has been there before. A lot of good stuff on here everyone can learn from.
Have passion for what u do and care about the ppl u train and the results. Many ppl that get trainers are uneducated about working out so its your job to teach them, get them results and improve their posture and physical fitness. If ur in training to meet chicks and that is the sole purpose like some of these douche bags out there that's fine but know that your de valuing the rest of us who actually wanna make ppl's lives and body's better
Do u bro and don't follow anyone's lead. Watch great trainers train ppl like charles glass, milos sarcev etc and try to attack your training the way they do. Think outside the box. Hit different angles and don't be afraid to try new things