It’s the people side that trips people up.
“The training side of the training business is easy.
The people side of the training business is what is hard.
It’s a lot more about empathy, energy, sustained encouragement, human psychology, communication, & social agility than it is squats, weight loss, & fit tips.”
-Ray Zingler on X
I mean you must know what you’re doing.
With athletes, it’s move, run, sprint, jump, throw, change directions, squat, hinge, rotate, push, pull, hinge, train on one leg, train with one arm, and carry.
With general fitness clients, it’s much of the same with regressed intensities based on wants/needs/desires.
Again, you have to be a Pro and know why, when, and how to set all that up and methodically progress it, (most in this game try to do this, without, you know, being a pro at all) but at the end of the day, none of it is rocket math.
The training side of the training business is the easy part.
Step 1: Know your shit.
Step 2: Live your shit (every day)
Step 3: Write up a sound program.
Step 4: Implement your program
Step 5: Readily adjust and adapt your program in real time to meet the ever changing and evolving needs of your clients (most important part).
I’ve not got 200 words on the page and I’ve done explained what it takes to be a successful professional on the “training side” of the training business.
But here’s the deal, anybody can do that. Literally anybody.
My son is 5 and is starting to fully comprehend program flow and design.
Where this game gets challenging and consequently where many people fail is on the people side.
While I don’t want to imply that the split squats, lunges, ab workouts, and nutrition tips aren’t important (they are).
They are far less important than the empathy you have for those who are entrusting you with their time.
Your energy and how you make people feel when they (pay) to enter your presence matters more than your “new” exercise.
Are you a consistent encourager? Its more important than the new crash diet you’re telling them about.
How well do you understand human psych and behavior? Yep, matters fare more than front raises or side raises.
Are you an effective communicator? Do you know how to read a room?
These are all areas they don’t teach you about when it comes to being a “fit pro” and in year 15 of this gig, I can tell you the people side is infinitely more important than the fitness side.
