Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008 - (Page 14)

CONTROVERSIES REWIRING THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE TRAINER MIND BY PHIL KAPLAN I’ll stand behind that statement without the least bit of hesitation. Those of us who are committed to excellence, who have commanded a knowledge of the scientiﬁc process of positive physical change and who have managed to accumulate signiﬁcant revenues as a result of changing people’s lives for the better stand as an example of what is possible. Restated in simpler terms, we study, we learn, we apply, and we are rewarded. The reward comes in the form of dollars plus expressions of gratitude. There is no greater thrill for me than knowing I’ve made a diﬀerence in yet another person’s life, and there is no greater privilege than earning a comfortable living in an area where the ﬁnancial reward is matched by the expression of gratitude. I love what I do, I do what I love, and my life has been an adventure of unexpected magnitude. Yours should be as well. A personal ﬁtness trainer within three years can earn professional income in line with medical professionals, and within the two years that follow, can achieve professional status and ﬁnancial independence. Oh, if it were only that simple. Some trainers feel it’s somehow wrong to pursue money. Others feel those who command professional income have violated some moral code. Still others feel that if ﬁtness professionals command professional income, they must have some unfair advantages. Let me make a bolder statement than those I’ve already made. Every personal ﬁtness trainer with a sense of responsibility, a true passion, a willingness to act upon that passion and enough humility to see the value in investing in professional education beyond technique and practice can earn a comfortable six-ﬁgure income without limit on potential for growth. CURRENT Personal ﬁtness training is a profession. There are three keys: perspective and mindset, wiring and strategic action. Keeping It in Perspective If perspective could be imagined as one side of a mirror, the side that reveals a personal trainer to be a professional in every sense of the word is the side I live on. There is, however, the view from the other side, and it isn’t pretty. Personal training isn’t regulated by anybody anywhere. It’s a free-for-all. Many health clubs fail to recognize the value of trainers, and they operate their training departments with a revolving door. The average trainer earns a fraction of his or her ﬁnancial need, and credit card debt is an accepted evil for most. From the consumer perspective, trainers are expensive, and they fail to understand the inherent challenges the average person faces in attempting to integrate ﬁtness into an impossibly 14 NOV-DEC2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Your Scope of Practice Combating Youth Obesity Current Controversies The Balancing Act Product Profile Building a Base of Special Populations The Right State of Mind Mark Your Calendar The Equipment Dilemma Too Much To Do, Too Little Time Exercise Spotlight Holiday Gift Guide New on the Market Alyte Piedra

Personal Fitness Professional - November/December 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.