John Carmean is the GHF training marketing director at Gainesville Health & Fitness (GHF). In the Q&A below, we discuss personal training, certifications and how GHF facilitates its personal trainer’s education.
Q: What types of continuing education credits are GHF personal trainers getting?
A: Great question. At GHF Training, our trainers are earning CEC’s in a variety of areas like Kettlebell work, nutrition, sports performance, flexibility, Pilates, boot camp, running, pregnancy, natural childbirth and Power Plate. The list could go on infinitely. They are all hungry for knowledge and strive to be the best.
Q: Could you tell us about the GHF Training University? What types of topics does it cover?
A: Yes. It’s extensive. We onboard each GHF trainer with a two-week university. All of our trainers join the team with at least one nationally recognized training certification under their belt. Most also have 4-year degrees or masters in exercise science or sports performance.
During GHF Training University the classes and practical workshops introduce the new trainer to the GHF training brand and cover topics like marketing, branding, social media, prospecting with me, sales with Tara Sampson, assessment, flexibility, program design, basic nutrition, customer service, policy and procedure, facility and equipment orientation, anatomy, biomechanics and our learn-to-lift clinics with GHF trainer Matt Mallard. Our director, Scott Larkin, presents as well as our team leaders Robin Zukowski, Charles Garrett and Adam Hill.
Q: If you could suggest one continuing education course for PTs to have, what would it be and why?
A: Continuing education courses that build the training skill set are obvious. Right now I would recommend looking for courses that focus on harnessing social media to build your personal brand and sales skills. I’d also encourage courses in public speaking.
Also, trainers are an embodiment of your organization’s brand. The savvier they are personally and with social media the better. We have 50-plus trainers and most of them are active in social media. Like it or not, our brand extends through that social media channel to all of their friends and followers. The more skilled at how they as trainers present themselves, the better for all.
Q: What do you think separates GHF PTs from others in the industry?
A: GHF’s founder, Joe Cirulli, has charged us company wide to “inspire an entire community.” GHF trainers embody this mission in the training, motivation and encouragement they impart into each client. We help each client reach that “moment of inspiration” in their personal journey. For our clients, those moments of inspiration are as diverse as winning a Super Bowl or more importantly, climbing up a staircase again for the first time after a stroke.
Q: Does GHF offer small group training? If so, do small group training instructors require certifications different from PTs? Or are the certifications required the same?
A: Yes, GHF training offers small group training. GHF trainers serve our one-on-one clients as well as lead our group training classes. In addition to the certifications and education I previously mentioned, the trainers leading our small groups may add certifications specific to the group’s area of focus as warranted.
Touching back on GHF Training University I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a group training vertical we pioneered here at GHF Training and how we use it during onboarding.
We realized a couple years ago there was going to be an incredible surge in the popularity of adventure races and mud runs. So we developed a highly successful group training product called, Adventure Race Training (ART.) At our flagship facility we designed and installed a training ground that replicated major obstacles that appear across adventure race courses. Then, GHF trainer Andy Farina created the ART group training curriculum.
The ART product has been wildly successful because the programming is so innovative and Farina is extraordinary as a group trainer. Our GHF training client/trainer teams win at the races. Having the ART product formalized allows us to use ART as a practical training lab for onboarding trainers. A new trainer’s hands-on exposure to a gold standard group training experience/trainer in ART helps them reproduce excellence in our other group training classes. It also sets expectations of what we want from a group trainer.
Interview by Rachel Zabonick
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
