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How Personal is Your Trainer? |
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 With the growth of the internet and video technology it has become relatively easy to put personal training on auto pilot these days. A person can find workouts on a host of sites ranging from still photos of exercises to animated stick figures to YouTube videos of actual workouts. Video conferencing technology allows personal trainers to actually watch their client’s workout over long distances and allows real time interaction between trainer and client. Personal training has expanded from your basic 1 on 1 training session to large group sessions like Boot Camps and spin classes made for the masses. Having learned valuable lessons about expanding clientele through group classes it was only a matter of time before trainers started using the internet to expand there reach and client base. The emphasis has shifted to quantity of clients and away from the quality of the workouts. Trainers are focusing on creating workout plans and training programs that are meant for mass consumption and not for any individual client in particular. I don’t say this to disparage personal trainers for the job they do, but to give them a quick heads up on some alarming information I have been reading and hearing about recently.
Clients are not being handled with the same individual attention they once were given by personal trainers. The personal aspects of the client/trainer relationship have also been strained due to the emergence of group classes and online training programs. The emergence of e-mail as a main source of communication has also lead to less personal interaction between client and patient.
Canned replies and auto-responders have replaced the friendly phone calls and actual face to face meetings personal trainers relied upon in the past. This is not to say all trainers act like this, but it is becoming an alarming trend. I just finished listening to an interesting seminar about how retention in the field of personal training is changing. The main point of the seminar was that personal training is becoming less personal and more about training. Trainers are focusing on physiology and exercise management and not spending enough time focusing on the personal needs of their clients. They are creating programs that can be mass produced and given to everyone with little regard to what the individual client actually needs.
Trainers often focus on getting those one or two extra reps per set and pushing their client to the max whenever possible, but rarely focus on how the client actually feels about this process. Recent studies on client retention have shown that people leave one trainer for another trainer for a variety of reasons, but they usually revolve around the personal relationship between the client and the trainer. I was surprised to hear that a client often times feel betrayed by the pushing and prodding given by the trainer to get those extra reps. Clients often complained about reaching a goal of 10 reps only to pushed on to 12 or 15 reps. This changing of goals works well for some clients, but not for others. If the trainer does not communicate with his client how will the trainer know how the client feels about being pushed very hard. Some clients want to leave their session totally exhausted, but others want to feel as if they can still do more. It is the trainer’s job to figure out what to do to motivate each client. There is no one size fits all program out there, but rather a combination of approaches that need to be explored by client and personal trainer alike until the appropriate course of action can be found.
Clients often change trainers over personal issues, not professional issues. They understand that their trainer is well qualified, but do not communicate well with their trainer. Trainers often think that the client just couldn’t take the workouts, but in reality the client couldn’t take the trainer. It is hard to hear corrective criticism, especially if it is your job to deliver it as often as a personal trainer does. That is why client retention is so hard these days!! Clients want to be heard and you can go a long way by listening to them. Trainers might want to skip the e-mail this week and pick up the phone and give their clients a call or better yet spend an extra few minutes with each client at their session this week just getting to know each other a little better. Clients, if you are feeling left out of your training decisions you may want to do the same with your personal trainer. Remember, it isn’t called Personal Training for nothing!! I look forward to hearing from you on ways to improve client-trainer relations. You can comment here or on one of the ever popular social media sites!
I look forward to hearing from you all.
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As the Lifestyle Coordinator at Phytness Solutions, Tim is responsible for coordinating the interactions between the company's staff of Phytness Consultants and their clientele. Mr. Cusack attended Seton Hall University, where he ran track and was a member of the 1991 Big East Champion 1600 Meter Relay Team. His Personal Training & Weight Management Certifications are with SCW Fitness and he is an active member of several running clubs in his area of including the JSRC and NJRRC. Tim's main goal is to design and implement the necessary programs that help clients find the necessary balance in their lives. It is his desire to help spread the Phytness Lifestyle and ensure that not only his clients, but all Americans achieve their health, fitness and nutritional goals. 
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