TOP-NOTCH TRAINING Tammy Polenz | www.vedasfitness.com
Don’t water down your services; strive to be unique As trainers, whether in traditional gyms or niche training facilities, we try to stay on top of the latest and greatest training techniques to better serve our clients and remain marketable. While it is always a good idea to be well-educated on new concepts, it is equally critical that you do not water down your expertise. Offering niche services is a great way to set your training apart. High-intensity training is growing by leaps and bounds. Urbanathalon training centers, cross-training and powerlifting facilities continue to grow. This trend in athleticism is not only for adults, but youth programs are becoming more popular as well. Identifying this industry trend might sway you to jump on board the high-intensity exercise train, but think again. Instead of following the herd, try entertaining these thoughts from a different angle. For example, often accompanying intense training techniques is a paralleled rise in exercise-related injury. When trends arise, take a look at several angles before jumping on the bandwagon. When we look at the other side of the high-intensity trend coin, for example, we see that an increase in high-intensity training and sport program participation has a darker side. You are only as strong as your weakest link and movement alone opens us up to the potential of injury. For this reason, injuries are here to stay. As a trainer looking to differentiate, try providing services that solve this dilemma. There are several kinds of services you can provide, along with many market segments in which to provide them. Injury prevention and post-rehabilitation are two training solutions available. A few market segments to consider include seniors, middle-aged athletes and youth populations. Injury solutions should include several components of injury prevention, including exercise preparation for the beginner to the advanced athlete, sport-specific prevention training techniques, proper mechanics education for static and dynamic movements, appropriately progressive cardiovascular conditioning and periodized programming for pre-season, mid-season and post-season training. To get started, choose continuing education courses in related areas. Start looking at trends as an opportunity to explore complementary services that the trend may not necessarily offer clients. You don’t have to water down your training just to jump on the trend bandwagon, but thinking outside-of-the box and offering these niche solutions will give you the edge to better serve your clients, while setting yourself apart from other professionals.
Tammy Polenz, CPT, has been in the fitness industry since 1991 as a personal trainer, club manager, corporate wellness consultant and gym owner and designer. She is the author of Think Fit 2 Be Fit, founder of Vedas Fitness in Cleveland, and has been featured in numerous fitness magazines and media.