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Apr 22

Just Do Your Job.

Some people aren't loyal to you
I wrote a blog years ago titled, “People don’t want a trainer. Know that and know the truth.” So what did I mean by that? Well…people don’t want a trainer. They want results. The trainer is simply the means to the end, meaning said results. Clients and competitors don’t hire trainers and coaches for their dashing good looks and charming personality. Well…lemme rephrase. They may INITIALLY hire someone because he/she looks great, has a pro card, is nationally qualified, yada, yada, yada. But if the trainer/coach doesn’t deliver the goods, meaning results, then the client/competitor is Audi.
 
If a trainer or competition coach delivers on what he/she is hired to do, then they’ll have a loyal client, and more likely than not, many referrals down the road. That’s how this industry, and pretty much ANY industry, works. Results/success breeds referrals and new business.
BUT…if the trainer/coach DOESN’T deliver, then the client will leave eventually, no matter HOW loyal he/she professes to be. And when they do, expect a bad report to follow. I mean, how do you praise someone who didn’t deliver, didn’t do what he or she promised? It’s kind of hard to say, “Oh my gosh, my coach is the most AWESOME trainer out there…” when it’s obvious that the individual hasn’t changed one iota. They need you to help them reach their goal(s), and if you can’t do that, then it’s on to the next trainer.
 
Personal trainer bad spotting squatsNow, there’s a slight problem with the above paragraphs as some of you have already surmized. Sometimes it’s not the trainer/coach. Sometimes it’s the client who, for one reason or another, refuses to follow the given plan. When that happens, the trainer gets blamed, and rumors, propoganda, gossip, and inuendos are spread. Perhaps life got in the way. Perhaps it’s more challenging than originally thought. For whatever reason, Joe or Sally simply doesn’t do what they’re told to do. And no results are produced. You can’t blame your coach/trainer for something you were told to do but didn’t. How foolish is that? I have a sign in my gym that states, “Results Achieved Are In Direct Proportion To Energy And Effort Expended.” If your trainer or coach tells you to do something, do it! If your trainer is on point, you’ll get the results. But don’t lie to your trainer. If he or she puts you on some whack nutrition plan or has you doing all kinds of crazy exercises and you don’t want to follow it, it’s better to just say that than to have your coach believe you’re following and not changing. You have a mouth. Use it in front of your coach instead of in front of your friends bashing your coach for your lack of doing.
 
So what’s my point to all of this? Simple…trainers and coaches, do your job. That’s what you’ve been paid for. If you’re stuck with a client, don’t be afraid to seek help…a second opinion, if you will. Remember, doctors consult with other doctors to help their patients, lawyers consult with other lawyers on cases, and athletes chat it up all the time to better their game. But for some strange reason, trainers and competition coaches have this mindset that they’re ‘simply the best, better than all the rest,” to steal a line from Tina Turner’s song, ‘Simply The Best’. You’re not the best. Why? Because you don’t know everything. There’s always another trainer/coach who knows something you don’t know, and can help you with your client/competitor. And you can help other coaches/trainers because you know something they don’t know. But as long as trainers and coaches run around with this superior-than-thou attitude, personality, and mindset, and refuse to talk with other coaches/trainers, then it’s the clients and competitors who ultimately suffer. So put your pettiness, insecurities, and narcissism aside and do the right thing…seek help when you’re stuck. 
Little girl shrugging - That moment when your Competition CoachAnd clients/competitors, you need to learn to be completely honest with not only yourself but your coach/trainer. We aren’t God. We can’t turn wine into water, meanning we can’t create or sculpt the physique you’re after if you cheat, lie, binge, purge, eat more than you’re supposed to, eat less than you’re supposed to, and then don’t tell us about it. For us to do our job you have to do YOUR job. That way we can see the effects and results of our plan, whether they be positive OR negative. I’ve always told my people, “If you’re doing everything you’re supposed to be doing, I should be able to see change on a weekly basis.” I seldom do calipers anymore. After 40+ years in this field, if I haven’t learned how to assess a physique by sight now, then I think it’s time I got out of the game. And to all the clients and competitors, if you can’t be completely honest with your coach/trainer, then you need to get out of the game. For this joint venture to work successfully, BOTH parties have to do what they’re supposed to do.

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