Proper Screening for Fitness Training Clients

  A Fitness Trainer should not knowingly expose a client to any health problems!

   No Fitness Trainer wants to turn away prospective clients. Just getting them to the table can be challenging enough. Signing them up seems to be a priority. However we also have to cover our butt from a legal perspective. Always think safety first! There are certain circumstances in which it is best to refer new clients to the proper professional before working with them. Here are some red flags to be wary of:

• Consistently high blood pressure readings of over 145mm Hg systolic or 95 mm Hg diastolic 
• Consistently high resting heart rate of over 100 beats per minute
• If client is on high blood pressure medication
• If client is on heart medication
• If client is diabetic or hypoglycemic
• If you suspect client has an eating disorder or abnormal body image issues
• Severe orthopedic issues such as joint or bone issues 
• Suspicion or knowledge of anabolic steroid use
• If client answers 'yes' to any of the questions on the Par-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) medical screening form

   If a prospective client shows any of the above red flags refer them to the proper professional. The purpose of such screening is not to turn away business. The purpose is to ensure safety first and avoid any liability issues. The physician that you refer your client to may send them back to you with some guidelines for training. Then you have knowledge about the client on your side. You will be better able to come up with the proper exercise prescription. Keep in mind that if the prospective client falls into the category of a 'special population' you may not be insured to work with them without an advanced level of Fitness Training certification.
   This is not something to fool around with. A Fitness Trainer should never go beyond their scope. They should be ready do what is best for the client within their capabilities.

I know Fitness Trainers that have had clients drop on them with a medical emergency
due to a missed physical condition. It is bad for business!
Try to limit the chances of it happening to your client!

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

Little Bobby Strong!

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What the Heck! Olympics Drops Wrestling!

   What were they thinking?  Have they gone stark raving mad? The International Olympic Committee has just announced that they are dropping the sport of amateur wrestling from the 2020 Olympic Games.
We are talking about one of the oldest sports in history. Running, jumping, throwing, and wrestling formed the backbone of the ancient Greek Olympics. How much more natural can you get than that?
   Unlike other sports such as track and field, weightlifting and bicycling, wrestling has remained mostly free from doping scandals. There are rarely any judging or refereeing boondoggles as there are in figure skating, synchronized swimming, or soccer. Wrestling is the national sport in countries such as Turkey, Iran, much of Asia, the Balkans, and many former Soviet block countries. Wrestling is a top sport in Europe. Iran and the U.S.A. are distrustful military foes yet visiting American wrestlers to Iran are adulated like rock stars. Amateur wrestling transcends politics!
   In North America people think of the circus-like, staged showmanship of professional wrestling when they hear the word wrestling. Amateur wrestling is under appreciated in North America but Canadian and American wrestlers have enjoyed much success on the world stage.
   The world wrestling body has even brought women's amateur wrestling into the fold. They have been good citizens of the international sporting world. Yet how has wrestling been rewarded for all of it's modernistic, forward thinking action? It has been dropped from the roster for more so-called 'T.V. friendly sports' such as skateboarding and golf. The excitement of wrestling has been unfairly underrated.
Gadzooks! Where is the justice in all of this?
   At one time amateur wrestling was a staple high school sport. It was inexpensive and people of all body types and sizes could participate. It also gave kids something to do besides watch the tube or play video games. Lately the sport has been struggling to keep up numbers at the grass roots level. Losing Olympic status could be a nail in the coffin of this sport in North America. The Olympics was one of the rare times that amateur wrestling would get any significant exposure. Now the exposure will be be almost non-existent. My fear is that the sport could go into a decline from which it might not recover.
   Why am I so concerned? This sport was an important part of my past. Wrestling enabled a shy, scrawny, undersized teenager to gain some measure of self esteem and confidence. Throw in a simultaneous discovery of the joy of the weight room and I stumbled upon the ways to back the bullies off.
 ( I was also a distance runner but that didn't have the same deterrent effect. If you want to clean out a biker bar, who are you going to bring with you -a Kenyan marathoner or a Bulgarian heavyweight champ?)  During my teenage years, telling on goons just got you bullied worse. You either ran away or you built up your physical and psychological armor. I did both in my days. However wrestling and weights helped with the preferred latter method. (My advice to a bullied teenager today would be to out the bully to an authority figure but also consider getting involved in an activity that helps build confidence.)  It should be noted that wrestlers are never bullies!

   Wrestling also gave me a competitive purpose that you didn't get from going home after school to watch T.V. Now it seems possible that a whole new generation may grow up without exposure to this character building activity. They will instead be inundated with trendier activities that lack the noble historic roots.
They may even just opt out and play computer games all day.

 My Fitness Training career also has some wrestling ties. I was a fitness adviser to a nationally ranked wrestler who has won a medal at the Canadian championships. It is a sport where strength and conditioning can be crucial.
   Of course, there was also my planned wrestling comeback for the 2020 Olympics! I figured that if the the favorites  were preoccupied with laying hip tosses on each other, Little Bobby Strong could sneak in though the back door to glory and fame. The ultimate long shot could make the ultimate score!
(Since when have I let a lack of talent and technique stand in the way of my dreams.) Sadly, thanks to the
corporate takeover of the Olympic movement by the forces of the ostentatious entertainment industry, it will remain as just that -a dream!
 
Life will go on.  I'll always have Fitness Training!

Until next time,...keep fit!

An Olympic decision to drop wrestling from the program.
A comeback dream shattered!
(Picture compliments of my apartment complex security cameras)

Little Bobby Strong

           

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Fitness Training and Mentoring

   Visualize that dream scenario. You are the eager, enthusiastic, rookie Fitness Trainer. You meet your Guru - the experienced, successful, veteran Fitness Trainer. The Guru takes you under their wing and willingly dispenses, wisdom, advice, tricks of the trade and constructive criticism. You learn to ply your trade at the feet of a Master. The Guru may answer your questions with further thought provoking questions just as Plato made his understudy Aristotle think his way to the truth. Your success gives the Guru a vicarious sense of fulfillment! Such a person is also known as a mentor!
   A mentor is a teacher or a guide. A mentor helps an understudy learn about a particular field of study or a certain craft. Mentors can be a rare bonus in the fitness profession.  To actually find an experienced living source of information can be a life-changing event. Finding a real mentor is like striking a gold mine mother lode. That is something to be treasured.
   Now visualize my true real life scenario as a raw rookie Fitness Trainer at a now defunct fitness chain some years ago. I was hired immediately after applying and told I would be given all of the support needed to succeed. (As I have stressed many times before and will continue to emphasize, be cautious about such claims.) I was given a desk next to an established, veteran Fitness Trainer. The manager that hired me promised that this trainer would answer any questions that I had and provide any necessary guidance.
This sounded like a winning proposition for me. I could learn from a successful mentor by osmosis.
   Is this what happened? No way! This veteran Fitness Trainer would barely give me the time of day.The only time she communicated with me was a sarcastic daily greeting along the lines of
"Good morning Bleep Head!" (Replace bleep with a word that rhymes with mitt and you get the picture.)
At first I just shrugged off the disrespectfully crude greeting. One morning after not yet having had my morning coffee, I responded to her insult with some street kid vernacular of my own. (No, I won't tell you what it rhymes with.) After that our interaction reverted back to cold silence. So much for having a mentor!
   Obviously, she regarded me as a threat!  According to her belief I was out to steal her clients! There was only so much pie to go around. In the sometimes stormy seas of the fitness industry, there was only room in the lifeboat for one person!  They wanted her to be a mentor - fuggeddaboudit!
   Can you really blame people for this type of defensive thinking? Twenty years ago, Fitness Training
was in it's embryonic stages.  No one knew how large the market would be. Today, the Fitness Training market is still a mysterious entity. Those who got into the profession early understandably wanted to hold on to any advantage. This is known in the business world as keeping your proprietary knowledge.
Why do all that groundwork only to give up your trade secrets to the next person that comes along
to pick your brain?
  
 So you want to be a Fitness Trainer! You're just starting out. Who do you go to for advice?

1. Other Fitness Trainers: As I've said, they can be defensive and maybe for a good reason. I did have a fellow college Fitness Training student with remarkable marketing/sales skills. He became successful enough that he could contract me out to train the clients that he couldn't fit into his schedule. I learned more about the business from  him than anywhere else. He now provides practicum experience to the student trainers from our former college. Fitness Training mentors do exist!
2. Seminars: I have attended seminars and gained a wealth of information and received e-mail connections that dispense news and updates.Seminars can also be a great source for networking contacts. Seminar speakers are are expected to be authorities in the fitness field and could be mentor material if available. I have also attended seminars where the speaker will  skim the surface but not divulge any real helpful tips. If you try to pry any real pertinent information out of them they can become very evasive.  
3. Internet Gurus: The internet can be a source of valuable info or a load of horse droppings. For a while I was getting e-mail spammed by a  professed 'former drug dealer and  prison convict turned Fitness Training Guru.' He would apply the marketing principles of dealing dope to the tough business of Fitness Training. He was actually an interesting read. Every one of his e-mails  involved a sales pitch for pricey products. Of course if you didn't purchase that day, the price would double. I'm always suspicious about such products that inflate in value if you don't buy them right away.  There are many charlatans willing to help you - for a price!                                            Investigate thoroughly before you pay! Mentors shouldn't gouge you!                           
4. Teachers and Instructors: The people that teach your courses that get you accredited are mentor material. However, they must spread their time throughout the whole class. Once your learning time in the course is over, the contact may often cease. They must move on to the next group of trainees. In many instances, your instructors are teachers and never actually hustled for a living as a Fitness Trainer.
5. Other Professions: Realtors, business people, retail workers, and even bureaucrats can offer great insight into how the game of life is  played.  Should the knowledgeable people from other professions also become your clients - all the better. Some of my clients were the best mentors.    I was also fortunate to have a roommate who was an accountant and had a sound business mind.                  Don't get trapped into thinking that the only advice  that matters is that of of other fitness professionals!                            
6. Become your own mentor: Make yourself an expert. Research everything you can about your craft. Educate yourself with the theoretical and practical knowledge. Don't necessarily rely on others for guidance. Become the guide! Be the mentor! Be the Guru!

   Once you do become the expert. the choice becomes yours. Do you willingly dispense advice to any inquisitive newcomers or do you protect your trade secrets and let them learn the hard way?
 You may even want to monetize your expertise and become a mentor for hire to other Fitness Trainers.
   There is no right and wrong answer. Much will depend upon the circumstances and the personalities involved. Whatever the game plan, please DO NOT call a raw rookie a 'bleep head'!
Show some honor.

Until next time,....keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong                                           
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Fitness Training mentors can be difficult to find! 
Protecting trade secrets is often a priority!

 

   
   

Am I Missing Something? Fitness Training and Sales

   Some Fitness Trainers dislike attending fitness conferences. They feel that they are an unnecessary evil - a distraction from the actual job at hand. Not me! I love them!  I would rather attend one of these functions than go to the movies. Fitness is my passion! The more new knowledge that I can absorb, the better! 
   I am like a back alley junkie in an Afghan poppy field at such events. I sit in on as many seminars as I can. I browse through the exhibition booths like a hopeful bride in a jewelry store. I hobnob with my fitness contemporaries. I come away feeling revitalized, enthused, and full of positive energy.
   The last one I attended was by far the best ever. I came home pumped up like Hans and Franz on a protein shake buzz. Then a strange thing happened. I was beset by this eerie empty feeling as though there was something lacking. Had I left something behind? Had I forgot to show up for one of the important seminars? I was sure I hadn't. Yet I still had this lingering feeling of being incomplete. What was causing this?

   Then I had that moment of mental clarity. There WAS a missing piece of the puzzle!
It was a vital skill known as SALESMANSHIP! 


   Can you picture a real estate conference without a seminar focusing on sales? How about a convention of car dealers? What do they key in on at insurance company gatherings? You can bet that a discussion about sales skills takes a center stage! My last fitness conference, as inspiring as it was, had nothing focusing on this crucial topic.
   The product sells itself! You've probably heard that one too. Unless you have a monopoly on something that is essential to existence, you better have a great marketing plan. Nothing sells itself! Even with expert marketing, someone has to close the sale! No sale equals no client! 
   There is an old saying that sales people are born, not made! It is a skill that I was certainly not born with. My Mom was perennially the top Tupperware salesperson in eastern Canada during her working years.
Throw my Mom into a packed weight room with me and let's have a contest to see who signs the most people for Fitness Training sessions. Guess what! Even without a Fitness Training background she'd kick my butt around the block! It would be like throwing a beer hound couch potato into an Ultimate Fighting ring with George St. Pierre. Obviously, I inherited the family trait of male pattern baldness but the genetic salesmanship gift passed me by. Sales skills trumps knowledge of the product any time! Ideally, it would be good to have both.
   I'm certain that I'm not the only trainer with the sales skills of a mere mortal. For those of us lacking this genetic gift of extricating money from a reluctant prospect the key is to work at it. There are many components to improvement in this art:

•  Read some books on salesmanship.
• Attend courses and seminars on sales technique. As much as I love fitness conferences, they seem to have taken this art for granted. You will likely have to find these courses elsewhere.
• Seek the advice of people who earn their living by sales. They are also often great sources for  client referrals. Other Fitness Trainers can be role models but as I have said before, many are protective of their 'trade secrets'.
• Practice the art. Record yourself performing a sales script and keep doing it until it feels natural rather than forced.
• Write out sales scenarios and practice them. Sure, it can be a drag but you have to work on your weaknesses.
• Work on being persuasive rather than pushy.
• Make the research of sales and marketing technique an ongoing goal. Make use of libraries and the internet for sources of knowledge. 
• Encourage your existing clients to give you a positive referral to their family, friends and acquaintances.  Let them make the preliminary sale for you!

If you work on your own, you have time to improve these skills. If you work for a Fitness Center, they may assist you in signing clients or do the recruiting for you. However there are also clubs that want you to be ready to go and they have no patience for a learning curve. These clubs churn out trainers like cannon fodder at a rapid rate.
   Keep this in mind! You are not selling a house or a car. The investment for the prospective client is not an amount that will put them into major debt for years. They will not need financing from a lender for Fitness Training. Remind them of this! It is a small expenditure for potential life changing services!
   Remember, your current clients are also on contracts with an end date. Provide excellent service so that there is little need for a sales pitch to resign them.

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

"Come down and see Flash Cadillac!  Have I got the ride for you!"
No one expects a Fitness Trainer to have the polished sales technique of a used car dealer.
Nevertheless, many trainers would be well served to improve their salesmanship skills.

Little Bobby Strong

















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Insurance for Fitness Trainers

Do not fitness train without insurance coverage!

   I live close to downtown. I just bought a new mountain bike. I believe in the basic goodness and honesty of mankind. That being said, do I leave my mountain bike outside without attaching a good lock to it?
Does Hillary trust Bill at the Palace of Erotic Dance?
Does Maria trust Arnie to drive the maid home? 
Does Elin trust Tiger with the cocktail waitress from the local bar? 
It's a short ride from the post where I lean my unlocked bike to the nearest pawnshop.
Goodbye mountain bike!
    Even if you believe that mankind is fair and decent you can still get your butt sued!
 If you Fitness Train then you need liability coverage. Otherwise you are hovering like a fly waiting for the windshield on the freeway. You just may get squashed.

   There is a step-by-step process that Personal Trainer's should follow to protect themselves from legal repercussions. The steps are:

1. Verbal Consultations: Get familiar with the client. Determine goals and objectives. Ask the client about any health concerns.
2. Medical Forms: (In Canada the form is the Par-Q- Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) This screens the client for possible health concerns. If the client answers 'Yes" to any Par - Q questions, they must be referred to a medical doctor before they can be prescribed any exercise program or perform any active portion of a fitness evaluation..
3. Waiver Form: This is to absolve you of any blame in case of injury or ill health of the client.
4. Fitness Evaluation: Take client's resting heart rate and blood pressure. Determine baseline fitness levels. Abnormally high heart rate or blood pressure can further screen the client. Severe under- performance in the baseline fitness level tests should also raise a red flag.

Even these steps may not be sufficient for total protection. The unexpected things in life can still get loose and wreck havoc:

• The client may hold back information in the verbal consultation.
• The waiver form does not protect the trainer in the instance of negligence.
• The client may have a hidden health issue that evades being noted in the medical form.
• In rare occurrences the active portion of the fitness evaluation can set off a medical emergency such as a heart attack.
•  A Fitness Trainer can guide the clients through a work out using proper technique with safety as a priority. You can minimize risk as best as you can but accidents can still happen!

   Many of the major Fitness Training certifications come with insurance coverage. The National Strength and Conditioning Association certificate even has an insurance policy that has coverage for sexual abuse and molestation. Hopefully none of you are planning to use your power in this way  but also keep in mind that

people can make false accusations! In such a case you are often considered guilty no matter what!

If you work for a fitness center then you may still be required to supply your own coverage. If you are considered to be an employee the fitness center may have you covered under their policy.
Read the insurance policy thoroughly! You may only be insured while you are on the premises. For example if you take the client outside for a run and an injury occurs you may be liable.

Be aware that if you go beyond your scope of practice your liability protection may be null and void!  For example, a Fitness Trainer without specialty training may not be insured to work with special populations.

For those trainers with their own business, further protection comes with incorporating your business.
Once incorporated only the business can be sued, not the personal assets of the Fitness Trainer.
(I'll discuss this more in further blogs.)

A distracted trainer plus a client misstep can spell trouble. A waiver may not
protect for negligence. Liability insurance is a must!

Always be insured!
Don't get sued!
Lock your mountain bike! 

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

Little Bobby Strong

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Referral Madness - Marketing Fitness Training

   You can market your fitness skills in many ways. The internet opens up many new and exciting possibilities. There are still the old standard methods such as T.V. commercials, radio ads, the yellow pages, the classifieds, and community papers. There is another tool that sometimes gets overlooked but it is one of the most effective methods of marketing. I am referring to a good old reliable one- the client referral!
   A referral is when someone speaks about you, or RECOMMENDS  you, to another person.    If you provide quality service, clients will mention this to family, friends or co-workers. This type of referral comes with a ready-made character reference. The client has likely pumped up your skills, your fitness knowledge, your personality,, and your motivational abilities. Any of these acquaintances that approach you about your services will be more eager to sign up.
   Charlie,a super client of mine, was a master at sending referrals my way. He was in the real estate business. Charlie rubbed shoulders with many people. He always kept open ears and eyes for opportunities that might benefit me. Situations like this have the potential to snowball as successful referrals and can lead to more referrals.
   The majority of my clients came by this word-of-mouth method. One of my clients even referred his ex-wife to me for a fitness consultation. (He did stipulate that he would prefer that I not train her at any close proximity to his work-out schedule.)
   Some of the more proactive Fitness Trainers will request leads from their clients. Many are successful at this. However, you do not want your clients to feel like you are squeezing them. You also don't want to leave the impression that you are pestering your client's friends and relatives. Subtlety is probably a good trait to work on improving. However, some of you can pull off the aggressive sales routine smoothly. Good for you if you can!
   Many fitness centers will insist that the Fitness trainers working there actively seek and follow-up on referral leads generated by existing customers. That is an accepted practice. The potential downside is that you can wind up in a pressure cooker situation in which the hustle becomes the primary focus rather than your skills as a Fitness Trainer. Once again, this depends on the philosophy of the Fitness Center and the type of environment that they expect you to work in.Will they assist you in generating leads or will it be all on you?  If you work for yourself, you will certainly want to work on client referrals at whatever level of assertiveness that you feel comfortable with.
   In summary, providing quality fitness services can be your best marketing tool by getting your clients to speak highly of you to others. Client referrals are also free of cost!

 
Until next time,.........keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong

"That Little Bobby Strong is such an awesome Fitness
 Trainer. We should sign up the whole whole clan and tell our
 neighbors!"

"The guys next door told us about this super Fitness Trainer  named  Little Bobby Strong.We should all give him a try! "

Word of mouth advertising is a great marketing tool!

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Free Fitness Consultations

   Fitness Trainers sometimes offer 'free' fitness consultations. Few other professions offer anything similar without charge. Doctors and dentists bill for the first visit. Barbers and hairdressers expect compensation from someone occupying their chair. I know that lawyers may provide an initial consultation without charge  but  they historically make up for it financially, and then some with many 'billable hours'. Certain sales jobs are almost entirely dependent on free 'demonstrations'.  For similar reasons, unpaid work is often considered an expected part of the Fitness Training business.  Free consultations provided to potential Fitness Training clients fall under three categories:

1. The potential client has an agreement to purchase a package of Fitness Training sessions.
2. There is an expectation that the potential client will purchase Fitness Training sessions.
3. There is the hope that a free consultation will interest the potential client in making a purchase.

   The Fitness Trainer can use the consultation to determine the potential client's goals, objectives and even their baseline fitness levels. A free consultation can give a prospect a taste of your Fitness Training skills and promote further interest. Conversely, too many free consultations can mean a lot of field labor without a harvest. If the prospect doesn't buy sessions from you, no money comes your way.
   If you have your own Fitness Training business, your consultations will almost always belong to the first two categories. The potential client has already shown a certain level of commitment. Your chances of signing them are greatly increased or they may have already signed.
    Some Fitness Trainers are in the enviable position in which they can charge for an initial consultation. Potential clients seek them out because of their reputation. More power to them for making every hour count. That is a good level to aspire to and aim for!
   If you work for a Fitness Center, there is a good chance that you will be expected to provide an initial consultation free of charge. There is also the possibility that many of these consultations will come from category three; the uncommitted that you hope to sign. The sales people at some Fitness Centers will often use the free consultation as a tool to sell a membership. Therefore the trainer may get a number of people showing up to collect their free quirk with no real intention of purchasing fitness training sessions. They have just forked out good money for a club membership. They may resent someone else trying to milk them further. I have had instances in which the consult got angry when I finished the session with my own sales pitch. Since each consultation takes about an hour of your time, this can add up to a lot of unpaid work. Meanwhile, the membership sales person gets a commission off of your dime.
    The counter argument might be that this is a great opportunity to make a sale. Some trainers will excel in such a scenario. For sales mortals, such as myself, this is a pressure situation. Remember, the Fitness Center likely takes a piece of the action for any successful signings that you get. What if your signing percentage is lower than expectations?  You would like to believe that the Fitness Center  management will be patient with you because you are an honest, technically competent, reliable worker. Sure they will and all of the politicians will give up their bribe money to distribute to the poor! 
   Why do you think many of these clubs are constantly advertising for new Fitness Trainers? It's not usually because the demand is exploding. It's mostly because the previous ones quit or got sacked. I should emphasize that not all Fitness Clubs operate in this manner! Just beware of the ones that do!
You can waste a lot of time that could be better spent building a clientele in a more supporting environment or doing your own thing with your own Fitness Training business.
   The preferred scenario is one in which management, the membership sales staff and the trainers work as a team. Some places sell membership packages that include a few fitness training sessions. It is easier to re-sign a satisfied, existing client than to sign someone looking for a freebie. There is a new fitness chain that actually has someone with the title of 'Fitness Consultant' that sells the fitness training sessions for the Fitness Trainer.

What do you mean "Do I want to sign up for paid sessions? "
 The sales guy said this was a free consultation!

    If you decide to work for a Fitness Center, do your research. Make sure that you will be part of a collaboration rather than just being cannon fodder. You deserve to be more than just the unpaid help.

Until next time,........stay fit!

Little Bobby Strong

 




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