About becoming a personal trainer

PTC said:

I was in it when it went pear shaped.

Jogging was a reason people stopped lifting weights. It hit big in the 70's, originated in NZ, people no longer wanted to lift weights. A couple of flawed tests from labcoats had everyone thinking jogging and aerobics were better for weight loss.

Gyms went broke, big time. When they reopened, they were full of easy to use machines and cardio equipment. You no longer had to work hard in a gym, so members joined in their droves.

Gyms saw a business oppurtunity with PT's. No longer on the pay roll, in fact, they became a revenue source.

Few gyms take cash now, its mostly direct debit. Direct debit from clients, direct debit from PT's. A small gym I know gets $20,000 deposited on the 1st of each month. Its tiny. No staff, owner behind the counter, no stress, thriving.

We should be a really fit country now, right.Everyones running or gyming, walking etc

Why are we the most obese Nation per capita in the world?

Because as a society, we went soft when it came to exercise, and the fat free foods infiltrated the market the same time aerobics and jogging hit.

Just my views.

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I do agree 100%.

Some people here may not like to read this;
To be a "PT" you have to pay your dues first.
Workouts under your belt, to have successfully trained at least 50 people minimum.

haz said:

well done, but you know that your going to be hated by the guys who already squat, for making them wait in line to use the rack, while some 80 yr old and a mum of two are front squating

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I would be ecstatic to see a mum or older guy squatting. The more people the better.

Interesting to hear your continued experiences, Kyle. Thanks for the updates.

My course is a joke lol.

I dont even know where to start my rant.

All I can say, is everyone in my class has passed cert III.

Some are as usefull as those bloated dead cows you seeing floating down a stream near farms.

My teacher however is a top bloke. My build and weight. Deads 240kg, squats 220kg (JUST under parralle) cleans 120kg. Im going to get some coaching off him.

yeh you dont have to be a rocket scientist to pass cert 3.

but it makes the good trainers stand out.

did you learn much?

Not about training. I think I got dumber, I got on a fit ball AND used the leg press. Both first timers .

I lernt about energy systems, digestive system and whats involved with the muscle fibers ect......
That stuff was good/interesting.

I cant remember 90% of it now, but I still passed lol. Everything is open book tests.

One of my classmates from RMIT still has not got her certificate, several months after the end of the course. You may recall that we had several multiple choice tests, we had to get 100% correct to pass. We sat the tests once each, then at the end of the course any questions we'd got wrong were collated, we sat down and had to answer only those questions.

Those who got them wrong again, the teacher on the spot pointed out which were wrong, and asked the person to rethink them. He had a short conversation with them to make sure they understood the right answer.

Everyone had had something wrong in the previous tests, some of us had just a few wrong, others had half or more wrong. So some of us were there for longer than others.

One friend I had in the course didn't show up to the resit exam. So she didn't get her certificate. She had to arrange to resit it later. She was already working as a group fitness instructor (with her previous Cert III qualification) so she was in no hurry. But she started doing PT work. She claims her gym won't pay her for the PT work until she gets her Cert IV.

The legal aspect of it is that if they know you lack a qualification to do work, but they've let you do it anyway, they have to pay you for it - they just pay you a lower rate than someone qualified. However, she insists they won't pay; I suspect she simply hasn't discussed it with them.

Now she tells me that she can't sit the test because between work and uni, she has no time. She cannot, she says, miss the work she's not getting paid for to complete the qualification so she will get paid for it. Which to me is an odd way of organising your life.

For a month or two now she's been asking for the old teacher's email. I told her, here it is, but he never replies to emails, ring him up, here's his number; or contact the programming co-ordinator, he may take a day or two to respond but always responds with very constructive help. She can't make phone calls, she says (I assume no phone credit), ignoring the "email him" part. She's at Melbourne Uni, I pointed out that in the hour she'd been writing the emails to me, she could have walked down the road to RMIT and chatted to the programming co-ordinator in person and organised something. She replied "Youre a pain in the ass. Im on my way to work."

When I started, I didn't think much of the TAFE method of exams etc, that you could just keep resubmitting work until you passed. My friend from the course certainly isn't stupid, she's a very intelligent young woman. But she does not have her sht together. Now I see that the TAFE really does weed out the truly stupid and/or disorganised ones.

Well, except for Sticky's joint

Your expecting too much from PT's. Not sure how many of you have seen this before, but its a good laugh.


From: Jeff Peters
Date: Wednesday 8 April 2009 10.22am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Membership Renewal

Dear David
This is a friendly reminder to let you know your gym membership expired last week. Your membership is important to us and we would like to take this opportunity to show our appreciation by offering you a 20% discount on your membership renewal. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
All the best, Jeff Peters

From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 April 2009 1.37pm
To: Jeff Peters
Subject: Re: Membership Renewal

Dear Jeff,
Thankyou for your friendly reminder and the kind offer to reduce my membership by twenty percent. I own a calculator but I could not work out how to do percentages on it so have estimated that I save around $372.10 off the normal price of $420.00 - Please confirm that this is correct and I will renew my membership immediately. Also, do I get a Fitness First sports bag with towel and drinking bottle included in the price? I own my own legwarmers and headband.
Regards, David.
From: Jeff Peters
Date: Thursday 9 April 2009 10.01am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Hello David
How did you come to that amount? Our half year membership fees are actually $460 but with the 20% discount as an existing member your renewing membership fee would be only $368 for the six months saving you almost $100 off the normal price. We are not Fitness First so do not have those bags.
Cheers, Jeff
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 April 2009 10.18am
To: Jeff Peters
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Dear Jeff,
Do I get free shipping with that?
Regards, David.
From: Jeff Peters
Date: Thursday 9 April 2009 12.48pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Free shipping with what? The $368 covers your membership fees for six months.
From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 April 2009 2.26pm
To: Jeff Peters
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Dear Jeff,
By the power of Greyskull that is a lot of money but I admit to being in desperate need of increasing my body strength. My ten year old child often turns the taps off in the bathroom very tightly and I have to go several days without washing. I feel bad constantly having to ask the lady from next door to come over and loosen them for me, what with her arthritis and limited wheelchair access to my apartment. To be honest, I originally joined your gym with full intentions of attending every few days but after waiting in vain for someone to offer me steroids, I began to suspect this was not going to happen and the realisation that I may have to exercise instead was, quite frankly, horrifying. My aversion to work, along with the fact one of your employees, Justin, was rather rude, telling me to 'lift this', ''push that' dulled my initial enthusiasm of becoming muscular and I stopped attending.
Regards, David.
From: Jeff Peters
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 9.17am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Hello David
Nobody here would offer you steroids, it is illegal and none of our staff would do this. Justin is one of our most experienced trainers and if you found him rude while he was trying to be helpful and just doing his job then there are plenty of other gyms you could look at joining instead.
Cheers, Jeff
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 10.02am
To: Jeff Peters
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Dear Jeff,
Yes, I have noticed that there are many gyms in my area. I assume the low qualification requirements of fitness trainers means that there is an over supply of these buffed but essentially otherwise purposeless professionals. I knew a guy in high school who couldn't talk very well and collected sticks, he used to call the teacher 'mum' and during recess we would give him money to dance. Then sell him sticks to get our money back. He went on to become a fitness instructor so I view gyms as kind of like those factories that provide a community service by employing people with down syndrome to lick stamps and pack boxes. Except with more Spandex obviously.
Regards, David.
From: Jeff Peters
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 10.32am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Go **** yourself.
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 11.38am
To: Jeff Peters
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Dear Jeff,
I was, at first, quite surprised at your response; one minute you are inviting me to renew my membership and asking me for money, the next insulting me. After doing a little research however, I have learnt that mood swings are an expected side effect of steroid abuse. As another side effect is a reduction in the size of your penis, this gives you understandable cause to be an angry person. I have also learnt that Spandex contains carcinogenic properties so this does not bode well for yourself and your shiny friends. If I woke up one morning and my penis was a quarter of the size AND I had testicular cancer, I would probably take my anger out on those around me as well. There are probably support groups or websites that could help you manage your problem more effectively and picture based books available on the subject. When I am angry I like to listen to music by Linkin Park. The added angst and desire to cut myself works similarly to the way firefighters fight forest fires by burning off sections, effectively canceling each other out and I find myself at peace. As you guys usually listen to Pet Shop Boys or Frankie Goes to Hollywood, this may be worth a try.
Regards, David.
From: Jeff Peters
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 1.04pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

DO NOT EMAIL ME AGAIN
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 1.15pm
To: Jeff Peters
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Ok.
From: Jeff Peters
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 1.25pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

Is that you being a smartarse or agreeing not to email me again?
From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 April 2009 1.32pm
To: Jeff Peters
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Membership Renewal Due

The middle one.

PTC said:

Your expecting too much from PT's.

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She's not graduated, so she hasn't met the requirements to be called a "PT", even if you don't expect experience, empathy, or anything like that.

If the person can't even get organised enough to spend two hours to get the piece of paper so they can be paid thousands of dollars for work they've already done, well I wonder what they must be like as a trainer or coach. How could they organise progression for a client? No 20 pages of progressive routines from that person, I think

Haha, nice post Markos.

Kyle Aaron said:

She's not graduated, so she hasn't met the requirements to be called a "PT"

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Well technically, as far as I'm aware at least, there is no qualification necessary to be a personal trainer/coach. Sup Markos.

As a 'self regulating' industry I don't know if I would consider it a success, judging from the terrible reputation PT's have by and large.

moons said:

Well technically, as far as I'm aware at least, there is no qualification necessary to be a personal trainer/coach.

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That's true. But if you've not at least Cert IV, you're very unlikely to be employed by anyone else, so you have to be self-employed. And to be at all successful in self-employment, you have to have to some combination of knowing your sht and being good at self-promotion. It's rare to find both sets of skills in one person, which is why most new small businesses implode in a year or two.

Whereas if you're employed by someone else, you can get away with having only one of knowing your sht or being good at self-promotion.

As a 'self regulating' industry I don't know if I would consider it a success, judging from the terrible reputation PT's have by and large.

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I don't think PTs have a poor reputation as such, any more than do hairdressers, chefs, etc. It's just part of the service industry, which is in general not well-respected, everyone has a horror story to tell about the bad food, haircut or training they had from someone.

The thing about the service industry is that lots of unqualified inexperienced people think they could do it better than the qualified experienced ones. "I could cut hair / cook food / train people better than that!" It's like how you get people mouthing off about how easy and well-paid a job teachers have.

And yet these same people mouthing off do not become teachers, or trainer/coaches, or chefs, or hairdressers. Because in the end really they have no clue.

But that's not the majority. Most people have no opinion about this or that service industry job, because they don't know about it, and don't think about it. We shouldn't confuse a few loud people mouthing off with society in general.

No Kyle, PT's are definitely regarded as bottom of the barrel.

Very, very few cut their own hair, because a hairdresser will do a better job.

Cant say the same about a weight lifter, what % seek out a PT thats been lifting for all of 16 weeks to help them with their training.

I'm pretty sure a hairdresser has to do LOTS more training to be qualified than a PT, I'm not certain on this, maybe Morgan can help?

There are some outstanding coaches/trainers/PT's out there.

The problem is there are far more poor ones, and they are being churned out in there hundreds every year.

Its noble for you to protect those in your industry, but remember the email you sent me 20 minutes ago?

Thats the reality.

I sent that email because you wanted me to be scathing, Markos. Notice I say a lot of good things about other trainers, too, but good things are less entertaining to read As I've said, when you're self-employed you can say what you want, when you're employed by others you have to have a bit of restraint. Plus I like to keep an open mind, someone might seem brilliant or like an idiot when I first them, after a while my opinion changes.

From what I have seen, most of the trainer/coaches are just ordinary. Not crap, not great, just ordinary. Same in any job.

You're right, Markos, most people don't hire trainers or coaches. And most people get little or no results from their training after the first couple of months, and give up, come back a year or two later, etc.

A hairdresser has to do an apprenticeship, yes. I think I've said a few times I think this would be the best way for a trainer/coach. A couple of years working for crap pay and long hours under someone competent, that'd do a lot of good. We don't have that, so I've made my own apprenticeship at a community gym. There is no appointed person in charge of the apprentices to learn from, so I have to take bits and pieces from here and there.

I agree, the industry is in a pretty poor state. But we shouldn't overstate the issue. The bad trainer/coaches get few or no clients and quit the industry after a year or two. And when gym-goers get no results, well 95-98% of them were training on their own. Only 2-5% of gym-goers hire a trainer/coach.

At my gyms, all new members are required to do a health consult to make sure they'll be safe to work out, and ask about their current activities and goals. From this, they're supposed to get a routine, and get shown through it in the next session, with a technique check followup a few weeks later, and a new routine several weeks after that. A large number of people are no-shows for those things. They can't say they're getting poor instruction because they're not showing up to get it.

Of course, doing my gym instructor stuff I try to sort that out. But most people don't want to hear. They want to continue pounding away on the treadmill at the same speed for the same time they've done for the last two years, to kneel on swiss balls putting 3kg dumbells overhead, or doing squats to 30 degrees above parallel on the Smith machine.

We can't say they're getting poor instruction when they refuse to listen to any at all - people might think what I suggest is good or bad, and it might be either - but to be honest most have dismissed it before I've even given it to them. They get this distracted look in their eyes. I finish my sentence, wish them good luck, and leave them to it.

Yes, most trainers are not very good. But most trainees wouldn't listen anyway. A small number do listen. Those are the people who make my day happy.

As always, not saying I know everything - but I know more than most of the people I talk to in the gym, so I have something to give them.

*****

Picked up another client yesterday, he should start Wednesday. He's just a guy I talked to and helped out a few times. Another guy spontaneously asked me about training him and his wife, but he wouldn't start till September, they have an overseas holiday. When I went to lunch with a friend, he recruited the store's cook-owner for me, she was very interested and asked if I could give her a stack of business cards - my friend is doing a PhD in business, he is very in favour of marketing, it's not really my thing.

One of the private clients I had, JD, I took him to the Y, we'll have better equipment there and I won't have to worry about GST and all that. He found half an hour a bit short, will probably go to an hour.

In that half hour he did front squats x5, overhead presses x3, and sumo deadlifts x5, then a couple of sets of 20 reppers of Ukrainian deadlifts with a dumbell. I thought that was enough work, he wants more. I am impressed by him as a person training, he started at around 150kg, everything was hard for him, much stronger and fitter and more confident now after 23 sessions with me and his own improvement in general physical activity outside workouts.

He front squatted 40kg x6 yesterday, probably nobody here will be impressed by that, well strap an extra 40kg or so to your body all day every day and then try it, maybe not so easy.

Other private clients prefer to keep the training private. Dunno why, but it's up to them.

Once I have a good number of clients, we can judge how good I am by the results they do or don't get. I don't expect to change the fitness world, just to make things a bit better for some of the people I meet.

nice one...50% of marketing is wasted money. the problem is that most people don't know which 50% they're wasting.

I haven't spent any money on marketing

This was just talking to people. The shop owner invited me to put my business cards there, I just gave her one for herself. I think getting her as a client would be more effective than a stack of business cards sitting there - she's a talkative friendly person, helping her get results, she'd tell people all about it and, "just go down the road to where he works..."

Word of mouth means a lot, just look at Markos' PTC. I don't think he even has business cards

The manager sets out goal number of sessions each month, based on the number of gym shifts we do and how long we've been there. There are a couple of real guns of trainers knocking out a heap of sessions, the target the manager has set for me is not very ambitious, I can achieve it with just a couple of clients, I will aim higher than that.

WOM is gold. markos may not have business cards but i think he is either intuitively very good at what he does or very smart.

No business cards here lol

I had an ausbb member come for some instruction today, Fishobob.

Rob is a nice guy. He wanted me to check his form.

His squat form was not good in the fact he exposed himself to back and knee issues.

A quick correction, which he picked up instantly, and he squatted a very easy 120kg. Has around 140kg in him now.

His bench was fine, as is most peoples, and he did an easy 100kg, has maybe 110kg in him.

Now we didnt push those 2 as he was simply down for correctional work.

His deadlift form wasnt the best either. I explained what were trying to do, and he got it straight away.

Five minutes later he became the 56th bloke to pull 200kg at PTC.

He didnt know how much was on the bar, he just followed instructions. Some guys simply get it straight away when you describe what we are doing with each lift. Most concentrate on the weight.

Rob didnt, the weight took care of itself.

PTC said:

I had an ausbb member come for some instruction today, Fishobob.

Rob is a nice guy. He wanted me to check his form.

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Ha thanks Markos!

I thoroughly enjoyed myself today mate and only wish I'd come sooner! Thanks a lot for your time and advice, I will try and make it back with Bruce in tow for another session in the not too distant future, that is if Nina will let Bruce return after teaching Reggie some bad tricks and tearing up your place

For those who haven't met Markos or are umming and ahhing about a visit to PTC, do yourselves a favor and get yourself there sooner rather than later. You'll thank yourself and Markos, just like I am currently doing after todays visit. Markos is a super nice bloke, certainly knows his shit and gets his instructions and advice across in a clear, concise and easy to understand manner..

Hooroo, thanks again and all the best Markos,
Rob

Well done Rob!

This evening at Box Hill I wandered around talking to people, as usual. I took one woman through an example workout. "I want to lose this," she said, pointing to her post-pregnancy belly, "and to be stronger and fitter, at the moment I puff carrying my groceries upstairs, I do lots of time on the treadmill, what do you think?"
I described at length, then said, "But really it's best to show you. Show you the sort of routine I'd recommend you do to achieve your goals. Do you have 20 minutes?"
"I have to pick up my daughter at 6."
"Okay, 15 minutes?"
"Okay."
I tested her out with bodyweight squats, she could do 20 good ones, so it was time to put a bar on her back. "I can't do this!" she said, but she could do it easily a dozen times.

So I whacked 10kg on each side. "I can't do this!" she cried.
"Yes, you can," I said. "And if you can't there are safeties here, if you get down and can't get up, just dump the bar behind you."
She stepped into the rack, pressed the bar out and stood there. "No, I can't!" She reracked the bar.,
"Yes, you CAN do it. Get BACK under the bar and LIFT it!"
She stepped under, pressed it out, put out 5 reps, no worries. I had her do a second set just to hammer the point home.

Next was deadlift, I put a 10kg on each side and away she went. Next, 20kg. The "can't do it" only came once, but of course she did it in the end.

Then I had her do some sumos with a single dumbell, 20 reps. At rep 13 she put the dumbbell down and said, "I can't go on, this is too much."
"I forgot to tell you, if you miss a rep, you owe 100% interest. You had 7 left, now you must do 14."
"No! What?"
"14 reps please."
She did them without trouble, just a little sweat.

In all,

No time for a press, unfortunately. She'd delayed a bit with all her "but I can't!" and this wasted some time, I wanted to use the last 3 minutes for some cardio work. But it was only 15 minutes, and she'd never barbell squatted before, nor deadlifted anything (at least in the gym).

"Wow! I've never done a workout like that before! I didn't know I was strong! When are you on next? Can you train me? I need training a couple of times a week."
"Next Monday."
"I can't come in next Monday. Sorry, I have to go pick up my daughter now. I hope I see you soon!"

It's a bit hard to organise PT sessions when I've no regular gym shifts to build on. So I missed out on a client, I'm not impressed.

On the other hand, I was impressed to see a young woman, around 62kg, squatting 75kg x4. I asked her goals.
"Strength."
"No sports or physique goals?"
"No, I just want to be strong."
I was so happy, I worked with her for about half an hour. I tuned up her lifts a bit - knees out on the squats and we could add 10kg to the bar, bar closer to the shins on deadlifts and the 80kg x4 was much easier for her.

This second woman's a uni student, so not a prospective client. But there are some clients you'd train for free.

There were a few less pleasant and friendly people working out in the gym. But that's life in the service industry, you get arseholes everywhere. And one or two loopy ones.

I dunno, if nothing else I can make these gyms friendlier places, where some people at least are encouraged a bit.

Are you not allowed to come in to train clients if you don't have a shift?

Great work helping her realise she had the ability.