By PPT Trainer and Director, Sean O’Shea
You wouldn’t just walk into a car dealership and buy the first one you see.
Or perhaps you just might.
In the above situation, most people would do a little investigating. Think about the colour options; compare costs to other dealerships, and more than likely ask a question or two.
They’d investigate their options through a well thought out process, and decide ‘Is this the best way to spend my hard earned money’?
One of the things that has always amazed me as a PT, is the amount of people that are willing to invest in a trainer, with little to no investigation. Perhaps it’s just the cheap-skate in me, but I really think it has more to do with the emotional nature of what we do. People come to us, spill the beans on their deepest, darkest training goals, then on an impulse, sign up and away they go.
Obviously we’re not always talking about a financial investment as costly as a car, (although we could argue this in some cases, if you were to factor in the length of time spent with a trainer), but we are talking about investing your dollars AND (more importantly in my opinion) your TIME and EFFORT.
Now this may sound incredibly strange coming from a Personal Trainer and Facility owner, but I’m certainly not trying to talk people out of working with a trainer. More asking you, are you working with the trainer that is right for you? I think working with a trainer or coach is something everyone should consider if you’re serious about achieving your training goals. All of our PPT trainers have at one time or another used a PT or coach themselves, a quality that I believe contributes to the success with our own clients.
Some of the best advice I’ve received was ‘you can’t be everything to everybody’. This is something that we, as a business pride ourselves on. If you’re someone interested in training at PPT, one of the first steps is to meet with someone on our management team. During this meeting, the aim is not to sell PT agreements! We sit down with the potential client and find out what it is they want from training, what they need from a trainer, injury history, and most importantly what they EXPECT from us. There has been many an occasion when we’ve referred the client onto another business, simply because we were not the best fit for that person. For example; if you come to PPT with the goal of becoming an amazing Crossfit competitor, we’ll refer you on. There are a TON of Crossfit gyms around, and many people better suited to this than us. Although, if you come to us with the goal of dropping some fat, building some lean muscle, or improving sports performance, you’re talking to the right people!
Through this process, we’re able to qualify clients that suit our skill set, and in turn improve client results! Just as its important for a client to know that our business is right for them, it’s important for our business to know a client is right for us!
We enter each agreement with our clients with the mind set that it is a business agreement, and each client expects a return on that investment!
With more trainers working in our industry now than ever, you have SO MANY to choose from. When you make the decision to work with a trainer, think of it as hiring staff for your own business. Interview them, look around, and make an informed decision based on what you need.
Here’s what I’d be looking for:
- Check their track record – have they worked with people, and achieved the results you’re hoping to achieve yourself?
- Do they up-skill? – Check their website or ask the question. It may just be my opinion, but trainers MUST continually educate and stay up to date. If a trainer’s last course or conference was the completion of their Certificate IV in Fitness 5 years ago, walk away. If they aren’t interested in self-improvement, I’d find it hard to believe they were interested in helping you improve yourself.
- The facility is equipped for your training needs?– If you’re after sporting performance, but the facility is equipped with TRX’s and Bosu balls, you could be in trouble.
- Ability to communicate – Having the knowledge to put together an amazing program is one thing, but if you need a translator to understand it, it’s not going to do you any good.
- Does the visual match the audio – if they say they’re experts in growing muscle, but look like a bean-pole, you may be talking to the wrong trainer.
In closing, hiring a trainer is an investment I’d recommend for anyone in some capacity, just make sure it’s the right one for you!
If you’re interested in working with a trainer or coach, get in touch here and book in for a free 30min consultation to see if PPT is right for you.