As a trainer who has been in and around health clubs for 12 years, I have seen my share of ill suited and apathetic trainers and fitness staff members. I was at my gym the other day working out and noticed a female trainer (working) with a client. This trainer, by her facial expression and actions (or lack thereof), really had no interest in her client. All the while her client was exercising, the trainer was either looking in the other direction with a bored look on her face, or playing with her cell phone. During a 35 minute time span, I didn’t once hear a verbal exchange between the two. Now, this trainer was in very good shape and I have to assume that she felt that was enough to sell herself as an expert. I couldn’t help but wonder what this poor client was thinking and why she was shelling out her hard earned dollars to pay this idiot for doing nothing.

This is just one example and believe me, I have seen a ton of similar scenarios.

Personal Training is not for everyone, but the lure of relatively easy money in exchange for fitness advice has brought the unscrupulous as well as the perpetually grumpy out of the woodwork. If you have an indifference to the health industry and/or have little to no interest in actually helping people, then this is the wrong business for you. If your idea of a quality training session is pushing a few random exercises on someone, then this is a bad fit for you.

Personal training, the way it should be done anyway, takes a certain skill set and lots of patience. Also, without a true desire to see your clients succeed, your career as a trainer will be short at best.