I’ve got a confession to make – I’m really bad at Personal Training.

Sure, I’ve helped hundreds of clients lose weight, build muscle and transform both their health and their physiques over the past twenty years.

Yes, I currently have a roster of over 200 clients that work with me on a weekly basis, both Online and In-Person.

And it’s true that the majority of my clients have worked with me for over a decade and continue to work with me to this day.

However, truth be told, I really suck at my job………

The Social Media Superstar

I’ve made it no secret for my love/hate relationship with Social Media over the past few years. I love the fact that I can release what I believe to be educational and informative training and dieting content on a daily basis. I love the fact that I can market our services as a company in a tasteful and respectful manner with a click of a button. And I love the fact that I can interact with so many people in such little time and reach a wider range of audience without having to leave our training facility.

But I also hate the pressure I feel at times to release educational and informative training and dieting content on a daily basis. I also hate feeling like a sleazy sales rep, each time I post about one of our many services that we offer as a Personal Training Company. And I truly hate how impersonal and generic some of my interactions with other Social Media Users can be at times.

But like anything in life, with the good usually comes the bad. And therefore I’ve learned to co-exist peacefully with my Online Usage when it comes to our business practices and networking skills.

Sucking at Social Media

When it comes to my skillset as a Social Media Influencer/Personal Trainer, I ABSOLUTELY SUCK! I mean most Trainers who advertise their services online these days are out there filming their clients on their Iphones while they workout and uploading these videos to Instagram and Facebook.

Shouldn’t I Be Doing This Too?

And most Trainers who promote their brand and themselves online, usually do it while taking scantly clad selfies and videos of their own “amazing results”.

Do I Need To Be Doing This Too?

And finally, most Trainers who use social media to motivate their clients and followers do so by shaming them with “No Excuses” memes and copy and past Inspirational quotes from Gandhi that have little or nothing to do with diet and training whatsoever.

Won’t I Get More Followers and Clients By Doing This Too?

Well if I were good at my job as a Personal Trainer, then one would think I would be doing all of these things too. Alas I’m not though. Which is just one of the two reasons as to why I’m a shitty Personal Trainer.

The Second Reason – The Shitty Salesman

It’s no secret that gyms are known for their pushy sales tactics.

“Sign Up Today and We’ll Waive Your Enrolment Fee” or “Buy 12 Sessions And Get 1 Session Free!” or “50% Off Everything Today Only!!!”

Do any of these sounds familiar to you?

I’ve always believed in being completely transparent and honest with our clients when it comes to pricing options. This is actually one of the main reasons as to why I post all of our training rates up front on our website. And even though I personally don’t believe in offering “sales” and ridiculous “discounts” on our services, I do believe that exercising with a licensed and trained professional should be made affordable to everyone. This is why as a Personal Training Company we make sure to offer a wide range of Personal Training Services that are suited to all budgets.

In my opinion, just because someone is working on a fixed budget, does not mean that he or she should receive any less quality of a service. Therefore as someone who makes the majority of his income selling a service, I damn well make sure that service is of the best and utmost of quality. However to offer a premium service in this industry, you need to be willing to work hard for your clients and you need to actually care about your clients. And both of these qualities take time, and they take ALOT of time. Time that I could be using making YouTube videos of myself training in the gym, cooking my meals and showcasing the bodybuilding and fitness lifestyle for the world to see.

I’ve been told from marketers and advertisers that at this point in my career, I could make ALOT more money if I were to spend more of my time and my attention geared towards promoting myself like this online. However all this time and attention would eventually take me away from the quality of service that my clients are use to receiving.

But then again, would it really matter if my service started to become more diluted yet at the same time I was making more money doing other things that require less effort and energy?

Probably not. But I’ll never do it because I’m a shitty salesman. And everyone knows that if you’re a shitty salesman, than ofcourse you must be a shitty Personal Trainer too. Right?

Why I’m Content With Being A Shitty Personal Trainer…..

Despite what I’ve been told I “should do” when it comes to growing our business, I’ve refrained from practices in which I believe to be cheesy, pushy, self-serving, and narcissistic behaviour. I won’t ever shove an Iphone in my clients’ faces and film them while they workout just to promote my services to the Online World. I can’t justify increasing my own rates drastically just because there is currently a waiting list of clients that are willing to work with me on the floor. And I’ll never try to push someone to purchase a Training Package or Online Service that I know is not within their budget just so I can make a few extra dollars.

I will however continue to deliver a service in which I believe cannot be replicated by most other Trainers. I can ensure that every single client that works with our team will feel valued and know that their health and fitness goals are important to us. And I do believe there is much more to being a great Personal Trainer then just someone who can help you lose fat, build muscle and improve your overall health while transforming your physique.

But if all of this means, that I have to remain a so-called Shitty Personal Trainer, I’m okay with it. Because at least I’ll be a Successful Personal Trainer that’s known for caring about his Clients’ short term and long term goals and results.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Personal Trainer