Don’t Be a Fitness Guru

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By Sal | March 18, 2009

There are too many people in our field who set themselves up as all-knowing gurus and create clients who cannot act independently in matters of nutrition and exercise.  This is not what being a personal trainer/strength coach is all about.



We've all seen nutritional and exercise gurus who act as if they have proprietary, secret knowledge about how to eat and exercise.  The most noticeable gurus appear on talk shows, reality shows, magazines and newspapers and expect that their word be treated as gospel.  This type can also be found on the local scene, as many "neighborhood" trainers and nutritionists want clients who are totally dependant.  Whether it's what to eat, when to exercise, how much to exercise, guru types tell their clients what to do rather then teach them the "how's" and "why's" of proper exercise and nutritional habits.

There are some trainers/nutritionists in my area who call their clients at 6 in the morning to see if they are walking on their treadmill, tell them what to eat and want clients to call them when they are confused about what to eat.  There are trainers who work in our field who want the clients to rely on them for everything, and who want them to view everything that they do through the prism of nutrition and exercise.

This is crazy, unhealthy and doesn't reflect the essence of what it means to be a fitness professional.  I'm a big proponent of the philosophy, "Give a person a fish and feed them for a day, teach a person how to fish and you feed them for life."

Follow these simple steps and you will solidify your relationship, while helping your clients raise their fitness level. If you have confidence in your abilities and knowledge base you won't be interested in creating dependent clients.

Just as parents want their children to grow and develop a sense of independence, personal trainers should strive to help clients achieve a degree of self-reliance that will help them improve their fitness level.  If you can do this you will retain clients, which is a key to building a successful business.

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Topics: Personal Trainer Coaching, Training Philosophy, Training Style | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Don’t Be a Fitness Guru”

  1. Mike
    3:14 pm on December 1st, 2009

    I definitely do this…it was a promise I made to myself before I even go certified. The problem is that I work in a low budget gym, and whenever people feel like they’ve learned enough, they leave. How do I get around that?

  2. Sal
    5:38 pm on December 2nd, 2009

    You can set yourself up as an expert and make people want to continue to train without making them dependant on you. It’s a matter of how you deliver your service. There’s no question that 75% of the clients at my facility have absorbed enough over 15+ years to train on their own, yet they choose not to because of the unique way we deliver our service. We also never lose clients to large franchised or local super gyms precisely because we offer something these places do not and cannot.

    Alternatively, some people may feel they know enough to train themselves, but this is usually not the case. Your plight may be the unfortunate result of the environment in which you work.

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