5 Imperatives of The Personal Trainer of The Future

Anyone who has been a personal trainer, group class instructor, boot camp coach, or some other form of fitness coach for any period of time will probably agree there’s a problem in the fitness industry today:

It’s incredibly hard, seemingly impossible, to pursue a lifelong career as a fitness professional. Instead, what we do have is an abundance of part-time fitness coaches, group exercise instructors, and personal trainers, who last a couple of years or so and then leave the industry to pursue a real career. 

Arguably the medical model is also broken, as it focuses on medicating and putting a Band-Aid on the damage people do to themselves through living sedentary lives and eating poorly, as opposed to preventing problems and even reversing them through lifestyle changes. 

Clearly something isn’t working, as Type 2 Diabetes rates today say 9.4 percent of Americans have diabetes, while another 84 million have prediabetes. Meanwhile, obesity rates are creeping closer and closer to 40 percent of the population every year.

This is where the coach comes in

This is where the coach comes in: A professional, career coach has the ability to take a proactive and preventative approach to helping people get their lives on track and fix their health problems. And the need for coaches is only going to grow. Get a free introduction to a professional coaching education here.

This is where OPEX comes in: Slowly but surely, we’re churning out more and more professional, career coaches, who are starting to make a dent in the giant market of people who need a coach.

The 5 imperatives to changing the current model and professionalizing the coach:

5. Long-term program design: Planning, periodization, and priorities:

OPEX clients follow individual training programs that are designed to keep them fit not just for the duration of a 6-week challenge, but for life. They do this by being tailored to the client’s exact needs: Their physical health and needs, and also their emotional health, their stress levels, their work schedule and priorities, their diet and sleep—and all other facets of their lives.

4. Client independence, education, and self-accountability

Another problem in the industry is a lack of education and accountability on the client end. Clients usually show up to the gym and do what they’re told by their personal trainer or group class instructor, and never develop knowledge themselves as to the intention of any given training program, let alone knowledge of what their own bodies should and can do and why. OPEX clients, on the other hand, become educated as to the why behind any decision and are less reliant on their coach telling them what to do all the time. As a result, they become empowered by gaining independence and self-accountability.

3. Assessment and consultation

Many people today go to the gym without a clear focus. Their movement patterns and abilities are never properly assessed, and other areas of their lives are never taken into consideration. OPEX clients go through a three-part assessment with their personal coach, and then continue to meet their coach once a month for a lifestyle consult, where their coach truly gets to know who they are and how to help them in ways beyond just their training program.

2. Coaching the other 23 hours: Nutrition and lifestyle

These monthly consults allow the client and coach to take a close look at the other 23 hours of the day when they’re not at the gym, and form practical action plans to help them make positive lifestyle changes to improve their physical, mental and emotional health.

1. Having a scalable coaching system

One of the major shortcomings of the current personal training model (as well as the group class model) is that coaches have to work way too much in a one-on-one environment to earn a living. The system isn’t designed to help the coach live a balanced life. Learn more about the economics of coaching here.

The OPEX model, on the other hand, still creates trusting relationships between the client and the coach, but doesn’t place the same overwhelming time demands on the coach. At OPEX gyms around the world, the on-floor coaching hours are shared among the coaches, meaning they don’t have to work eight exhausting on-floor coaching hours each day, burning out in the process.

The scalable OPEX system is designed for the long-term health of the coach, the client and the business. Coaches spend two to three hours a day on the floor, which keeps them fresh and gives them flexibility and freedom in their lives. This also means they can finally take a vacation and their paycheck doesn’t take a hit. 

It’s tough to make a living in the fitness industry. But, imagine learning a way to not only make a living but create a lifelong career in the fitness industry. Get an introduction to that education with the free Professional Coaching Blueprint.