Scope of Practice/Ethics
Top 10 Cities for Personal Trainers
Do you ever wonder which city governments are most welcoming to personal trainer entrepreneurs? Thumbtack, an organization that connects consumers with services, conducted a survey to find out.
The survey featured questions about licensing, usability of government websites and availability of resources for business growth, and 751 personal train- ing business owners responded. Thumbtack analyzed the results and produced the following Top 10 list of “friendliest” cities for personal trainers:
“What are the top three lessons you’ve learned as a personal trainer?”
Here is what I’ve discovered:
Meet clients where they are.
As trainers, we want our clients to succeed. When we first meet them, they usually state that their goals are to lose weight, get stronger and be more flexible. We do an assessment and usually find quite a gap between where clients are and where they want to be. So we get to work and develop those wonderful programs that will help them reach their goals. We are all pumped up and ready to begin. However, clients aren’t always on the same path.
Add Power to Your Purpose
If knowledge is power, then IDEA Personal Trainer Institute is like a windmill farm of education. For the past many years, personal trainers, wellness professionals and entrepreneurs have come to this knowledge hub to learn from the industry’s top change agents so that they can gain inspiration, insights and the purpose necessary for a fulfilling and financially rewarding career.
Personal Transformation Practices
Use a three-pronged approach to help frail participants move better, get stronger and improve their balance.
Do you strive to be a leader in your life? To successfully lead others with authenticity, you must first acquire the tools to lead yourself. Self-mastery and self-?management are fast becoming valued attributes in our outer-directed society. How do you manage your thoughts and practice mindfulness from moment to moment?
“How do you utilize social media to market/network your personal training business?”
Social media is all about making connections with people in my community. I find that because I do not have a “brick-and-mortar” location to call my own, I use social media to make stronger connections with like-minded business owners and people of influence within my town. My primary goal is to make my name “top of mind” with the influencers in the community.
Strategic Self-Promotion for Fitness Pros
Promoting yourself has never been easier. Free social media, affordable Web design and easily accessible graphic design provide ample opportunity to draw awareness to what you have to offer. But without a blueprint, you are wasting your time. Read on to uncover core self-promotion methods that can increase your business in less time than you think.
How Single Steps Lead to Grand Results
Homeward bound.
About a year ago, personal trainer Jordan Rudolph received word that a married couple in their 60s wanted to meet with him. He had been working at Snap Fitness at the time, but the potential clients insisted that home-based training was nonnegotiable. Rudolph was initially nervous to meet with them—this would be his first experience training in a client’s home.
Four Language Swaps to Improve Client Adherence
What you say to your personal training clients can can affect how well they perform. Be sure you choose your words wisely so that clients maximize their potential.
Fitness Industry Advice for Personal Trainers
The one piece of advice that has really worked for me is “five a day.” I heard this at a group I joined called the Be Better Project, led by Phil Kaplan. We learned a lot of good information about growing a personal training business. The idea is to talk to five people a day about your business. If you are shy, you could start out with just talking or saying hi to five people a day. Once that feels comfortable, then talk to them about your business. Don’t do a sales pitch; work what you do into the conversation casually.
“How do you stay motivated as a personal trainer?”
About 6 years into my career, I suffered from trainer burnout. I lost all enthusiasm and passion for training, and going to work became a huge chore. Instead of focusing on my clients, I was watching the clock, recycling everyone’s exercise programs and finding every excuse to cancel my clients’ sessions. Crazily enough I still had a great clientele, and I was making good money. The worst part about it was that I was comfortable. It’s a horrible position to be in.
How to Set and Keep Healthy Professional Boundaries
Most fitness professionals have seen and heard it all when it comes to boundaries. The very nature of the profession can lend itself to an intimacy you don’t see in other industries. Besides the physical closeness, personal trainers who approach wellness from a holistic viewpoint often fill an emotional need for clients.
“How do you create professional boundaries with your clients?”
One of the ways that I establish pro- fessional boundaries is by keeping the training sessions about the clients. When they ask, “And how are you?” I answer with a genuine “Great!” and leave the conversation at that.
What’s Ahead for Personal Training?
There’s no separating America’s alarming obesity epidemic and the nation’s out-of-control healthcare spending. In theory, these problems should drive demand for personal trainers in the years to come, but in reality, most trainers’ clients are already fitness enthusiasts who are not part of the obesity problem.
IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Personal Trainers
1. Always be guided by the best interests of the client. a. Remember that a personal trainer’s primary responsibility is to the client’s safety, health and welfare; never compromise this responsibility for your own self-interest, personal advantage or monetary gain. b. Recommend products or services only if they will benefit the client’s health and well-being, not because they will benefit you financially or occupationally. c.
The HIPAA Effect
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (42 United States Code § 1320d), which took effect nearly 10 years ago, has had a profound impact on the healthcare industry. Though HIPAA covers many areas, the privacy rule in particular is noteworthy.
The Anatomy of a Successful Client Testimonial
Customer testimonials can be fantastic tools for driving new business to your door. But boring, photo-free client comments buried deep inside your website are unlikely to do the trick. To quickly capture the imagination (and training dollars) of the masses, it is critical to breathe life into client success stories.
So what makes some testimonials tedious and others terrific? Follow these four steps to avoid the mistakes of time-wasting customer snooze stories. Bring your facility’s testimonials back from the brink—and attract new-member dollars to your door.
“Is it ethical for personal trainers to take clients with them when they leave an employer?”
As a manager and as an owner of a personal training studio for 20 years, I have had trainers leave and take clients three times. You can have trainers sign all the noncompete contracts you want, plus sign a contract that says they won’t steal clients. However, the loyalty that clients and trainers develop is a tough one to come between. Furthermore, you can sue a trainer for “stealing” a client, but after all is said and done, and time and energy lost, the client will still end up with the trainer, so choose your battles.
Nutrition Scope of Practice Revisited
As an ACE-certified group fitness and personal training professional, I found “Food and Nutrition R/Evolution” (Warm-Up, November–December 2011) fascinating. I have recently earned my MS degree in nutrition, and I am currently working as a dietetic intern in Chicago as I prepare to become an RD. I am an avid reader of your journal, especially the nutrition-related portions. I want to share a few thoughts regarding questions posed in the editorial.
IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Owners and Managers
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client. I will provide facilities and staff for effective exercise and lifestyle programs; ensure that staff maintains the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; uphold fair business practices and safety guidelines; and use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: personal Trainers
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
Ethical Practice Guidelines for Personal Trainers
Always be guided by the
best interests of the client.