JAM JAR TRAINERS

Now, why did you choose this as your profession?

I am hoping it was to spend your life training people, coaching them through a process, evaluating what you see and hear and then making a decision based on what you have been taught, read and ultimately based from your own experience.  A life where you actually create a remarkable balance of being able to train, learn and educate yourself as well as instill that passion and belief when you meet and train others.

You used to dream of that very life and now you are living it.  Most people don’t!

So, now I ask…why the fuck are you chasing the six figure dream and the online business that means you can drink coffee all day while you run a business from your laptop by the pool for less than 1 hour a day?

Do you seriously want that, or are you being led to believe it?  Is that what you call being a strength coach; a personal trainer a rehab specialist that actually lives their dream?

Don’t worry, I have read the same BS and thought “Aye, working for 1 hour day and drinking coffee by the pool” then I realized I lived in the UK, it rains a lot and I actually enjoy coaching people. Listening to their insane beliefs that McDonalds fruit drinks are part of your 5 a day and giving your kids a fucked up amount of chocolate and E numbers is the perfect start to their schooling day…. it’s okay it is cereal and it turns the milk chocolatey too!

I have to be honest and say that I am sick to death of this modern day fitness entrepreneur – the jam jar trainer.  In fact, the jam jar expert trainer…you need to be an expert now.

Here is my definition of a jam jar expert trainer.  They can tell you the size of it, the shape, how much it can hold, the best label to attract attention, how to describe what it tastes like, the health benefits of sugar and preservatives and let’s not forget how much you will make selling it.

Ask the fuckers to open it and they will probably check if there is an iPhone app to help do just that.

It opens from plain old grip strength and mostly from moving weights around the gym from clients, athletes and your own training.

Who opens it?  A solid strength coach, a personal trainer who actually enjoys their job and the rehab specialist that keeps on returning patients back to full fitness.

SO WHAT IS MY POINT?

What advice can I give, when it took me about 4 years to get a website up and running and I would only open a jar of almond butter.

Here goes-

1. Your first client- apply what you have learned. Trust me whatever you do will be a significant change and that learning is invaluable. But it has to come from you and not a You Tube video on what some professional athlete has done 9 weeks into a training cycle after 8 years of training.

2. See all that stuff you are making the client do…well you best be doing it, or at least been through the same torturous plan. If you read about GVT then at least feel the pain from week 3 and beyond.  Cutting out carbs, sugars, wheat and alcohol? Then what does the cravings feel like, the energy slump and the amazing feeling at the end of it all? Look them in the eye and allay their fears based on yours.

3. Be the best trainer you can be in your local area and not the expert with 20 qualifications and still no clue in what it’s like to actually train from experience- don’t worry you will move beyond them soon enough.

4. Don’t smash your client with the latest omni directional kettlebell swing from your latest course at the weekend.  How about you refine what you learn, master it yourself and then integrate it into your clients’ training when you actually verbalise it in your own words and not repeat it verbatim from the day before.

5. Your second client isn’t your first and will require a variation in their program to sort out any imbalances, strengths or weakness.  Then you can smash them with 5 x 5, 8 x 8 or 10 x 10 when they trust you enough and they are ready for 3-4 days of DOMS and still thank as well as pay you.

6. Don’t buy any old publication based on the latest round of cool books.  Ask any trainer what they actually apply into their current training from Tim Ferriss The 4-hour Body after they read it.  Don’t worry it will be a ‘fuck knows’ look and then they will still say it’s a great read so buy it, they did! Think about where your own gaps in knowledge are and then ask them this question – “has this book changed your daily practice?”

7. You will have a target market and if you don’t know what that is yet, don’t worry it will come soon enough.  I have in the past ignored people because I thought I could get nothing from them- wow!  What an attitude not to have.  I actually woke up to this when I witnessed another trainer do this and then read the quote- ‘You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those that can do nothing for him‘. Just give and you will learn who the takers are soon enough- don’t worry they will be off when someone else gives them a little more ‘feed’. You will however meet some of the most inspiring people on this earth and best of all when you least expect it!

8. Learn from as many people as you can and then make your own mind up.  Then simply meet some more people, share and learn.

9.  Get a coach!  You will soon find out that the people going places are definitely learning from other great coaches in their field of expertise.  Get talking, have a network and don’t be afraid to ask questions, refer clients to each other and employ other speciality services.

10. Don’t wait 4 years to get a website up.  Start a blog by all means, but learn your craft, give your clients awesome service and then when your earning a decent amount of money pay a developer to sort your site, while you keep doing what you love- opening jam jars for others.  I will be making my own almond butter…

This is what 6 figures really looks like…

Author: Andy Mckenzie
Originally posted:16th March 2013