I remember sitting in a conference room at a business seminar when I was 26. The room was filled with a variety of service-based professionals ranging from hairdressers, trade workers, retailers, and other Personal Trainers, such as myself.
The presenter’s name was Neil, a Fitness Manager of a boutique gym in northern New Jersey. During his presentation, Neil asked the room “Do you pay for your own service?” meaning, hairdressers, do you pay for your style? Carpenters, are you hiring out your own work? And last, Personal Trainers, who is writing your program?
That question hit me like a load of bricks.
Embarrassed, I raised my hand to show that I was one who didn’t.
Neil went on to explain that outside of the obvious, supporting your profession, giving back to your peers, there are some key factors that go along with hiring someone to fill that role for you.
‘That role’ in this case being who is writing the training program, just in case you fell behind.
1. It allows you to be the consumer.
Do you know what the buying process looks like in the fitness field? If you’re a Personal Trainer, chances are you’ve never had to buy a gym membership, never had to pay (much) for equipment, and you’ve never gone through a fitness consultation or introductory session. By hiring a Personal Trainer, you flip the script. You get to see what it’s like to be on the other side of the consultation packet. On a professional level, you get to see how someone else does it. All of which is incredibly valuable for your own development.
2. You create empathy for your clients.
Ever had a client rag on you for something you put in their program? Now you get to join in the comradire and take a shot at your own Coach!
“Man, I hate when my Coach puts in the prowler too…”
In all seriousness, becoming a client helps you understand what your own clients go through. The challenges of time management, the struggles of adhering to the program, and how to navigate it while working with your Coach. This might be the most beneficial piece of hiring out that program.
3. It saves time.
Have you ever started warming up for a training session only to say to yourself “huh, I wonder what I am going to do today?”
Turns out, when you hire someone to write your program, you don’t have that problem. You always know and you always know what to expect.
4. Sneaky good continuing education.
Since I’ve started with my Personal Trainer/ Coach, I’ve learned about reps in reserve (RIR), rest:pause rep schemes, off-setting supersets, and a few other programming strategies that I have directly brought into my own client’s programs. I’ve had in-depth conversations about hypertrophy and other metabolic demands. I have also been able to ask about the ‘why’ behind the exercise selection of my own program.
Hiring a Trainer is much more than a transaction for a program. If you’re hiring a great trainer, you’re going to get access to their brain as well. Since you have an awesome base of education for the field, you know what questions to ask plus you are probably pretty interested with what’s in the program.
You might not get ‘CEUs’ towards your training certification, but you’re going to get a 1-on-1 tutor who can walk you through some new concepts that you haven’t had too much exposure to.
Think Outside the Box
Without Neil, I never would have pushed my comfort level and more importantly, I never would have met my trainer! Hiring out my program has been one of the best professional moves I have made to date. As we turn the calendar into 2023, it’s a great time to think about what we want to accomplish in the new year and who is going to be coming along for the ride with us. I would ask you the same question Neil asked me 8 years ago…
Do you pay for the service you provide?
If you’re looking for a Coach to fill that void, myself and Bill Parisi have a training program called Train to Win.It’s a 5-day speed and strength training program for athletically-inclined individuals, I think you’d really enjoy it. Currently we are offering a 7-day free trial, if you want to check it out and learn about a couple other Coaches programming insights, then click here to get started!
Writing the Perfect Athlete Program