Your Fitness Business

What type of personal trainer are you? Book smarts or street smarts.

By Barry Duncan, Co-Founder of Volo Innovations and Co-Owner of Momentum Fitness
November 2009

There are many things that can make a trainer great but two that are at opposite ends are an extensive knowledge of the human body -book smarts or a phenomenal personality and the ability to relate to people- street smarts, rarely does a trainer have both.

Book smarts you gain over time with education, street smarts cannot be taught and this is where a lot of highly educated trainers fail. You can teach someone the anatomy, physiology and exercises needed to be a trainer but you cannot teach personality and in personal fitness this characteristic is critical in order for your business to succeed.

Some trainers at our gym were trying to figure out what credentials Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser has. Her website lists nothing from a university or any certification based organization, just that she did some martial arts when she was 14 years old. Yet she is a very successful trainer and one that many would love to be.

So how did she get there? Simple. Her personality and the fact that her knowledge is enough that a novice or beginner exerciser will perceive her as an expert. She speaks in easy to understand terminology and she simplifies things by relating them to real life issues.

Most highly educated trainers are not able to simplify their instructions. Instead, they speak at such a high level that even other experienced fitness professionals are lost in a sea of lingo and terminology. For some academics this is an ego thing, but for others they just do not know how else to speak. For the people that just don't know how else to speak, there is hope; you can learn how to break it down. The first group is probably a lost cause because you can't compete with an ego, the ego always wins. Lose the ego then you can succeed.

So what do the book smart trainers need to do?

1. Develop a story: This will need to be a true story and it needs to show a vulnerability or obstacle. Basically a personal triumph where you had to overcome a common problem. For Jillian it was being a fat kid with no friends, a self described loser, but she found martial arts and an instructor with a no excuses attitude that she tries to emulate today. This is a fantastic story. It creates a sense of I know what you are going through and describes her training style as no nonsense so the client knows what to expect. I love this story.

2. Speak at a low level: The other day a friend did a nutrition seminar at our gym and he lost me when he started in on how the food breaks down into this chemical that then does this to prevent that from happening. Needless to say our clients were even more lost. So you may need to dumb it down for your clients. Instead of speaking quads and hamstrings, speak about the front and back of the leg. When asked how to build muscle, don't go into how muscle fibers, myosin and actin and how it all breaks down and rebuilds. Instead, talk about consistency, working to fatigue and patience.

3. Use analogies: You need to be able to relate to your client. You need to understand what they do for work and their interests. From this you can make comparisons. For a client who watches or does home renovations it could be, ‘becoming fit is like building a new home. It starts with a foundation and then we add the frame followed by the design we want'. Or for the gardener it can be, ‘your muscles draw on nutrients, much like the roots of plants draw out nutrients from soil. The richer, more fertile the soil, the bigger and healthier the plant'.

Keep these three simple easy tips close at hand. Remember to use them everyday. To recap:

• Talk to your clients as an equals not as children.
• Share your story.
• Simplify your answers to simple questions. Add to those answers an analogy or two and you will find a more receptive client.

For the client that fights you or questions your knowledge by all means pull out your knowledge and give them a smack down. Then go back to being the trainer that has both a great personality and the intellect because this combination will open more doors than just one.

Volo Innovations is a technology developer and vendor of online business management solutions via Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology, providing online scheduling, billing & business management software for clubs, studios and trainers. Founders Nikki Layton and Barry Duncan have translated their combined 20 years of experience in the health and fitness industry into software design that has an inherent respect for real world situations and practical usability. Volo Innovations is based in Vancouver, Canada. For more information about Volo Innovations, go to www.myvolo.com.