#2 Successful Personal Trainers are Coaches.

Coaching, which begins with the utilization of Motivational Interviewing techniques, is what it takes to get your clients to create and sustain change. Coaches are not dictators of what to do. They are facilitators for the client to discover their own path of change. In other words, coaching gets them to come up with their own solutions. When they come up with the answers, what they need to do, and what they’re ready to do, they are more likely to follow through with them.

By asking open-ended questions, the coach can help clients clarify their goals, past and potential future obstacles. Together the coach/client team problem solve, define action plans and create a system of accountability.

A coach offers the client safe, open, and honest dialogue without judgment, ongoing support, encouragement, and help them to accomplish more than they believed possible.

Successful Personal Trainers utilize coaching techniques to get and keep their clients engaged in their programs. While some Trainers inherently use many of these skills, a formal training program will take you to the next level.

FYI: in a recent New York Times artiicle Approach May Matter In Advice On Weight

Recognized Coaching certification organizations:

Wellcoaches (the Wellness Coach program I went through)

International Coach Academy

International Coach Federation (ICF)

A good resource to get started:
Lifestyle Fitness Coaching

Check out the full series.

Top 10 Traits of Successful Personal Trainers (Series)

Top 10 Traits of Successful Personal Trainers #1

P.S. Also, follow my Business of Personal Training page on Facebook.

Someone was talking about “paying it forward” this week and I started thinking about how much I enjoy mentoring others to become better, more successful Personal Trainers and/or business people.

A mentor, according to Merriam-Webster, is “a trusted counselor, tutor, or coach.” For me it means a sensei or teacher that seeks to share his/her wisdom, knowledge, and experience with someone eager to learn. 

My career has now spanned 30 years. I have had many mentors over the years from Dr. Joseph Pechinski, when I worked in the human performance center at the University of Maine, to Rich Brooks, Lynnelle Wilson, Carl Natale, and Mike Freeman(the gang at mainebusiness.com) who helped me to understand social media marketing for your business. Thank you all. You have enriched both my professional and my personal life.

As has been the case for most of my life, I try to pay forward the lessons/gifts that I have received. It is one of the most gratifying things I have done and will continue to do.

What about you? Are mentoring someone? Do you have a mentor?(you should. I’m looking to see who I can learn from next) I’ll be creating a structured mentorship program for Personal Trainers soon, but in the meantime, if I can be of any help to you, please ask. 

Best wishes all and do the mentor BOGO.