Maintaining Your Professional and Personal Schedule
The life and schedule of a personal trainer are not like that of the average person working the usual Monday to Friday 9-5 grind. Personal trainers who own (or are in the process of building) their own business, whether it be an in-person or online training business, can often find themselves working almost around the clock 7 days a week if their time is not managed effectively.
Building a business or managing a successful business is going to take a lot of hard work and although most trainers setting out on this path are ready and motivated to put in the work, finding a work-life balance is still very important.
Keeping clients on your schedule is easier said than done. Not everyone will mesh with you. Not everyone will make fitness a priority even if they say they want to. A little extra thought and effort pay off and get more people to stick with you.
Check-in With Clients During Training Session
Every 10-15 minutes, ask your client on a scale of 1-10 to report perceived effort and difficulty in her mind. You can do this after each exercise, but it might get repetitive. Ask any willing client to wear a heart rate monitor to get feedback from her body. This will tell you how different her perception is from the effort of her system.
Follow up After the Workout
Always call after the first session or two and then periodically from time to time. Ask your client how they feels from the workout. You know that soreness doesn’t always appear right away and if the next session is days or a week away he might not remember.
Prioritize the Client During the Session
Do what you need to in between sessions so that you are laser-focused on your client during the FULL workout. Maybe that means leaving 10 minutes between clients so you can close your eyes and re-charge. This time could be used to eat, visit the bathroom or check your messages so you aren’t distracted during the session or worse – late and frazzled when you greet your client.
Check-in with Yourself
Even though this career is one fueled from passion, it can become a burden when the other areas of your life aren’t in balance. Clients can tell when your heart isn’t in it. They can sense your fatigue. Take care of yourself so you can take care of your clients.
Don’t Hesitate to Refer the Client to Someone Else
Some personalities don’t match. Some training styles don’t agree. Sometimes you’ve got to do the hard thing and give a client to another trainer who is better suited to that person. Other times your client may need to see a nutritionist, massage therapist, or another type of practitioner depending on their goals and situation.
Clarify Your Expectations
If you noticed a difference in perceived exertion compared to heart rate when monitoring effort with your client there is a chance the person might also have unrealistic goals. Use educational tools and active listening to help your client see what is attainable and what might not be.
Getting Started
Check out what it takes to start a career in personal fitness training. This is your most affordable and fastest way to become a highly qualified personal trainer.
Is your recertification coming up? Learn more about earning your CEU credits. You can find the full list of CEU courses here.
There is always something exciting about earning a new training or coaching certification and applying that new knowledge of how you train your clients. This also helps you hit the reset button.
NESTA and Spencer Institute coaching programs are open to anyone with a desire to learn and help others. There are no prerequisites.
That’s it for now.
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