The Future Personal Trainer

September 25, 2012 6:35 pm / Posted in ,

I was reading an interesting blog on Precision Nutrition’s website about what personal trainers need to do in order to be successful in their careers. He starts off by saying Personal Trainers are not doing enough to help their clients achieve their goals.

“Right now, as coaches and trainers, we are not yet doing enough to help our clients achieve their goals and live better. Yes, we’re on the right path, but it’s time to turn our baby steps into long strides. To change our clients’ lives and get consistent, dramatic, and lasting results, while also giving them the tools to maintain that change and grow, we must alter our approach.”  -John Berardi

I admit it, when I first starting in this industry I was only able to help 20% of my clients to achieve their goals. When they did not get results, I would blame them. I believed that because they did not do the homework it was their own fault. I really only wanted to train committed clients.

In 2009 I started to ask myself “What I’m I doing wrong? Why can’t I figure out how to inspire people to change?” I needed to be a better coach. This lead me to taking the Precision Nutrition Certification course which focuses on nutrition as well as coaching skills. Now my success rate is above 80%, and that is pretty good in this industry.

“Despite what it says on our business cards, we are not “personal trainers.” No, you and I transform bodies. We use things like exercise and nutrition to change lives. And that truth is much more powerful.”-John Berardi

Why do people go see a personal trainer? Is it because they want someone to yell at them while they do pushups and squats? –  NO. People come and see me to because they want change. They simply want to change the way their  body looks or feels.  That’s why the personal training experience with me extends beyond the walls of my studio and the time you spend here.  In order for these people to get results, I have to inspire them to look after their bodies when they leave my studio- Yikes. This is difficult but can be done with every person provided that I come up with the right solutions. This may seem like a lot of pressure but when you are able to inspire people to change it is really rewarding.

“With the right tools and education, you can deliver that change… for every single person who walks through your door. That’s the truth. But you can’t do it by focusing on just one aspect of body transformation. You can’t do it by defining yourself as a “personal trainer.” No, to create dramatic results, you need to help manage your clients’ exercise when they’re with you and their lives when they’re not with you.” -John Berardi

He then talks about how exercise is not enough and I agree with him 100%. Even if you trained with me for 3 intense hours per week, you’d still have 165 hours left, which can give anyone plenty of time to mess things up at McDonald’s.

“That’s why an exercise program is never enough to see real, honest-to-goodness body transformation. And that’s why knowing how to change the way your clients eat is the biggest advantage you can have as fitness professional.” -John Berardi

Personal Training in this industry has made huge leaps and bounds over the past 5 years. If fact the industry has grown by 42% in the last 2 years- thank you boomers. Most of us now are starting to see that we can help more people change by inspiring them to eat clean, exercise a bit more, and be the person you want to be.

PN Blog: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/future-of-personal-training

Burke Cleland
Personal Training & Nutrition Coaching
Ottawa Personal Training Studio

 

 

 

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