NASM CPT E-Teach, June 2nd

joehempel

I took advantage of their payment plan and the memorial day discount and enrolled. I'm a bit nervous about everything, I've been in engineering and television since I graduated high school in 1997.

Thankfully I've got an in at a gym, shadowing one of the best trainers in the area a few times a week if I want to...so that'll help with any questions. It's been quite an interesting experience finding out why he's developed certain programs for clients. He's also been kind of training me on the way they do things in their gym as far as paperwork and stuff like that.

I'm hoping that I can transition to being a PT full time sometime next year.

How difficult is it to be a full time PT when you're fairly new?

ninerbuff

The hardest would be building a clientele. And DON'T be a cookie cutter trainer. Your workout program ISN'T their work out program. Also be accustomed to doing exercises for demonstration that you may have never done before.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

DebbieLyn63

Are you talking about being a Physical Therapist or Personal Trainer?

joehempel

Personal Trainer, sorry, I realized that after I posted PT is also Physical Therapist.


Thanks ninerbuff! Cookie cutter is what I'm striving to NOT be....everyone is different and will need different things to meet their goals. I'm working with one woman now (who knows I'm not certified but doesn't care) who wants to lose 100lbs, she's 280 currently, so we're doing a lot of chair assisted stuff, and functional movement things to help stabilize and build a good foundation. She's not worked out in probably.....ever. She's 54 currently.

DavPul

The biggest thing most people don't realize is that it's a sales job. If you're not comfortable presenting yourself as a product with value it's going to be a very difficult way to make very little money. You have to know what you're doing, of course, but you could be the most knowledgeable trainer in the world and still starve to death if you can't convince people to sign and stay with you.

joehempel

The biggest thing most people don't realize is that it's a sales job. If you're not comfortable presenting yourself as a product with value it's going to be a very difficult way to make very little money. You have to know what you're doing, of course, but you could be the most knowledgeable trainer in the world and still starve to death if you can't convince people to sign and stay with you.

That right there is the biggest thing I'm going to have to learn. I'm good at sales in a retail environment, but this is a whole different animal.

DavPul

Then I suggest you shadow your trainer friend when he's prospecting and presenting to clients, not when he's just training them.

joehempel

Then I suggest you shadow your trainer friend when he's prospecting and presenting to clients, not when he's just training them.

I actually have done that for one client so far....there wasn't anything really spectacular about what he did, but he got the sale even after she said $99 was too much for a block of 4 1/2 sessions......and then drove off in a brand new Mercedes LOL.

DavPul

Then he's skilled at overcoming objections, which is a trait that you would be wise to respect as being spectacular. When someone is good at it, it looks effortless to an observer (and to the potential client, who remains in their comfort zone).

ninerbuff

The biggest thing most people don't realize is that it's a sales job. If you're not comfortable presenting yourself as a product with value it's going to be a very difficult way to make very little money. You have to know what you're doing, of course, but you could be the most knowledgeable trainer in the world and still starve to death if you can't convince people to sign and stay with you.

This is where a lot of PT's fail. Especially when you're new, you have to make every assessment count. Every time I moved on to a new place, my first few weeks were free half hour sessions with people to build up my clientele.
Another thing that made it much easier for me is that I became a group instructor along with being a PT. As a group instructor, I was able to show my training style and personality to a larger audience at once and ended up getting about half of my clients from classes I taught.
As Dav says, learning to overcome objections (and 90% of the time it will be about money), is key. Many starving PT's give up on the first no they get. It a skill that takes some time to develop and one also has to get "thick skin" because there will be rejection.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

joehempel

Thanks everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to respond.

My biggest goal would be to teach group classes, either in our out of a gym, it doesn't matter, there's just something about getting a group of people together of all different fitness levels and going through a workout

I think the experience I'm getting shadowing this guy has been incredibly valuable and hopefully I'll have a foot in the door to possibly work part time after I get certified and go from there.

My biggest hurdle is probably going to be selling myself compared to others that have been in the business longer because I'm green.

I'm hoping after a year or so in a gym working part time, I can a.) do the job well and right, and b.) gain enough clients that I can take them out of the gym and do my own thing with them.