I recently took a job as a Personal Trainer.....

        As the title says I took a job as a Personal Trainer at a local gym. I got my Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) a few years ago with no intention of training people (ironic right?). I got it to further my education in fitness and it was free. Not entirely free since I had to join the military to reap the educational benefits. I applied to a few gyms, took a couple phone interviews, in person interviews just to have the conversation and see what fitness as a business is all about. Some interviews were more successful than others; Some gym managers spoke the entire time almost bragging about the years training which turned me off.... why would I work with a know it all? 

    In person interviews were more successful since I have a personality, a degree of knowledge about fitness, and a rolodex of pop culture references that I use to bring humor to the table. I was even offered a few jobs at the table, but much lower price than I anticipated. I have a master's degree in exercise science, CPT, passed a portion of the CSCS, written a book about fitness and a fairly successful blog. For the military I have experience as an instructor and as a Drill Sergeant. In my mind I was worth at least $25-$30 bucks an hour. The offers were much lower than my ideal price range. The biggest hiccup was lack of experience. I would shift the conversation towards the military as I train military personal. Majority of gym managers did not care nor care to upgrade the offer. I ended up turning those jobs down. During the "offer" portion I was reminded of a quote by the Joker, "If your good at something. Never do it for free."

    Fast forward to after our move I found two gyms that passed the vibe test and offered a decent price range and amenities (free gym membership, discount family memberships, flexible schedule). I met a few other trainers during both interviews, and they are outstanding people. I ended up taking one of those offers and things were peachy.

    The first couple days of training went really well. It was all about fitness which is my strong suit. My first two training days ran long because the conversation was that good. Giving me a platform to talk shop and showcase a personality is a home run. The past few training days make me question fully immersing into the profession. The pitch to close the deal is awkward-borderline scammish. I felt dirty asking someone to cough up a large sum of money because it is most beneficial to me. I know that any increase in activity level and dialed in nutrition will yield positive results. The fitness information that I know can be researched online in free platforms. What can I offer you that a free YouTube channel can't? This is the part that I struggle with. Additionally, my pitch is centered around one question, "Do you want to get better?" This works for military personal as I can play to their ego. Using that technique to a 45-year-old mom with 3 kids doesn't bode too well. When protentional clients bring up how expensive it is then I'll say money is a tool and your health is worth the investment. That doesn't bode to well either when folks have a mortgage, water, utilities, kid's activities to pay for. If personal training was all about fitness, then I would be 100% on board. The "sales" part makes me feel like a used car salesman. Perhaps this just something new that I need to overcome to in order to be successful in this industry.