What's Your Story?

Okay so you have determined that a career in PT sounds like a good idea; you've been studying your manual and watching videos for about a month, now what?

Well, hopefully by now you have accumulated a little bit of knowledge about how to be a good trainer. Even if you haven't finished the manual, you know a thing or two you didn't before you read it.

Now you have the motivation and you have a little bit of education, the next thing you need is a story.

Say what?

That's right, a story. Here's what you need to think about. Pretty soon it will be time to apply for jobs and I promise you that whoever is interviewing is going to ask, "So, why do you want to become a trainer?"

The answer cannot be, "Because I don't want to work in fast food" or "I don't know, seems like it might be cool" which although those might both be true, you need a better story.

Go back to that first list of questions I made you answer. Those are good reasons to be a trainer: you love working out. You love sports. You love helping people.

That kind of thing. Maybe you had a coach or some person you know who is a trainer and they were a huge influence, that would be a good story as well.

Whatever it is, have a good story. And make it a real story. Good employers can spot phony stories, and you don't want that. So try and make it real and if it really comes from the heart, even better.

I want you to really think about this story thing and come up with something good.

After you come up with a good story I want you to write it down. Make it sound good. I don't want you to memorize it like a script, but make sure it makes sense.

Once that's done, check back here for the next step.

Become a Smart Trainer.

I am now going to reveal one of the biggest, most essential pieces of advice a new trainer could possibly get: Become a smart trainer.

I can tell you from personal experience-- as I am not the biggest, strongest, or most in-shape trainer at my gym, nor have I ever been-- having a good physique is not the key to being a successful trainer. Yes, you need to look the part. If you don't, get on that. Clean up your diet and start getting serious about working out (we'll talk more about looking the part later). For now though, what will differentiate you and make you a great trainer, is that you need to be a smart trainer.


Step 1:  Go to Amazon.com and buy a copy of the NASM personal training manual. It will cost you around $60. Do not buy a personal training certification package through NASM, not just yet anyway. You need only the textbook for now, and if you can get a used one for cheap, even better.



Step 2:  Start reading it. Work on one to two chapters per week. Highlight stuff that seems weird or hard to understand. Try to understand what you already know about fitness in light of some of the more "scientific" explanations you find in your book. Also look for any information that may contradict what you know or think you know.





Step 3: Look at videos on YouTube that feature:

• Dan John
• Pavel Tsatsouline
• Mike Boyle
• Mark Rippetoe

There's a lot of them out there. Check them out and take notes. That should keep you occupied for a while.

That's it for now. Once you get your NASM book, for the next 30 days, your goal is to bombard your brain with a bunch of new information from people who know what they're talking about. Your job is to try and absorb it and, most importantly, think about and take notes on things that you find interesting, confusing, cool or weird.

Check back soon for your next step in becoming a successful trainer.

Overcoming Obstacles

It’s time to talk about obstacles.

So you took my pop quiz yesterday and it turns out you answered “yes” to many of my questions.

That’s a good sign!

But maybe you still have doubts. Maybe you think you don’t know enough to actually be responsible for getting someone else in shape. Maybe all you’ve ever done is wash dishes or walk dogs and training seems like a giant step up from that. Maybe you think you need to get in better shape first. Maybe you should get a degree in exercise science first.

Maybe a lot of things.

Listen, there’s two key ingredients to success as a trainer:

1. a strong work ethic

2. a desire to learn

That’s what it really boils down to. If you have these two things, you can do it. In fact, the more of each of those traits you have, the more likely you are to succeed.

I've been doing this training thing for a while. I've seen a lot of new trainers come and go-- my club has more than 50 trainers!-- and it’s never obvious who will succeed and who will lose.

Some guys come in with a college degree from a good school, they're in great shape, maybe even a Division I athlete, but they're not quite hungry enough, they’re not quite eager enough to learn, and so they don't succeed.

On the flip side, I've seen young brothers come in with no advantages at all. Some of them even had a prison record, and felonies at that! They grew up in tough neighborhoods and had been through some tough times. It didn't matter. They made up their mind to succeed. They were determined, they worked hard and studied hard and quickly became successful. One minute they're broke, then a few months later they’re bringing home $5,000 a month, which is nothing to sneeze at.

And the difference was just what I said above: determination and a willingness to learn.

So before we continue I want you to really think about this: is this something you are serious about? It’s going to take hard work. Are you up for it? There’s a lot of new concepts to learn. You need to learn anatomy and physiology and even a little physics. It sounds hard, and it is, but I've never seen anyone fail who really had an earnest desire to learn. It’s just a matter of tenacity and putting in the work.

Sit and think about it a little while; make sure you're head is where it needs to be and that you really want this. If you're sure you're good to go, check out my next blog and I'll tell you the next step.

So you want to be a trainer...

If you've ever thought about becoming a personal trainer, this blog is for you.

Maybe you’ve just graduated high school and you're trying to figure out what’s next. Maybe you've been working for a while and you're not too crazy about your current job, and you've been thinking you might like to try out personal training.

Whatever the case, I'm going to help you first figure out if personal training is a good career path for you. After that I'll tell you step by step how to become a certified personal trainer, how to land a job at a gym or fitness center, and how to maximize your success (and income!) once you've done so.

But first, who am I? What qualifies me to give advice on personal training? I’m glad you asked. My name is Tony and I’ve been living in New York City and working in the fitness industry for over a decade. I have multiple certifications including NASM, NCSF and RKC. I've worked with many different types of clients: from ages 17 to 70; clients with injuries; athletes; pregnant women; people with chronic diseases, you name it. It’s actually part of the fun of personal training, getting to meet and work with so many different people. I've also made a lot of money doing it. Before I was a trainer, having no college degree and no real marketable skills, I was living paycheck to paycheck working crummy jobs. Within one year of becoming a certified trainer, those days were gone. I paid off my bills, upgraded my medical and dental insurance, started a 401k, and best of all I had money to spend! Living in NYC all of a sudden got a whole lot more fun!

And the truth is, I am not some kind of prodigy. In fact, I am probably just like you in a lot of ways. So don’t think you can’t be wildly successful as a trainer if it’s really what you want to do.

And that’s the first thing we need to figure out: Is personal training right for you?

Well, guess what, we can figure that out real quick by answering a few simple questions. Let’s get to it!

Time for a pop quiz! (don't worry, there are no wrong answers!)

Please answer yes or no to the following questions:

• Do you like working out or playing sports?
• Do you like working with people?
• Are you self-motivated?
• Do you like helping others?
• Do you like teaching?
• Do you like having flexibility in your schedule?
• Are you talkative and outgoing?
• Do you work well on your own without needing a lot of supervision?

If you answered “yes” to all or most of these questions, training could be a great job for you. If you answered “yes” to less than half of these, training might not be the best option for you.

Check back in tomorrow and I'll discuss what to do once you've decided that training might be a good career path for you. Stay tuned!