John travelled the world to learn the best training and nutrition principles and trained alongside top pro bodybuilders at Gold's Gym California. He was a student of Arthur Jones, inventor of Nautilus and Medx Fitness machines, and the pioneer of hi-intensity training. John developed the HIT3 Training System, which transformed his physique to win countless bodybuilding competitions at just 18 years of age! He was also the first bodybuilder to utilize Faradic Electric Muscle Stimulation in his training and intermittent fasting during his competition prep. John’s SHREDDED Nutrition Diet helped him build one of the most shredded physiques of all time. His diet program incorporates fasting and nutrient timing to help athletes build lean muscle while losing body fat.
About 90 percent of today’s commercial gym trainers are “workout enthusiasts” who are committed to working out as part of their lifestyle and arrive at the decision that they want to make a career out of their chosen hobby and therefore become personal trainers. Most, if not all, are self-taught by reading exercise information in magazines, on the internet and through social media. They imitate physique champions’ workout routines and diet regimes and mistakenly consider themselves workout experts. They endeavour to get accreditation through weekend certification courses, which at best, offer minimal training and expertise in professional training. As of today, there really isn’t a formal educational degree to become a professional fitness trainer. Although there are numerous articles that have identified fundamental competencies necessary to being an effective trainer, the fitness industry at large lacks regulation and a unified governing body. Thus, many trainers fall for pseudo-science, claiming the efficacy of fad diets, promoting spurious supplements and encouraging trends seen on social media only to have their Instagram follower count grow.
Those who are routinely the most qualified to be professional personal trainers are university physical education graduates, but they tend to avoid pursuing a career in personal training because of the uncertainty of income that can be earned. Salary isn’t the only factor. Job security, independence, benefits and personal growth are other areas of ambiguity. Therefore, they pursue other careers. The most sought-after avenue for someone to earn a living as a trainer is to get hired by a club chain operation or by a municipally run recreation center. Most commercial gyms don’t offer guaranteed salaries to their trainers. Instead, they’re paid an hourly fee only when physically conducting workout sessions with a paying client. In an eight-hour day, a new trainer may only have two or three clients to train. Therefore, he or she gets paid only for two or three hours out of the eight-hour day. Once hired, it’s up to the individual trainer to either make a career out of his or her pursuit by hustling to get clients or decide that it’s not a worthwhile endeavor.
Either way, there has to be something that sets apart the successful trainers from the rest. Your professional behavior will make or break you. Here are the top 10 best things I’ve seen various personal trainers doing with clients:
Refrain from Engaging in Any Unprofessional Behaviors
Refer to my previous article here for the full details.
Be on Time
Being on time is one the best things you can do to show someone you are dependable and a person of your word. It makes a great impression and demonstrates reliability. If you arrive a little early, you also have an opportunity to go over your planned session and make sure everything is in place to make it a smooth and productive session.
Identify a Client’s Personal Health and Fitness Goals
Identifying and going over a client’s goals lets the client know you’re both on the same page and understand the objectives of the training.
Set Specific Time Frames
Set up a program that will help the client achieve his or her unique goals in a specific time frame.
Keep a Log of Each Workout Session
It’s imperative to keep notes and record the performance of the client during each exercise. This will allow you to keep track of your client’s progress and make the necessary changes as the sessions progress.
Motivate the Client
Being a motivator in each workout session will give the client the confidence he or she needs to improve their performance in each exercise. This will ensure that the workout intensity is always increasing, thus keeping the client motivated to continue his or her progress.
Monitor a Client’s Progress
Consistently monitoring a client’s progress by performing weekly weigh-ins, taking monthly measurements and quarterly photographing the client allows both the trainer and the client to see the progress made and what changes need to occur in order to continue pursuing the goal at hand.
Offer New Members a Complimentary Session
Offering new members a complimentary personal training session is the perfect way to showcase your skill and demonstrate your competencies.
Monitor the Gym Floor
When not busy training a client, monitor the gym floor and offer assistance to members who are either training alone or are not performing an exercise properly. Again, this is the perfect way to showcase your skill and demonstrate your competencies.
Provide an Extraordinary Workout Experience
Follow the simple points listed above for a fail-proof experience that your clients will find hard to forget and even harder not to refer you to their friends and colleagues. Providing exceptional service will lead to continued success and sessions purchased. As a professional trainer, your main job is to give your clients the best workout that they could never replicate by themselves or with another trainer. Each workout must be so results-producing that the client can’t wait to train with you again.
For more info on John Cardillo, check out his website at johnrobertcardillo.com or right here at Muscle Insider at John Cardillo.
