PERSPECTIVE : REFLECTIONS OF INDUSTRY LEADERS
WHY IT PAYS TO GET TO GRIPS WITH YOUR CRAFT
Learning more about the tools you train clients with is critical for building credibility , trust and career success , says Presenter of the Year , Andrew ‘ Chaddy ’ Chadwick .
L ife as a PT or group fitness
instructor can be very rewarding , but as you probably know , it can also be very demanding . Time is your only real commodity and what you do with it impacts your business significantly . Consider everything you have to do to keep your business running . Conduct your sessions , write your clients ’ programs , set them accomplishments to achieve outside of sessions , do your admin and invoicing , follow up on leads , train yourself , and learn how to use equipment properly and understand which clients it may be suitable for . Hang on , what was that last one ? Yes , you read correctly : educate yourself on how to use equipment properly and who to use it with !
Your certification gives you an understanding of the impact of training stress on the body . It does not make you an expert on all the tools on the gym floor and the potential physical and emotional impact they can have on members or clients . Investing time and ( tax deductible ) dollars into learning more about the tools you use is as important as every other aspect of your business . It shouldn ’ t just be relegated to something a peak body requires you to do to remain registered . It actually provides return on investment in the form of increased confidence and ability to deliver a better experience to clients that will strengthen their trust in your ability to guide them on their health and fitness journeys .
As a Senior Master Instructor for several companies I encounter a lot of course participants who have been using specific equipment for a while and think they ’ re just there to get some points for re-registration . I also get people who claim semi-mastery of a piece of kit because they once did a convention session on it , and then , of course , I get people that Googled it and know all there is to know . At some point in the course , all of these people will say ‘ Oh I was doing that wrong ’ or ‘ Why haven ’ t I been doing it that way ?’ The answer to the last question is ‘ because you ’ ve been making it up ’. And yes , your clients can sense it .
There ’ s some excellent reference material out there that can be a good starting point and give you some insights into training with a specific tool – but unless you undergo some practical training you will never fully understand the application of the techniques , or the subtle differences between , as we say , ‘ what good looks and feels like ’.
Information changes as our applicable knowledge of training human beings evolves . If you did a course five years ago , go back and do it again ! Good education providers will update their courses as we learn more about training humans .
Realistically , even if you are trained by the very best and most engaging instructor , you ’ re likely to remember only around 15 to 25 % of everything you are taught during a training course . This is why I question the efficacy of clubs or chains sending one team member to do a course in order to then pass on what they learn to the rest of the team . If they recount only a modest percentage of what they were told to their team , who in in turn remember only a percentage of what they learn , it becomes a case of ever diminishing returns . Most courses are only one or two days , so if you specialise in training clients in specific apparatus , it makes sense to invest this relatively small amount of time and money in truly getting to grips with it .
Finally , beware cheap imitations ! Go to reputable companies that offer the registered official education . The official TRX Suspension Training Course , for example , runs for at least eight hours – and deals with just one piece of equipment . If another course provider promises to get you skilled in a range of ‘ suspension training ’ tools in half the time , you should probably question the veracity of that claim . When considering a course , ask the company if they are the official education suppliers for that tool – and don ’ t let them bulls @# t you !
Education is more than just an investment of your time and money : it is an investment in your current and prospective clients ’ trust in you and your ability to guide them to their health and wellness goals .
Chaddy has been a PT for over 10 years . He is a PTA Global Faculty Member , TRX and Trigger Point Performance Senior Master Instructor , ViPR pro trainer , and SandBells and Kettlebell instructor . Chaddy ’ s passion for movement inspires others to learn more about the human being , not just the human body . chaddy39 . wixsite . com . Follow him on Facebook and Instagram .
6 | NETWORK SPRING 2017