Thanks for the Memories!

Trainers' Forum: Your feedback, concerns and insights.

I can’t believe that it has been more than 4 years since I began serving on the IDEA PFT Committee. Passing the torch to a new member is my pleasure and privilege.

As I reflected on the past 4-plus years, many wonderful and humorous memories resurfaced. I remember sitting in a room with six other people at an IDEA conference and designing the Code of Ethics for personal trainers, adopted by IDEA and widely used by trainers today. I also recall brainstorming the criteria for the Personal Trainer of the Year Award at another conference and participating in an enlightening roundtable discussion on PFT burnout.

I’ll always remember chatting with Arnold Schwarzenegger after he spoke at one IDEA conference. My first stupid words to him were “Hey, you’re not that big!” He laughed and replied, “No, and neither are you,” and we went on to have a wonderful conversation.

Finally, how could I forget Richard Simmons showing me that he could cry at will on an escalator while restlessly shifting from foot to foot and blinding me with his sequined shirt?

Working with the trainers on the committee and you wonderful folks at IDEA has been a pleasure. I have never met more qualified, dedicated and insightful people. I wish you much success.

Susan Cantwell

Personal Trainer

Senior Wellness Coach, Corporate

Coach U

Chair, IDEA Task Force on Coaching

I want to compliment you on your excellent article on burnout (IDEA Personal Trainer, September 2002, pp. 20-31). I have the pleasure of knowing all of the members of your outstanding panel, and they are indeed experts. Their advice is extremely accurate, honest, relevant and based on years of experience. This article is a keeper. For trainers just starting out, there are real gems for preventing burnout, and, for the veteran trainer, there is sage advice on how to remedy existing burnout.

I also thoroughly enjoyed “Imagine the Possibilities,” Michael Youssouf’s fun, thought-provoking and forward-thinking look into the future in the same issue (pp. 49-51). If any trainers need a few creative ideas about where to take their careers, how to plan ahead and how to prevent burnout, read this one, too!

Beth Rothenberg, PCC

Business, Marketing and

Lifestyle Coach

Santa Monica, California

As a fitness trainer/employer, I work from 5:30 am to 7:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and several hours on Saturday. However, I balance my week by spending time with my wife, family, friends and dog. When my mind or body tells me that I need an extra day off, I take it. Sometimes, I schedule a massage or a day in which I do nothing more than visit some friends for lunch.

The point is that trainers should practice what they preach. Listen to your body, exercise regularly and occasionally reward yourself for your hard work. After all, if trainers can’t take care of themselves, how can they take care of others?

Employers should encourage this, as I do with spontaneous lunches, tickets to a ball game or other ideas that promote a life outside the workplace. Keeping your employees happy will keep them motivated.

Frank Pucher

Fitness 121

Livingston, New Jersey

We may not want to admit it, but trainers sometimes feel like adult babysitters, counting reps and cajoling unmotivated clients through a lifting session. I believe that, consequently, one of the biggest reasons for trainer burnout is frustration. I don’t just mean frustration with clients, caused by their lack of progress due to poor adherence to their programs when they are not with their trainers. I also mean some trainers’ frustration with themselves, caused by their desire to empower their clients and motivate them to “do the work” themselves outside their sessions.

Nothing is more rewarding than seeing clients stick to their programs and make progress and never having to deal with cancellations. That is why I am converting the majority of my client base to a fitness-by-phone program. Such programs can be exciting, challenging and motivating for both trainer and client.

Karin Peterson

ACSM, SFA

IDEA Elite PFT

Master Fitness by Phone Coach

I have worked in the fitness industry for the past 7 years. To avoid becoming bored and burned out, I have worked my way up the certification ladder. Currently, I am a CHEK Practitioner, CSCS and CPT. I have also aligned myself with two chiropractors who practice alternative medicine such as Total Body Modification; Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques; trigger point therapy; and the Graston Technique, the new soft tissue therapy developed by Dr. Warren Hammer.

During the slow times in my studio and the gym, I work in the chiropractors’ office, taking care of the front desk. There, I have the opportunity to meet potential new clients, and both chiropractors have taught me a lot about the spine and how the body works. I have even had the opportunity to practice trigger point work on them and decided to enter the massage therapy program at a local community college. I think that this will be a big boost for my business and a bonus for my already existing client base. Furthermore, I teach continuing education classes on sports conditioning at community colleges during the school year.

Before I became involved in the medical end of the fitness industry, just being a “babysitting” personal trainer was pretty boring. Now I am happy when I come home, and I actually look forward to Monday morning.

Mary Schoepe

CHEK Level 1, CSCS, CPT

Windham, New York

I wanted to let you know how excited I was when I read the article “Children + Fitness = Joy” in IDEA Personal Trainer (October 2002, pp. 26-37). My trainers and I have read all of the facts about childhood obesity and what goes with it, but your article was different. It was very informative and hands-on. I particularly love the line “Share your knowledge and passion for fitness to help wipe out the insidious epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity.” It has inspired me to stick with Energetic Juniors, the home-based personal training service for children and adolescents in Manhattan that I started 6 years ago.

Believe me, Energetic Juniors came along at just the right time. We provide what I firmly believe to be a vital service for children who don’t do well in a group setting: Our goal is to prepare them for group activities or just to help them feel good about themselves. My trainers have changed the lives of most of the children they have worked with, and we are just beginning to offer some schools small-group sessions also geared toward children who don’t do so well in a more competitive setting such as a sports training class. We will have to see how this is received, but we know we fill a gap for these children.

We have spread the word about Energetic Juniors through conventional advertising (although it’s been small-scale), direct mail, professional contacts and (as always) word of mouth. I think that, after so much talk, both professionals and parents will soon really understand the danger that our children face.

Bonita Porte

Bonita Porte’s Energetic Juniors

New York

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