TRAINERS!! HAVE NO ECONOMIC FEARS!! YOUR INDUSTRY IS STRONG!!

By Derek Monson

It seems no matter where you are, or what you are doing, the discussion of our country’s troubled economy is always a topic of choice. With nothing but negative news and a sinking DOW, it’s normal for professionals in the service industry, like personal trainers, to start thinking about their job security, and whether their industry will still grow despite the looming double dip recession. Well fear not! I have found in recent news there have been some headlines showing fitness trainers and aerobics instructors won’t be as greatly affected as we originally thought, even with our economic woes.

This past week, when I was reading the online edition of the Boston Globe, the “Top 30 Fastest Growing Jobs by 2018” were featured, with number 30 being snatched by fitness trainers and aerobics instructors. The projected growth for the industry is whopping 29% or nearly 75,000 jobs which comes from the aging baby boomers, a generation “concerned with staying healthy and physically fit,” according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another reason for the increase comes from the decrease in physical education programs and an increased concern over childhood obesity, which is expected to continue the growth for personal trainers and weight-training gyms for children. With all this growth trainers, over the coming years, can expect to experience a surge in clientele.

So with all this “expected” wave of booming business how can you make sure you aren’t swept away? Client management! As business begins to increase trainers will need a way to stay connected and on top of their clients’ activities. This I found to be an important component to the growth of a personal training business.

Most of my teenage years have been spent working out and training with trainers, and I never seemed to pay attention to the business aspect of it. Now working with a company that helps personal trainers, I was able to quickly notice the void in efficiency that has been in front of me for years. For years record keeping for my training was done in pencil and paper and placed in file cabinets as tall as me. Every time I came in for training I would waste time fishing for my record to track my workout for the day. Now how is that efficient?

Also during my first year of training, physical results, visually, in the first year of training were not drastic, I lacked the ability to see what I was actually gaining from my training. The only way to see my results visually would have been to create graphs of my progress, which would have taken hours. Once again, how is that efficient?

So with all the obvious inefficiencies of the personal training industry, it came quite naturally when I had to develop little advertising pitches for TrainingPal. And here are a few, let me know what you think!

Managing your clients’ information, both new and old, can help make your business more secure and organized. With efficient retrieval of records and contact information your time can be spent where it matters, training your clients! TrainingPal also offers you the ability to message your clients through our messaging system giving you the ability to constantly contact active users.

But what’s the rush? Why now sign up now? Well, stay ahead of the curve and up-to-date with the latest in fitness management! As the industry expands trainers should be able to accommodate the growth. With an online data system trainers won’t have to rush into storing their records but rather add as they go, causing their client list to grow, in a manageable way, alongside their industry.

Personal Trainers: You Need One- Here’s Why!

By Beth Bishop

Before I ever start working with a client, I perform an in-depth fitness evaluation. This allows me to get to know the client, assess their current fitness levels, establish their fitness goals, and design a program to fit their specific needs.

I remember my very first week on the job- I sat down to do an evaluation with a prospective client- let’s call him “Jim.” Jim suffered from what I call “Office Workers Syndrome”- frequent back pain, tight hips, slouchy shoulders- the usual. He wanted more than anything to drop 30 pounds and to fix his back pain. I had him perform several different flexibility, movement, balance, and muscular strength tests and wrote down the results on his assessment sheet. After the tests, we went back to my office and discussed his strengths and weaknesses and what I thought would be an appropriate course of action. Jim seemed satisfied, but for whatever reason didn’t want to commit to personal training. I would see him in the gym every now and then implementing his own version of my suggestions.

Six months later, he hadn’t gotten anywhere and decided to give me a call to start personal training. Within a few months, his back pain had disappeared completely, and he had dropped 40 pounds. His only regret, he told me, was not doing training sooner. Jim is just one example of someone who benefited from personal training. Here are my top 3 reasons why you need a personal trainer:

Even if you can only afford training for a little while, it’s worth it. Think of training as education for your body. The expertise you’ll gain from seeing a qualified trainer will help you stay healthy, motivated, and feeling great for a long time to come. You only get one body and live in it 24/7. Isn’t it time you started feeling great in it?

Just Because Your Clients Are on Vacation Doesn’t Mean You Need to Be Too

by Samantha Flanagan

Ah Summer- that great time of year full of sunshine, fresh air, carnivals, barbecues, and… vacation! According to a May USA Today/Gallup poll, a whopping 6 out of 10 Americans planned to travel this season; chances are, at least one of those six is one of your clients. And chances are, if your clients are traveling this summer, they’ll be stopping by for training sessions much less frequently than they had been before the beach house started calling their name.

So what can you do to prevent your business from going down as the temperature goes up? It’s simple- don’t stop training your clients.

As a person who cares about my health and wellbeing, simply keeping up with my routine when I’m away is just plain hard! Between outings with other people, packed itineraries, and less luxury to choose my own meals and schedule, I’ve found that, in order to sneak a run or a set of crunches into my day, I need to either wake up at the crack of dawn or sacrifice some other adventure. But I try- I really do! Just last week, I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend at a friend’s beach house on Cape Cod. I had to wake up at 7am (after going to bed around 1am), but I was still able to start the day with a 4 mile run around the harbor.

My point is that, just because they are on vacation does not mean that your clients are not in need of your services. It also does not mean that they do not want your services either. After all, they took the initiative to find you in the first place; most likely, they want to keep up their fitness momentum as much as you do. The issue, then, is not ‘how to get new clients for the summer,’ but ‘how to continue training your current clients, even when they can’t come in for their normal sessions.’

Simple. Offer to continue providing your services, even when he is away, via email, Facebook, Skype, etc. The Internet is practically overflowing with technology. Take advantage of it.

One of the greatest things about TrainingPal is that it allows your clients to access their accounts at anytime, from anywhere in the world- even that lake house in the mountains that they’ll home for the next two weeks. For them, that means that, even from the opposite corner of the world, they can continue to stay in shape and lead healthy, fit lives under the guidance of your expertise.

For you, TrainingPal’s anywhere-access means that you can continue to train your clients, regardless of where and when they may be traveling this summer. Using the TrainingPal workout builder, you can create and assign custom workouts to make sure your client keeps that bikini body she worked so hard for all winter. And with workout logs and instant notifications, you can monitor and chart her progress, so that you don’t need to skip a beat come September.

Whatever the chosen channel of keeping in touch, communication is key to keeping everyone on track. Let your clients know that you are available for them, no matter where they are. Whether or not they chose to take you up on the offer, they will definitely appreciate the gesture (and their respect for you will skyrocket). Remember, relationships are key; a trainer that goes out above and beyond my expectations is certainly a trainer that I want to stick with for the long run!

So just because the sun is out, there is no need to let your business melt away. Whether your clients are across town or across the world, keep doing what you do best, so that when your clients take a vacation this summer, you don’t have to too.

Have you training clients over a long distance before? What did you think?

Beth Bishop, Master Trainer

• Experience: 2+ years
• Location: West Hollywood, CA
• Specialities:
  General Fitness
  Weight Management
  Sport Training
  Pre-Natal Certified
  Kettlebells
  Runners, Swimmers, Triathlete
  Postpartum Training
• Website: bodsbybeth.com
• Twitter: Follow Beth!
• Facebook: LIKE BETH