As fitness professionals, we know that consistency, intensity and proper technique are three vital components behind every successful weight loss, rehabilitation or sports performance program. The same can be said for evaluating the effectiveness of your personal training staff.
Ask yourself. Are your personal trainers consistently delivering the results their clients want? Has the intensity in which they approach their work fluctuated over time? Do they demonstrate proper technique and body mechanics not only while instructing clients, but in maintaining their own health and wellness?
Here are a few tips on how to differentiate between a successful personal trainer and one who just isn’t working out.
In training regimens, the consistency in which a client works toward improving strength, endurance or performance goals is directly correlated to the successes or short-comings they will face. The quality of performance must remain constant in order to achieve measurable results. Similarly, a personal trainer’s effectiveness should not be measured by the quantity of clients they meet every day or every week, but rather the quality and consistency of their client success stories. Weight loss clients should be progressing towards weight loss goals, strength clients should be realizing measurable strength gains and so on. In short, a productive personal trainer does more than bring in revenue, they produce results.
Intensity reflects the energy in which one performs a given task. In a training scenario, fitness professionals prescribe and monitor exercise intensity based on a scale of RPEs (ratings of perceived exertion). But are we monitoring their intensity as well? Enthusiasm is key. Successful trainers are proficient in creating that “buzz” that draws clients — they able to create an interest and an excitement around their “product.” Motivation and accountability hinge greatly on the personal trainer’s ability to provide enthusiastic, empathetic instruction; to instill a passion for health, wellness and proper nutrition into their clients. A personal trainer who is enthusiastic and supportive cultivates engaged, long-term clients who continue to invest in programming.
Without proper technique, fitness programming is neither safe nor effective. Therefore, it is important that personal training directors ensure that fitness staff members demonstrate, instruct and emphasize the importance of proper body mechanics. One great way to do this is to become a client yourself. Try a small group training class, schedule 30-minute sessions with each staff member, and organize semi-annual “Train the Trainer” sessions in which fitness staff members train with one another. Be present; walk the work floor from time to time. Observe how your fitness staff implements various training techniques.
Those who typically become personal trainers do so out of sheer passion for being healthy, fit and active. Those who make this lifestyle a long-term career do so because they are consistent in their training methods and results; enthusiastic and supportive of their clients’ needs and goals; and deliver safe and effective fitness programming every time. When a personal trainer loses sight of that passion, they begin to lack the fundamental characteristics needed to positively impact the lives of their clients. Safeguard the integrity of your club, your programming and your staff by knowing when to let go of lackluster personal trainers.
Paul Brones is the regional training director of Tilton Fitness & Wellness.
