For most people who seek a personal trainer, the idea is to get a better, individualized workout. Clients want to get fit in a way that will make them look good. Most of them know that strength training will be a major part of their workouts and they are okay with that. Sometimes, however, there is that certain client who complains about everything and doesn’t want to do all the hard work of building muscles. They will do their cardio exercises until the sun sets, but when it comes to the effort of making their muscles the beautifully sculpted pieces of art they can be, these clients will tell you that it’s just too hard.
As a trainer, what do you do with these people? Sigh, get exasperated and throw up your hands? You’re a personal trainer, not a babysitter and no client pays you enough to put up with this, right? Wrong. The next time you encounter a client who just cannot see the importance of good strength training workouts, there are a few things you can do to encourage them on their way.
You found a job opening, submitted an application or resume, and the boss wants to meet you. What now? Your nerves are wracked, because you’re about to be judged, and honestly, who likes to be judged? But you want the job, so you have to suck it up. It helps if you know what to expect and do some preparation in advance.
Dressing the Part
If you met the boss before, which hopefully you did when you handed him or her your application, then you got a sense of how the person was dressed. Your job is to dress one notch higher. If the boss was wearing fitness gear, you can wear khakis. If the boss was dressed in khakis, you need to go for the all-out suit. Whatever you wear, make sure it’s clean and wrinkle-free.
Greeting the Boss
Arrive a little early, but not so early that you interfere with the boss’s day. Five or ten minutes early is perfect. Shake hands firmly, but not aggressively. Smile and make eye contact. And don’t forget to Read more…
If you’ve been going solo, the idea of hiring someone to work for you may seem daunting. There are so many considerations. Should you hire employees on a contractual or payroll basis? What should you pay? Should you offer benefits? How do you find the right person for the job?
Reservations aside, if you’ve reached your capacity as a business, meaning that you simply can’t take on any new clients because your schedule is cram-packed already, then it might be time to consider hiring. Let’s answer some of the questions above to get you started thinking about your business expansion.
Contract versus Payroll
Contracting your employees is much simpler than putting them on the payroll. For starters, you don’t have to worry about social security, Medicare, or income tax withholding. Your employees are strictly self-employed contractors who invoice you for services rendered, and you pay them like any vendor. Contracting also offers the employee the benefits of self-employment, such as deducting mileage to and from work.
You thought you have a tough gym workout. Think again…
This is such an incredible example of versatility and creativity to get strong and ripped.
Playground workouts or ghetto workouts are fantastic for hitting muscles that you have not worked before or just to spice up a rather dull workout routine.
Strength training is an important part of fitness. Once upon a time, sports coaches thought that gym strength training merely added excess bulk to an athlete, but nowadays, personal trainers understand the full benefits of strength training workouts.
Strength training programs aren’t just for power athletes such as football players, either: athletes in any sport can benefit from gym strength training to improve endurance. The purpose of these strength training routines is to provide sport-specific complete resistance training, improving overall performance instead of merely building muscle mass.
Strength training involves the following elements:
Maximal Strength
The maximum strength of an athlete. Its importance varies depending on the sport. Maximal strength training routines are useful overall as they build endurance. Maximal strength can also be parlayed into explosive power or strength endurance.
You’ve done all the traditional marketing. Your name is in the yellow pages, the white pages, and the yellow book. You have a website, so you’re on the Internet. You even paid for a big sign in front of your business that stands out among its neighbors. But most of your competitors have done these things, too, so it’s time to apply some innovating thinking to your marketing strategy.
And when it comes to creative fitness marketing, it’s not so much where you advertise as how you advertise.
Gaining Competitive Edge
Forget the phone books. Don’t pay huge sums for big partial- or full-page spreads, because very few people use them anymore. If you want to hit a large audience, you’ll find it online. You’re already online (or you should be), so it’s not a matter of where. It’s how you sell your services.
So maybe you’re not new to the world of personal training. In fact, you may have been successfully performing services for your local community for years, and you’ve been making decent money at it. Your business has grown through word of mouth, and you’re at capacity. You couldn’t possibly take on another client, even though it breaks your heart to say, “No.” It breaks your heart, not just because you’re missing out on that income. But let’s face it, you have a passion for fitness, and a struggling soul is asking for your help. You want to help.
When You Have Reached Capacity
Believe it or not, you can help this client reach his or her fitness goals, despite the fact that you’ve reached capacity. You could do it one of two ways. You could refer the client to a friend or acquaintance in the personal training community, one who you know will provide the same quality service that you would provide. Or you could hire another trainer to work for you, who can pick up this client and any new clients who come along. The latter alternative has the benefit of lining your pocket.
Next Steps
If the idea of growing your business is appealing, the next step is to hire that employee. If you know someone who would love supplemental income, and who, in your opinion, would be a good personal trainer, then you’re good. Work out an arrangement with the person as to how much you’ll pay per hour, per session with the client, or on whatever basis you both agree is fair. Hiring requires the same negotiation savvy that you’ve demonstrated in the process of growing your existing client base.
Once you’ve identified that job you want, you need to get your foot in the door. So, how do you get that crucial interview? It starts with an inquiry and a resume.
The Importance of Qualifications
Admittedly, many gyms and small businesses aren’t expecting a resume out of you. In fact, they may have an application they’d like you to fill out instead. But first impressions are everything, and you impress hiring managers with *qualifications*. Therefore, walking in and handing the boss a resume with qualifications popping out like flashing lights makes a much better first impression than walking in and asking the clerk at the desk for an app.
Making Your Qualifications Pop
A lot of people worry about how to write a resume “right,” or how to fit it into some standard mold that is universally accepted. See, we’ve lost the point of a resume here. It doesn’t actually matter what the format is. The only reason formats tend to be standardized is because people smarter than us have studied how brains read things, and that “standard” resume format helps bosses see what they need to see quickly: whether or not you’ll be good for the job.
You know you want to be able to give more to support the relief efforts in Haiti – well, doing a donation based benefit fitness class or bootcamp is a mighty way to help.
The devastation is heartbreaking. The country is so impoverished and was struggling enough without another disaster, and now there is so much to be done there.
Yet at the same time, Haiti has a very real chance to become something more than what it was before. There is a high probability that the focus of the world and commitment from so many leaders and organizations will lead to great improvements in infrastructure and other areas of life for this country and people.
That’s what happened with New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina – great tragedy led to new schools, improved levies and pump houses, and a shiny new roof for the Superdome that just thundered the Saints into a NFC championship. New Orleans is back, baby! Yet there’s still a lot of work to be done there even four years later.
It’s gonna be a long road to recovery for Haiti, and massive amounts of funds are needed immediately and as the years roll by for the country and its people to make a comeback.
For most people who seek a personal trainer, the idea is to get a better, individualized workout. Clients want to get fit in a way that will make them look good. Most of them know that strength training will be a major part of their workouts and they are okay with that. Sometimes, however, there is that certain client who complains about everything and doesn’t want to do all the hard work of building muscles. They will do their cardio exercises until the sun sets, but when it comes to the effort of making their muscles the beautifully sculpted pieces of art they can be, these clients will tell you that it’s just too hard.
You found a job opening, submitted an application or resume, and the boss wants to meet you. What now? Your nerves are wracked, because you’re about to be judged, and honestly, who likes to be judged? But you want the job, so you have to suck it up. It helps if you know what to expect and do some preparation in advance.
If you’ve been going solo, the idea of hiring someone to work for you may seem daunting. There are so many considerations. Should you hire employees on a contractual or payroll basis? What should you pay? Should you offer benefits? How do you find the right person for the job?
Strength training is an important part of fitness. Once upon a time, sports coaches thought that gym strength training merely added excess bulk to an athlete, but nowadays, personal trainers understand the full benefits of strength training workouts.
You’ve done all the traditional marketing. Your name is in the yellow pages, the white pages, and the yellow book. You have a website, so you’re on the Internet. You even paid for a big sign in front of your business that stands out among its neighbors. But most of your competitors have done these things, too, so it’s time to apply some innovating thinking to your marketing strategy.
So maybe you’re not new to the world of personal training. In fact, you may have been successfully performing services for your local community for years, and you’ve been making decent money at it. Your business has grown through word of mouth, and you’re at capacity. You couldn’t possibly take on another client, even though it breaks your heart to say, “No.” It breaks your heart, not just because you’re missing out on that income. But let’s face it, you have a passion for fitness, and a struggling soul is asking for your help. You want to help.
Once you’ve identified that job you want, you need to get your foot in the door. So, how do you get that crucial interview? It starts with an inquiry and a resume.
You know you want to be able to give more to support the relief efforts in Haiti – well, doing a donation based benefit fitness class or bootcamp is a mighty way to help.
