What most people want when they hire a Personal Trainer

Hahahaha. Just kidding.

I didn’t do this shit.

This is just a random image that I hoped would give a sense of scope and grandeur to this post. some deeper meaning that would make you all be like “wow, Tony has something important and important to write about today, I I have keep reading.”

note: I was going to photoshop for an eagle on the shoulder or maybe a huge spaceship on the horizon, but I felt like that would be a little too much.

Anyway, did it work?

You’re still reading, so I’ve got you hooked somehow… ;o)

Fuck that intro, Tony. How were you a jerk? For the love of God Get to the point.

I get emails every week from people asking me random training questions or maybe to inquire about my services.

Here’s an email I opened a few days ago:

“I am a 37 year old male looking to transform my body. I’ve done CrossFit, Orangetheory, paleo, Atkins, fat burners and had personal trainers over the years……….”

There was more to the email, but the rest is irrelevant to what I want to talk about.

I read the first sentence and I have to be honest: I didn’t have enough eyes to roll.

via GIPHY

I immediately became critical and couldn’t help but have the subject of music Jaws they echo in my head.

Not because I wanted to eat him or anything. But because I’m always a bit wary and skeptical when the following scenario occurs:

Random person reaches out.
They ask for my help (which is always welcome and a huge compliment).
But not before detailing what he’s done all – each diet, each training program, each trainer at the local gym^{, each supplement – with little or no evidence.}

In this particular case I couldn’t help but wonder “why has this person been through so many trainers and tried so many different things but is still stuck as to why they are not getting results?”

What do they hope I do (or say) differently?

Generally, when I see a list of exercise programs and diets staring back at me, I tend to question someone’s ability to commit and stay consistent with something for more than a week.

“I’ve been working for a week and I still don’t look like Henry Cavill. Pfft, whatever. I’m out.”

Additionally, and this is a comment from one of my Twitter followers:

“I wonder what these people really want, deep down. Are they really looking, still hoping you could provide the approach that will (finally) work, or do they just want to add you to the long list of what didn’t work?”

It’s a legitimate question.

Half of me would like to sit here and say “yeah, I’m the shit. I am a good coach and feel I can offer something more in terms of experience and guidance. BICEPS!!!”

My other half is a little more humble.

There are a plethora of other coaches and trainers who are just as (if not more) experts, and I doubt I would say or do anything that drastically different from anyone else this person has worked with in the past.

Many trainers can destroy deadlift technique.
Many coaches can discuss simple nutritional strategies.
Many coaches are program writing ninjas.
Many coaches are just as obsessed with 80s cartoons.

Every fitness professional is required to be proficient in any of the above, and I believe what separates the greats from the lessers is their ability to deliver quality programming and training.

Perhaps the gentlemen who sent me this email were cursed with a lineage of incompetent and lame trainers?

It can That’s him the problem and is a serial funnel program and lacks discipline?

As it happens, he and I came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t be a good fit anyway due to scheduling conflicts and availability.

But the interaction gave me pause.

I’m sure many of you reading have had a similar experience, a similar internal dialogue, and a similar initial (irrational?) judgment of a potential client.

Here is something to consider

Most people don’t really care if you’re able to write world-class training programs, or if you’ve worked with a lot of professional athletes and celebrities, or if you put a premium on continuous training, or if you, I don’t know, can make a killer Creme Brulee.

It’s great if or when they have access to a trainer/coach who can they do all of the above and know their ass from their acetabulum.

But do you want to know, above all, what people REALLY want when they hire a personal trainer or coach?

Connection.

via GIPHY

No, it’s not that kind of connection you’re curious about.

The difference for most is the connection that is cultivated with their coach. Knowing the x’s and o’s of program design and improving scapular upward rotation are great skills. But you can find other ways, besides the geeky gym stuff, to tie a more meaningful connection with your customers?

Can you have a regular conversation with them?
Can you talk about things other than fitness? Books; Movie theater? Who will win Charity’s heart in its final season The Bachelorette?
Do you know the name of their pet or children, or He-Man’s spouse or favorite character?
You take the time to emphasize simple gestures—greeting them by name when they walk in the door, sending thank-you notes for amazing clients, sending a text to say “good job” after a hard workout—as a way to show them off. do you appreciate their support too?
You have the necessary skills to build autonomy (giving them more choice in their scheduling), competence (avoid making them feel inferior or like failures when they train), and relatedness (helping them feel like they’re part of a community)… All of these help boost exercise compliance and motivation
Do you play sick 90s hip hop when they work out?

There are thousands of other examples to consider here.

The thing is: Instead of thinking the worst out of the gate and assuming that the person standing in front of me or at the end of an email is lazy, the better approach will always to reframe things and figure out how I can differentiate myself from the masses.

How can I help them gain traction?

The answer rarely centers around my ability to write a training program that would be Mel Siff’s wet dream, or my ability to manage it with big words like mutual inhibition, gluconeogenesis, or vastus lateralis.

Rather.

Instead, it boils down to making a connection.

Sometimes I need a quick reminder of this.

Did what you just read make your day? Destroy it? Either way, you should share this with your friends and/or comment below.

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