How do you remain energized so you do not experience professional burn out?

I am constantly reading new articles and watching DVD's to get new program and coaching ideas. My clients enjoy the change and I'm excited when I try something new. I also change my workout routine to include some of the challenging workouts I've designed for my clients. It helps me gauge the intensity of a workout and how it might be modified.

Variety!!!! Variety with your training modalities and with your actual job! I've been in the industry for over 26 years and the only way I avoid burnout is to work in different environments and remember that variety is the key with my clients as well as with my schedule. I schedule my own time every morning for an hour. This is usually my workout time but I know its the time I can de-stress and not have to talk to anyone.

Continuing education through networking, conferences and other types of education will help keep you motivated and also continue to give you new ideas. Give your clients, job and schedule variety regularly and never stop learning!

The answers to this so far are oh so good! You must have variety, both in the way you train your clients and the way you train yourself. You must have balance. There needs to be time away when you can focus on things you enjoy rather than giving out. I usually plan Saturdays just for fun. Sometimes it's a day for bike riding with a friend, sometimes out of town for sightseeing, etc. It's very important to have that time away. You MUST schedule in your own workouts during the work week, and they need to be varied. Doing occasional races keeps focus in your own work outs. Do what sparks a flame in you, something that makes you come alive. And keep learning so everything is fresh and new. I love reading fitness articles, doing CEC's, learning new yoga poses, etc. Ah yes, yoga! Even when teaching yoga, I get the benefits of restoration and balance. And each person needs a source. For me that's Bible reading, prayer, and fellowshipping with like-minded believers. We need to fill ourselves before we can give out. We have to have something of substance within to have anything to give on the outside, so do those things that nurture you! And, of course, give your body great nutrition and adequate sleep.

As a supervisor of 20 instructors, it is required that my employees take a break sometime during the year to "refresh." I do this myself so I can work on choreography or just take a break from the regular routine of teaching. I know it refreshed me and also my classes are very excited to see me return to my classes.

Like most people answered, I have to have some "me time". If you have hobbies you love doing it helps to keep those in your life and make time for them. As for me I get my workouts in, my nutrition/meals for me is habit and comes natural, and I spend time with my daughter.

Make certain you: take days off from teaching/training regularly, take vacations and go to conventions, workshops & training to re-vitalize your work.

I have been a physical therapist x 25 yrs, personal trainer/pilates instructor for over 10 yrs. and have my own business. I take time to pursue personal hobbies unrelated to PT/fitness, get together with family/friends who rarely discuss health/fitness etc. and also spend time being active and concentrate on physical activities that I truly enjoy, primarily, such as leisure bike riding; though also put in time with high calorie burning activities/functional ex. to incorporate UE/LE ex simultaneously to make my own workouts very efficient, since I have so little time. The more I feel like a complete person, it enables me to give 100% to my clients if I have taken care of myself. I also read/update myself, get new books etc, take l course a year to remain current.

1) workout or get a massage for YOURSELF, or do something for your body once a day
2) go to group fitness classes or trainer seminars/conventions
3) get a new client! It is exciting and new to meet new clients... one new face a month (even for a few meetings or a referral, if it's not a long-term client)

I always focus on a full body work out, but I value input from my clients as to specific areas they wish to work more than others. This keeps them involved and keeps me thinking and thus it is fresh for both me and my clients.

Attending industry conferences is always motivating as well as educational. It is helpful to have other interests as well, so that your job doesn't become all consuming. Often you find links between those interests and the fitness profession which brings new vitality to your work.

I agree with Natalie above. Variety, variety, variety is the key! Just as one of your clients could become bored, stagnant and not continue to make progress with their fitness if your workouts with them don't offer variety, so can we become bored or stagnant if we don't constantly change things up for ourselves. Challenging yourself by constantly learning new techniques and theories, attending professional development opportunities, and finding new ways to reach potential clients (e.g. writing and speaking) are all great ways to stay on top of information in our field while at the same time remaining energized and challenged.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

LaRue
www.lecfitness.com
lecfitness@yahoo.com

I agree. Like anything else, you need balance. That is hard to find when you first start out and are trying to build your business, but make sure you have at least 1 FULL day without clients, working out or planning. Leave time for yourself and other interests.
That being said, I am always most inspired when taking classes, getting new certifications and attending conferences/lectures. So pepper those into your time as needed... maybe every couple months.

I like Natalie's answer, Variety! It is after all the spice of life they say. I have found for myself that doing the same thing over and over again just gets boring, so I train my clients like I train myself, by using variety. And then beyond that I make sure I always have some me time, that is hard for me right now with a full time job and trying to build my business and having a family but I manage.

Scheduling in your OWN workouts is a MUST! We are a giving industry and sometimes we forget we must put our oxygen masks on first. Whether that's figuring out the perfect schedule so you have enough workout for fun time (somewhere where you can't be interrupted) or taking some time off every once and while to do so, it's extremely important to prevent burn out.

I schedule my training times... I become my own client.
Often a few of us will group train in a specific venue which is fun and productive to reaching my fitness goals.

You must have time to yourself! To exercise, study, read, sleep, meditate, enjoy your life, kids, partners etc. Only a relax mind and body can enjoy helping other people to be fitter. Keep yourself in your agenda!

Definitely take time for your own workout! My daughter always used to ask me why I work out myself when I work with clients all day. I would always tell her that it was MY workout for me, and not for someone else. Also, getting new equipment, etc., always energizes me. I have been working with the TRX and it has added an exciting new element not only to my clients' workouts, but also to mine.

I personally like to work with all ages male and female to keep me on my toes. I also like taking a break by going to conventions to keep me up on the latest and greatest.

Find time for yourself for working out and continuing education. There are so many great ideas out there. Follow your passion and learn more.

I change my routine to a new activity that my gym training helped to make a great foundation. Running a marathon, skating, surfing are things I like to do to stay energized so I don't experience professional burn out. I like to stay fit and sometimes when I give all my time and energy into my clients I need another escape other than all weight training so, I may do more yoga or line dance. I just want to have fun and be healthy and when I remember that I get re-energized to not burn out in my profession. I also like to read things on fitness as much as possible because that keeps my fire for fitness burning :)

It is extremely important to balance work and play. I find that even though I love what I do, I need to have a clear separation of work and play space. I don't workout in my own studio, I also don't stay in my studio longer that absolutely needed. It is very easy to turn something you love into something you dread. It is clear that the more you work, the more money you make, but that money comes at a price. So decide what is more important to you. I chose quality of life over money any time.

Make sure you get enough sleep, eat right and have some fun in your life too!

One way to keep from professional burn out is to learn something new in the industry. Getting a new certification or learning exercises will make you want to utilize them with your clients. If that doesn't work, take a vacation, most trainers usually don't. ;0)

1. I go to conferences.
2. Take time for myself - that may mean working out, it may mean a hot bath and glass of wine with all electronics turned off, phone especially.
3. Time off - breaks from teaching & giving.
4. Eat for energy.
5. Good sleep (this is a tough one for me right now).

Don't be one dimensional, completing only one-on-one personal training sessions, for example.

Think about group fitness, small group training, coaching, weight training classes, teaching/lecturing, online training, affiliated marketing (with blogs, for example), boot camps, writing news articles, and so forth.

When I was in my twenties, I focused on getting as many clients and group classes as possible to make more money. When my daughter was about 2 years old and cried for me because I was always working so much, the light went off that I didn't have balance and my priorities were out of order.

From that day on, I decided that would never be that busy again. My American dream is to make more money per hour and not just make money by working a 1,000 hours. I took on my clients in a session and started doing other tasks that didn't take as much as of my time as personal training and teaching group exercises.

Now I have a very flexible schedule which gives me more time for my family, friends and myself. I don't work 40 hours per work and life is better.

I agree with the variety that many people are stating. Making the time to schedule your own workouts is a must. Making sure you are able to do what you are putting your clients through makes you understand what they are going through and puts you right there with them and be in the moment. Being overwhelmed and "burnt out" is just a way of telling you that you have resistance towards what is happening at the time in your life.
My own morning rituals of waking up 2 hours before I need to be anywhere, no matter how early I have to be there, helps me to be refreshed when I arrive so I am not rushed. The way you go to sleep at night, is the way you will wake up in the morning, which will determine how your day goes. Remembering to regroup and check in with myself at night and in the morning are the most important times so I am always making sure I am alignment and balanced...THEN I can help others.

Whenever I feel my energy starting to drain, I examine what I'm doing regularly (daily, weekly, monthly, annually) and if each activity has a critical purpose. At one point, I even had my calendar colour-coded to reflect various commitments: client training (yellow), workshops/conferences (green), housekeeping (orange), personal workouts (blue), and personal time to do whatever the heck I wanted (pink), etc..

You know what's coming, right?: at times of low ebb, there was a decent amount of blue, but not more than a hint of pink on the horizon...just a seemingly endless stream of yellow, green, and orange.

It's up to all of us to be as proactive as possible when creating our schedule. Sure, they will be times when all you can see for weeks or months is yellow, green, and orange; but in these cases blue and pink should be right behind. Hopefully, your chosen shades of yellow and green energize and excite you more often than not; if not, you need to re-examine if you're in the right area.

I happen to love all things health, fitness, and wellness-related, but there are times when I just need to chill and do a swift 180: watch a silly (but hopefully funny) movie, immerse myself in a great novel, hang out with people who do other things....

Also, because so much of our jobs involve constantly projecting positive energy (being "on"), physical strength and stamina, critical and creative thinking, I need times where I can let my whole self be quiet and relax; essentially I need and want to be alone (or get a great massage:). I find this to be the best energizer for me. I come out of this period feeling replenished and wanting once again to share myself entirely with others.

By focussing on areas you feel truly passionate about - being a "jack of all trades" and all things to all people is not only bad business, it is exhausting!!! Focus gives you energy (and cash flow, which always helps me feel less burned out too!)

I don't really need to do anything special..I love working out. I work full time, go to school full time (going to 2 Universities this fall), train clients after my job at the gym, and have a new baby. My workouts are my ME time so I have never experienced that burnout.

I keep myself fed intellectually as far as the industry is concerned. When one learns new things one has to put it into application first before they apply it on others.

Learning new things, especially the theory, keeps me energized and motivate to continue to teach and stay in my chosen profession.

I live fully each day and periodically take a look of my "life pie" to see if the slices are balanced. Often, I need to re-balance and re-set my time. My training slice has always been on the heavy side and my personal time slice on the light side. These slices must be balanced for me to be happy. Being a trainer for 40 years has been a gift in many ways. When I was younger, gym life was where I lived and breathed. Now in my 60's, I have learned that it is important to stay fresh and energized through non-gym time, being with my family, taking care of my garden and animals. I no longer work on the weekends and take 2 week mornings off as well. Those 2 mornings off were one of the hardest decisions for me to make since it would be a completely new experience for me and a loss of income.
Now that a year has passed with my "time for me" program, I can truly say that I have more energy, more income, more balance...just the answer for me!

REST

Take Time off and do something totally out of your comfort zone
Rest
Treat your self well
Find Balance
Learn how to say no without having to say why