Fitness Trainers - Choose Your Entry Level Jobs Wisely

   Image is crucial for a Fitness Trainer!  Whether it is right or not, you are often judged by your professional demeanor. Curious and watchful eyes are sizing you up. How you present yourself in whatever fitness environment that you operate in is important. Your time spent working with a client or doing your own workout is also an opportunity for self-marketing.

   People notice if you are inattentive, lackadaisical, or impolite while plying your trade. 
Doing your own workout while dressed like a slob, reeking of body odor or dropping f-bombs, can reflect on your image. A successful Fitness Training colleague used to contract extra clients to me. He kept telling me to avoid parking my rusted bucket-of-bolts car at the very front of the fitness center. I initially thought that this was a petty thing to worry about. Now I realize how right he was. People may not perceive you as being successful if you drive around in a wreck. Fitness training can be an image focused business.

   There was a Fitness Trainer at a club where I used to work out. This club had a section for higher paying exclusive members.This exclusive section had extra amenities such a T.V. lounge, a steam room and free shaving cream, razors and skin lotions. This Fitness Trainer did not have a full slate of clients so he put in extra hours as an attendant in the exclusive member's section. He hoped that the extra personal contact with the higher tier members would boost his Fitness Training prospects.   He was industrious and put in an honest day of hard work. He tried to establish a rapport with these exclusive club members. The carry over effect was negligible. He was perceived as the towel boy or cleaner.
It did not enhance his image as a professional Fitness Trainer!
   There are professions in which you can work your way from the mail room to the upper echelons of the organization. Fitness Training may not be such a profession! Potential clients may not envision you as the person to lead them their new body if they see you doing other labor.
   If you have your own fitness studio and you do your own cleaning, do it during down time. Don't be cleaning toilets when the next client arrives.
   I am not an career snob. I have worked as a cleaner and as a weight room attendant. You do what you can to survive until you can establish a clientele. My advice is don't work these jobs at the same location  that you expect to ply your Fitness Training craft. You want to be perceived as an expert in Fitness Training, not a jack of all trades. People's impressions can be easily and unfairly swayed.

Honest work and I've done it too.
However it may not help your image as a Fitness Professional!

You want to be seen as a fitness
 professional. 
Always keep that in mind.

Until next time,...........keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong 










Links
schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com

Fitness Trainers - Don't Go Beyond Your Scope

   I used to work security in the oil sands of northern Alberta in Canada. Our security mandate was to;
ensure access control, deter trespassing, enforce camp rules, and observe and report violations.
   We were not police officers. We had neither the training nor the resources for actual law enforcement. We were to call the Royal Canadian Mounted Police if crimes or major felonies were committed at the camp. Major felonies did occur - including the occasional homicide !
  We had one security co-worker who thought we were cops. He was always wanting to make citizen's arrests or shake down the seedier-looking camp workers. Management finally had to remove him from the site before the security company got sued for false arrest or one of us security staffers got gang beaten by oilfield ruffians. The northern tar sands can be an unforgiving place!      
   Never go beyond your scope! This rule can apply to Fitness Trainers as well as wannabe camp cops.
A  Fitness Trainer can be many things. A Fitness Trainer can provide exercise guidance, inspiration, encouragement, and positive reinforcement. A Fitness Trainer should know the boundaries that they should work within. Straying out of bounds can lead to potential trouble. It's worth keeping in mind the following points:

• A Fitness Trainer can make healthy eating suggestions but they are not a  nutritionist. (Some Fitness Trainers may also be certified nutritionists so they have more leeway)  The worst case scenario: a Fitness Trainer suggested a supplement to a client. The client was allergic, almost died, and sued the fitness club and the Fitness Trainer. This actually happened.
• A Fitness Trainer should refer a client that they suspect of having an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa. This can turn into a major medical issue if not dealt with properly.
• A Fitness Trainer should refer a client that they suspect of steroid use. They should NOT supply such substances to a client!

• A Fitness Trainer can provide a physical service that elevates the mood but they are not not a mental health professional.  A good workout can blow away a mild case of funk but a severe depressive or anxious state may require medical intervention.
• A Fitness Trainer knows about muscular injuries but is not a physiotherapist. Some Fitness Trainers may be qualified to work with special populations such as injured people. (For example Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists - Certified Exercise Physiologists) However this should be done in collaboration with the physiotherapist or physician.
• A Fitness Trainer knows anatomy and physiology but is not a medical doctor. Exercise doesn't fix everything. If in doubt, refer the client to the proper medical professional.
• A Fitness Trainer can be a good listener but is not a marriage counsellor or a therapist. Moral support is allowed but be careful beyond that. Reality shows where celebrity trainers psychoanalyze their clients to the point of tears may make for dramatic viewing but can be treading on risky turf!  Bullying a 'Biggest Loser' contestant to break them down to admit to some childhood trauma should not be held up as a standard tactic! You try making your clients cry in a crowded weight room and see what that does to your marketing ability.

• A Fitness Trainer  CAN be a good conversationalist. However they should keep the advice to topics related to fitness or friendly banter about sports, cars, and the weather.

"Now Mr. Soprano, tell me more about those childhood dreams."
A Fitness Trainer is certified to consult on fitness and prescribe and monitor prescriptive exercise programs.
A Fitness Trainer is not licensed to psychoanalyze patients as is a Doctor of Psychiatry or Psychology.

Stay within your scope of practice. Don't jump into unknown water or water that you only think you know.!
If your determine that your client may have issues that could be problematic -
refer that person to the proper professional!

Until next time,......keep fit!  

Little Bobby Strong!

Links

schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

AudienceBuilder.ca

www.fitnwell.com

Invasion of the Mall Walkers

   I spotted the first one at the crack of dawn. At first, I thought it was only a stray.  The second one appeared moving with the same vigorous and forceful gait. Then I spotted a third followed by a paired couple. These were no strays! They were everywhere! The mall was filling with walkers.They were all over the shopping mall.  Some of them carried walking poles. Many were dressed in golf attire and shod in running or walking shoes. This was an invasion!
   I was on my way to an early morning fitness seminar at an adjacent hotel. I was taking a shortcut through the shopping center just after the doors opened. That's when I saw them - the mall walkers. 
This is becoming a growing trend - seniors getting exercise by walking the shopping malls before the stores open in the morning. Some of them will then reward themselves at the food court with coffee from the kiosk beanery.  I see this as a positive thing.Seniors are getting active with exercise and getting out of the home for awhile. This is active living unfolding before our eyes.
   Walking is a super exercise for most people. The benefits are numerous.

• Walking invigorates the cardiovascular system.
• It stimulates the often neglected musculature of the lower body.
• It can be safer than some of the more intense forms of exercise such as running. There is less stress on some of the more vulnerable joints such as knees, hips, and ankles. 
• It can be good physical therapy. I used to find that a brief walk can ease a lower backache. Yes, fitness trainers can get sore backs too.
• Walking can help the brain release endorphins and elevate the mood.

   My bias has always been that  cardiovascular exercises such such as walking, running, and biking be done out in the fresh air. Many feel more comfortable indoors. For many seniors, practicality trumps my personal preferences.There are many reasons why walking malls may be the way to go for this demographic.

• Outdoor weather includes rain, snow, slippery ice, and hot and cold temperature extremes.
• Falls are the number one cause of injury to seniors.
• The indoor environment is mostly constant.
• The fresh air of the great outdoors isn't always that fresh with car exhaust and other pollutants.
• The is liitle to no danger from dogs in the mall.
• There is the potential danger from automobile traffic outside. I suppose in the mall seniors still have to beware of electric carts and runaway Segways.
• There may be greater risk of being victimized by crime out in the streets or urban parks. Malls  have security staff and video surveillance which lessens the chance of being mugged or swarmed. While mall food courts can be hangouts for groups of wayward youth, they are rarely around in the early morning hours that seniors prefer.
• Walking outdoors is often a solitary activity. Mall walking often has a unique social component.  The walkers often socialize and even have a coffee in the mall after their walk. It beats staying isolated at home.

      Okay, it`s settled then. Mall walking is a great activity for seniors! However, walking by itself may not lead to overall fitness Walking does not address issues of upper body strength, postural imbalances, or flexibility. Seniors would benefit from weight training and core conditioning.

   This aging demographic is a potential windfall for Fitness Trainers. Seniors who have taken up mall walking are already into the action phase of fitness .How can you, the Fitness Trainer, get them to take that extra step towards total fitness?

I spotted the first walker. A stray.
I knew there would be more! An invasion was coming!
Note the suburban mall fitness center.

   Is it a coincidence that many fitness centers are located in shopping malls?  If you work in such a fitness center, perhaps your greatest potential  client base is there in the mall. If you have your own training business maybe it might be an idea to try and mine that vein. Research the shopping center`s policy on advertising your services with poster or see if you can set up a booth. Focus on marketing to the mall walkers. The future is out there.
Follow the walkers!

Until next time,............keep fit!     

Little Bobby Strong!

Links

schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

AudienceBuilder.ca

www.fitnwell.com

The Little Bobby Strong Audio Interview - Revised

Faithful readers,....there was a minor glitch in the link to my audio podcast interview.
Sometimes the link would go to a warning site. This may have scared readers away.

No one needs to live with the fear of being lured to a site showing me
singing a Miley Cyrus song and twerking on You Tube.  Gadzooks!!!!!!

I have finally resolved the issue with the warning site.

Sorry for the delay.
I'm a cardio geek -not a techno geek!

Here is the new link......

AudienceBuilder.ca


Until next time,.....keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong

Links

schwabe.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
AudienceBuilder.ca
www.fitnwell.com

The Little Bobby Strong Interview

  A day of reckoning for internet blogging has arrived!
I was recently interviewed by Dan Carle, a digital media consultant with Dan the Audience Builder. I usually hate listening to recordings of my voice. I think I sound like a blathering, babbling buffoon. However thanks to the editing genius of Mr. Carle, I actually sound lucid.
   Dan Carle, and I go back twenty years, to a wrestling bus trip from Edmonton, Canada to Phoenix, U.S.A. A well behaved group of University of Alberta wrestlers stopped in Calgary to pick up an unruly but combative crew of University of Calgary wrestlers. The Calgarians brought their spiritual leader, a world class wrestler known as the Mad Dog. The bus then departed for for a series of wrestling tournaments with some southwest U.S.A college teams. I met Dan Carle, a University of Alberta Sports Information Director. The trip was a milestone of sports and fitness history!
   To hear the interview requires only 3 clicks of the mouse.
1. Click on the link below
2. See right column reading Recent Posts and click first item - so you want to be a fitness trainer (If you happen to go to a warning site just click on 'proceed anyways'. The site is safe. You will NOT wind up at a site showing me prancing about in leather.) I will try and work out this glitch. 
3. Scroll to bottom and click on the audio...only 13 minutes long
Don't worry about computer viruses. I just had my flu shot!

AudienceBuilder.ca              

Wallow in the verbal eloquence...or...cover you ears and shout at the top of your lungs
"Madness! Bloody Madness!"

Until Next Time,...Keep Fit
Little bobby strong

schwabe.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
www.fitnwell.com
AudienceBuilder.ca

Incorporate your Fitness Training Business

   Many Fitness Trainers come to the eventual conclusion that accumulating a clientele and running your own show is their preferred business plan.
My last two posts suggested three options for running your own Fitness Training enterprise.

1. Be a sole Proprietor
2. Form a business partnership with other fitness colleagues
3. Incorporate

   Option 3 is the one to seriously consider if your client base is showing potential for significant growth and you want to call the shots without a partner. Incorporation demonstrates that you are serious about building your Fitness Training empire. 
   A corporation is a separate legal entity that has been registered with a legislative body. The word is derived from the Latin word Corpus which can mean a body or a body of people. (Wikipedia)
   Becoming a corporation means that the business is distinct from the owner. This affords a certain amount of legal protection. Trust me - as your business grows this is an extremely important factor.
    There may be some inconveniences in becoming incorporated:

• There is a fee to register as a corporation. 
• You will need to obtain the services of a lawyer.
• You will need a professional accountant.
• You are no longer a stripped down operation. You must now deal with government regulating agencies at the municipal, provincial (or state) and federal levels.
• You must now pay personal taxes plus business taxes if there is money left in your business account at the end of the year.
• You have to draw a salary from the business earnings. You no longer have free access to the finances. 
• Even if you are still a one person operation, once incorporated you are theoretically responsible to shareholders and a board of directors. In this case, YOU will be the shareholder and the board of directors. Think extra paperwork!

   Becoming a corporation means that you sacrifice a certain amount of flexibility. However if the Fitness Training business that you operate is building financial momentum it may be the sensible way to proceed. Here are the positives:

• Personal assets are PROTECTED from financial liability of creditors.
• Personal assets are PROTECTED from legal liability in the case of injured clients (see Picture).
• Your business can now add the professional title of 'incorporated' to the name. Clients deal with a business instead of an individual. This enhances your status in the fitness world. 
• Potential clients may consider the business to be a viable enterprise rather than some 'fly by night' operation.
• In Canada employers of a corporation pay into the Canada Pension Plan. Stateside it may be Social Security or an individual pension fund. YOU NEED AN ACCOUNTANT! Paying into a pension plan is a future bonus for when you retire to that senior's boot camp in Belize.

A fraudulently injured ex- client
plus - a strip mall, ambulance-chasing lawyer
equals -  Potential Legal and Financial Trouble !
If you are incorporated they can only go after your business assets.
Your personal assets are legally protected.

There is also an issue of whether to become a publicly or privately held corporation. Fitness Trainer businesses are usually small enterprises and will qualify as a private corporation.

It can be confusing - that's why you need a business lawyer!

To sum it up, incorporation is a sensible option for Fitness Trainer's who intend to run their own business on a full time basis. Legal protection is important!  However there can be a trade off with the laissez - faire nature of     how a sole proprietor can operate.
You will have to decide on what works best for you.

Until next time,.......keep fit

Little Bobby Strong

Links

schwabe.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

www.fitnwell.com

AudienceBuilder.ca

References

1. The Business of Personal Training Scott O. Roberts
Human Kinetics Publishers Inc. 1996
2. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business - Third Edition
Edward Paulson    Alpha Books  MacMillan USA Inc. 2000
(I guess I'm not an idiot because the book confused me...Little Bobby strong))
3. Greg Harvey Proprietor of Fit'N'Well Personal Training Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.fitnwell.com       greg@fitnwell.com