The Ugly Truth About The Fitness Industry
At Perform for Life, one of our biggest and most important values is education. We believe education is essential because we want to be the best at what we do, and because education is key to changing an industry that can all too often be solely focused on business and sales. And this is the unfortunate truth: that survival in the personal training industry is typically based off of a trainer’s ability to sign clients and get renewals, and not on the trainer’s ability and drive to care for clients, achieve results, and improve his or her own skill set. This does not mean to say that signing clients and getting renewals is not important, because it is. A business can’t survive without these elements, and clients can’t be reached and served if businesses and trainers can’t make a living. But the problem lies in the fact that the industry as a whole focuses on profits while that focus should be placed on community, service, and of course, education.
When the focus is on money profits - and not on education or improving one’s ability to safely and efficiently get results for clients - trainers will shift their focus to solely making profits. When this shift occurs, the industry suffers because because practitioners become good businessmen, and not necessarily good at what really matters: caring for clients, achieving results, and keeping clients safe during movement. How often do you hear about someone getting hurt while working out with a trainer? Or about someone’s trainer not really caring? Or about someone’s trainer just caring about getting a renewal and their paycheck? How often have any of these things happened to you?
I think that, at this point in time, the personal training industry simply isn't getting the recognition that it deserves. However, trainers shouldn’t be blamed because the industry has become a setting that makes it nearly impossible to focus on education and becoming the best trainer that one can be. So what recognition does the personal training industry truly deserve?
I believe that personal trainers should be viewed as the most essential resource for physical and psychological health. Because if you think about it, how often do you see your doctor or another health practitioner? Maybe when you're already hurt or in severe condition. How often do you see your psychiatrist? Maybe once a month or even less. And how often do people typically see their personal trainers? 1-3 times a week, if not more. So the point I'm trying to make is this: a personal trainer sees you more often than any other health professional, and yet there is a stigma that trainers are more likely to hurt and fish for sales than genuinely care.
So at Perform for Life, we are trying to change that. We understand how big of a part of our clients’ lives we can be, and we understand that we can make a real, positive difference in their lives. Especially in this country where health and wellness has become secondary to the rush and priorities of our everyday lives, we understand that it is our duty to make sure that the personal training industry can live up to its potential and change health for everyone for the better.