I was Lead Fitness Trainer at Anytime Fitness in Rotterdam NY. The job was mixture of being a gym employee and an independent contractor as a fitness trainer. I did a split shift. In the morning I worked for the gym in the evening I was a Personal Trainer. I was also an employee at Glens Falls Hospital Wellness Center more recently. My job there was more of a public relations and assistance type job. I would help people that needed assistance getting on and off machines. I would show them how equipment worked and do some basic gym maintenance. Sometimes people would want me to show them exercises but I had a very limited amount I could do because they were all higher risk people. They were grooming me to be a silver sneakers instructor but it wasn’t really my thing. I got the cert but I left prior to instructing any classes. I ended up getting a job that paid more as a maintenance man at a campground.
The thing that I learned is that you have to be willing to do whatever an employer needs. I had to clean the toilets as part of my job. You have to remember that your employer is risking everything. If they need you to do something you need to remember that. When people see that you are a good worker they will try to repay you. If you always want everything up front they see you as being more trouble than you are worth.
This is actually very interesting. When I first got certified a friend of mine told me a new gym in Rotterdam NY was looking for personal trainers. I had never worked with a single person. I was pretty jacked for a guy my age and the husband and wife that bought the gym were very impressed by both my physical condition and how I presented myself. They asked if I wanted to be the manager of a 5 person team of trainers. I had zero experience but I wasn’t about to let an opportunity pass me by. They hired me on the spot without vetting me just based upon that five minutes we spent talking. Talk about a steep learning curve. I had no experience at all. However I knew a ton of stuff about diet and exercise and just learned the rest as I worked.
I can tell you exactly why I got the job. There were three reasons. I don’t come across as being too cocky which most personal trainers tend to do. It’s one thing to display self confidence but to act like Joe or Jane fitness is a turn off. Secondly I had a lot of customer service experience. It doesn’t matter if it is working at Walmart, having face to face experience with people is a selling point. Thirdly I am a likeable person. People feel that I am kind and trustworthy within the first few minutes of meeting me. I try my best to always be a nice person in every situation. When you do that it becomes a part of your nature. If you fake it people know. But I truly believe that people can change and when they do it’s no longer an act.
