ADVICE FOR TRAINERS

I receive a lot of e-mail from trainers with questions, so I thought this page could be helpful to current trainers and to those who are thinking about personal training as a career.

The following is the best advice that I could give to any trainer. If you have other concerns that aren't addressed here, please e-mail me.

For the Aspiring

  1. The first step to becoming a personal trainer is obtaining proper certification. ACE and ACSM are the best to have, and coincidently the most difficult to pass.
  2. Get into the best shape possible, remember you are supposed to be a role model. A fat trainer to me is like a dentist with no teeth, how would you like a toothless, dentist to work on your teeth?
  3. Start to look, and behave like a fitness professional. Make sure you are well groomed , nails and breath included.

For the Novice

  1. If you don't have at least 10 years of lifting experience, take a few sessions yourself. Find yourself the best certified trainer available, and pay close attention. Learn and master proper breathing, form, tempo, and new training training techniques.
  2. I can't stand seeing clients working with a trainer and have poor form. It's criminal and there should be an 800 hotline for this. A client with lousy form, makes you look bad, is dangerous and will not get them the results they are capable of. Perfect form will reduce the chance of injury, enable your clients to get faster results, make you look better, and increase your clientele.
  3. Learn as much about fitness, nutrition and biomechanics. Educate your clients about their bodies and how it performs they will appreciate it.

For the Experienced

It's real easy to just maintain the minimum and still be successful. The only way for you to truly excel in this profession is to never stop learning. Fine tune your current skills and learn new ones.

  1. Diversify your specialties.
  2. Continue adding certifications to your arsenal.
  3. Don't get distracted from your clients during their sessions.
  4. Keep eye contact, see what their RPE is, be aware of their safety.
  5. Encourage your clients to drink a lot of water during their workouts.
  6. Don't fall into the "Yap-Trap"-Keep your mouth shut about who you train. Learn the value of confidentiality, your high profile clients will appreciate it.
  7. Learn to stretch your clients properly. Not how Carmine taught you at the gym. Master the art of stretching, this is probably the most important service that you can provide. I highly recommend Active Isolated Stretching, Its the best form of stretching and highly effective. Learn it, use it, share it- you'll love it and be glad you did.
  8. Never recommend supplements to your clients. Advise only, never prescribe.
  9. Charge what you are worth.
  10. Never get romantically involved with a client.
  11. Return fitness back to your community- Volunteer some of your time and begin a fitness program in a nursing home, day care, soup kitchen, rehab, VA hospital, community center, etc.The goal is to bring fitness to the life of someone who normally wouldn't be exposed to it. If you need any tips on this, please ask me- I'd be glad to help.

Remember, you can train people just to make money, or you can train to help someone get healthy and make a real difference in their life . If you focus on the second, the money will come automatically.