fitnfablife

What Kind of Trainer Are You?At the end of the day, you want to be happy with what you accomplished. You want to  know that you are doing what you love. At the end of the day, I want to know that I am really helping people achieve greatness in their life. Isn’t that what being a personal trainer is about?

Lately, I have witnessed trainers who lack substance. Now, don’t get me wrong, these trainers are far more experienced than I, but for some odd reason they don’t give off “the vibe.”

What “vibe” you may think…the Jillian vibe….the Bob Harper vibe…the Billy Blanks….Gunnar Peterson..the trainers I interact with everyday on Twitter vibe. It’s the line between a good trainer and an unforgettable one. How does one achieve this aura you ask? CARING.

If you train someone who is 50+ pounds overweight and the person is either losing little to no weight, something is wrong. These people are coming to you to lose weight. They are paying you to lose that extra fat and regain control in their life. To be an unforgettable trainer you MUST MUST MUST help them make that dream a reality.

I’m sure the workout is awesome. I’m sure tons of calories are being burned so why aren’t they losing weight? Simple answer that I am sure every trainer knows…because abs are revealed in the kitchen. Sure we can’t go home with these people and watch what they stuff in their face at night. We can’t know for sure if their food logs are 100% accurate. What we can do is be their friends. Be our client’s accountability partners.

Freshman year of college I gained 20 something pounds. I was letting myself go because of an obsession with food. I thought about food non stop. It was an addiction. When I came home over spring break, I had a nice little wake up call from my mother and sisters. One sunny day as I ate a plain waffle cone as a snack, I was walking out the front door in that perfect lighting to show off my cellulite when my sister said, “Uh Sarah, you should put that waffle cone down, your cellulite is bad.” That was my breaking point.

I guess you could say that was a harsh comment but guess what? I got my butt to start doing cardio again and stopped eating refined sugars and lard when I was feeling down. My mother and sisters have been my critics since as long as I can remember. This past Christmas I did really well with self-control. I didn’t gorge myself therefore I didn’t gain weight. My mom on the other hand was drinking bottles of wine and eating pies at 1 am, she obviously did gain weight.
At the end of Christmas break my sister had to break my mom the bad news and tell her it was time to lose the fat before it was too late.

We all get a little devastated at first..we all get a little angry at the person who informed us we resemble a mini whale, but in the end we love them for it. Unfortunately, not everyone has accountability partners. That’s why us trainers are here. We are here to mentor and build trusting relationships with our clients We need to help them understand that we will be there for them through that weight-loss journey. Don’t feed me the bull crap that we are not nutritionists..we are not certified to give advice about diets…that’s crap. We are not fit because of a personal nutritionist following us around on a daily basis, we are fit because we know what works. We know the formula. It’s simple. So simple. Burn more than you eat. Eat foods to keep you full. Yes, it is simple for us, but guess what? It is not for them.

Give out your Facebook account, provide them with your Twitter, cell number, home phone..anything that can get them in touch with you if they happen to have a moment of weakness. They can reach you if they are food shopping and have no clue what to get. Go with them! By spending a little more time with your clients, you’ll see your rate of success from word-of-mouth recommendations sky rocket. People need caring trainers.

So what kind of trainer are you?