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t’s about 5 minutes before your clients are supposed to arrive. You sit- down with your assistant and go over the routines for both clients that day. For the spots in the routines when you both won’t be in the same part of the gym at the same time, you let him know what to do and look out for. You also let him know when the two of you will be switching cli- ents; this is so both clients feel they’ve gotten equal time with you, the master trainer. You brief him or her on the goals for the session and any key points to keep in mind with that particular client. You can’t take for granted the fact that your assistant will know how to administer cer- tain exercises or know what kind of intensity to use: you have to tell them in detail beforehand.Once the session begins, you then allow your assistant to perform the given exercises with one of the clients, while you work with the other one. Even though you’ll be focusing in on the client you’re with, you can still keep one eye on the other one, making sure everything is going to the exact standards you demand. If you see the technique or inten- sity of anything taking place doesn’t meet your standards, you immedi- ately step-in and correct it. Remember, your assistant is not training this client, he/she is merely administering your workout. If your workout isn’t being administered properly, it’s your responsibility to step-in and correct it.
is deliver the program.
Let me give you an example of the Super-Trainer System at work.
One of the major advantages of this system is that it allows you to charge full price for more than one client at a time. If you don’t know already, finding qual- ity employees in today’s marketplace is extremely difficult. If you had a training studio where you employed another trainer to work for you, you would inevitably have to charge less for the sessions here because this trainer would not be able to train your clients up to the same standards as you. Not only that, but because this trainer would have the full responsibility of training the client, you would have to pay this person more.
In this system, you maintain all of the responsibility. Your standards don’t drop with either of the clients in the session, so neither do your rates, and it also places less responsibility on your assistant and requires less experience on their part. In that way, you can pay them less than traditional trainers.
In fact, it’s probably better in the Super-Trainer arrangement to hire some- one that has no prior Personal Training experience. As we’ve talked about before, there are so many people looking to get started in the fitness business that this shouldn’t be difficult. All you really want to look for is a good attitude (this is key) and a desire to learn how to be a top trainer. If you just simply adhere to all of the principles in this book; the principles of focusing on your specialty, pre- planning your sessions, being attentive to your clients, and providing top service, you’re immediately in the top 5% of the trainers in the world. It will be a great experience for this new trainer to learn from a top professional like you; by the time you’re busy enough to need this assistant, you’ll be that top trainer.
In terms of paying your assistant, I’ve always started them at $15 an hour, with frequent pay raises as their ability improves. For training sessions that re- quire some commute time for your assistant, for example in-home and on-location Super-Trainer sessions, you can pay them a little more; between $25 and $30 an hour. I’ve charged between $85 and $99 and hour for training sessions with my assistant, so after his salary this still gave me a net profit of at least $168. And that was just for when I was training two clients at a time. I’ve also used the sys- tem to train between 3 and 4 clients an hour; however this was in the private health-club setting, where my rates were $60 per hour for sessions. In this situa-
tion I had to give the health-club a percentage of sales, but in spite of this it still yielded a net of over $150 an hour for me.
Using a mix of this system in the gym with some clients and other training structures outside of the gym allowed me to consistently earn over $100 an hour for all my training hours. As long as you pay attention to your basic marketing responsibilities and continue to improve, getting to this level shouldn’t be diffi- cult. It just takes a float of about 15-20 clients, which can be accumulated over a few months.
Not only does this system pay you more, but it has an interesting effect; it makes you look better. There’s inherently an added respect we give to someone who can lead and manage other people; they seem more powerful, competent, and responsible. And interestingly enough, even though you may only be working about 20 hours a week, it gives you the appearance of being in hyper-demand. What this means is that your perceived value goes up, and you even have the po- tential to raise your rates slightly because of it! Your clients won’t be aware that you employ the help of an assistant to keep your working hours as short as possi- ble. They’ll assume that you work 40+ hours a week just like them, and earn a much higher income than you actually do.
Managing an assistant is a good learning experience for you too. From this book, you’ll understand that I view Personal Training as the beginning part of your journey in the fitness industry. It’s not just the money or the achievement of success in the gym that’s the most rewarding; it’s the potential the job has to help you grow as a person. Managing your assistant is a major part of that process. It will teach you the responsibilities of being a leader, a mentor, and setting a good example. No matter how simple or stress free the career path you eventually chose, you’ll still have to manage employees and take a leadership role at some point. The Super-Trainer System will be your first taste of that. You might make some mistakes in the beginning, but it’s all part of your learning process.
Having an assistant that’s familiar with your training style and standards also gives you an added dimension of freedom. When your assistant trainer has mastered your techniques and principles, you can leave them in charge of your clients whenever you decide to take an extended holiday. It takes away one of the major drawbacks of being a trainer, that if you go on a two week vacation, almost all of the progress your clients achieve vanishes! Especially when you’re an out-
standing trainer, your clients become even more dependent on you. This creates a situation where it’s hard for you to take any extended time off, knowing that when you get back your clients will be shell of themselves. In these situations, you can put your assistant in control with instructions to work toward the same goals and maintain the same intensity with your clients while you’re gone. This allows you to take the occasional two, three, or even four week vacation. This isn’t some- thing you can do more than twice or three times a year, but having your assistant allows you the option without having the progress you and your client have worked so hard for go to waste. Your clients will be happy to train with your as- sistant while you enjoy your much deserved vacation, and you don’t have to charge them any less for training for the training while you’re gone because it’s still of the same “brand”. You may want to pay your assistant slightly more for this time that they’re captaining the ship on their own (optional), but the true re- ward for them is the experience of training a high-level client load by themselves. In my experience, they’re grateful for the responsibility and do their absolute best job to maintain your standards and not let you down.
Having this peace of mind that your clients are covered is something that almost no professional in this type of field can afford, but it’s something that the Super-Trainer System allows you. Almost everyone else is harmed by the fact that any time they take off interrupts the normal routine and consumption patterns of their clients. Once you’ve gained this client and got them “hooked” so to speak, you never want to allow anything to break the momentum you’ve gained, and a vacation by you will do just that. In that regard, having an assistant gives you a huge edge. It also gives you the ability to earn close to your usual income even while you’re traveling, a huge advantage as well. You’re vacation can basi- cally be paid for by the work your assistant is doing while you’re gone.