“What does it take to be a true Health & Fitness Professional?” In the following weeks, I will share three short stories that will hopefully spark some thought about the brand that you or your company is creating. Last week, I discussed “The Exercise Trainer.” This week, I’ll share a story about “The Certified Trainer.”
The Certified Trainer
A fitness enthusiast decides one day he wants to become a personal trainer. He understands it’s going to take some time to develop the skill sets to make it a career, so he searches the internet and looks at various options to get employed. He decides he wants to work at a health club, so he calls them and asks what requirements are needed to work at the facility.
After learning what he needs to do, he signs up for the recommended certification. He dives into the content, spending time everyday studying the material, and signs up for the weekend workshop to get some hands-on experience. After six months of studying and another six months of practicing on his family and friends, he decides to go back to the health club and interview for the position.
During the interview, he asks several questions about trainer development and likes what he hears. He’s a little concerned about the commission-based environment, but still decides to continue with the interview process. He is offered the position and accepts.
After going through a three-day educational course with his manager, he heads out to the fitness desk and greets everyone with a smile. After spending 15-20 minutes, he realizes that he should get out from behind the desk. He goes out to the fitness floor and realizes that someone is struggling to perform the lat pull down.
He approaches the member with a smile, says hello and asks them how long they have been working out. The member replies, “Just started.” So the PT asks the member if he would like to see some alternative ways to do the lat pull down. The skeptical member decides to go along with it.
After spending 10 minutes with the member, he asks if he’s interested in completing a fitness assessment. He explains that this is the best way to identify his specific fitness goals and allow him to come up with the best way to accomplish them. The member decides to take him up on his offer.
During the basic fitness assessment, the trainer asks several questions about the member’s health history, past workouts and injuries. He then completes a 3-site skin fold, sit and reach, push-up and sit-up assessment. After this, he sits the member down and offers a month of training, two times per week and the member decides to buy.
He continues with this approach and soon builds his clientele up to 10-12 client hours per week. Happy with his accomplishments, he continues down this path for several years, never expanding his business or increasing his sessions per week.
Next week, I’ll share a story about the Health & Fitness Professional, and discuss how the Certified and Exercise trainers, differ.
Jason Stella is the National Brand Developer of Fitness for Life Time Fitness. He is also a certified personal trainer, and specializes in muscle activation techniques. He can be reached at JStella@LifeTimeFitness.com.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
Being a health and fitness professional there are certain qualities you need to posses which are very well described in the article. Good post, you need to achieve these qualities before helping anyone else about there health.
Thanks for the kind words Ashley! Wish you well!
Jason