You attempt to keep the sessions fresh and
upbeat, but you know in reality, it's the same old session.
At 10:30 you face a new person, but it's the same person
you saw at 10:30 last week, and you're trying to look forward
to your 11:30 session, but that client is really starting
to get on your nerves. You wonder what's going on. After
all, this was the career path you'd chosen, the avocation
you worked so hard to bring to your present level of success.
You're suddenly faced with a horrible fear, the fear that
you no longer love what you do. Are you alone? Absolutely
not!
It happens to executives who are overworked,
overstressed, and overburdened, but the rest of the world
can't imagine that we . . . the fitness professionals of
the world . . . might also face the dreaded challenge psychologists
have aptly named, BURN OUT!
We are perceived as fun, vibrant, and motivating.
While "regular people" work in offices, they assure us that
we're the lucky ones. We have fun in our careers. While
with a broad perspective they're right, they fail to recognize
the study, hard work, and resilience we've needed to summon
up to enjoy the luxury of loving what we do. That's why
when that love turns to something else . . . there's reason
for concern.
I've met many trainers who, when the passion
burned out, were ready to trade in their running shoes for
a new college curriculum or a suit and tie. I've met many
trainers who were growing tired of having to be so "up"
all of the time when their worlds were just as frustrating
of those of their complaining clients. Yes, I've met many
trainers who have experienced "burn-out." I'm thrilled to
report that, while there were some who found new directions
in life, in the great majority of cases, these trainers
remained in their careers rising to even higher levels of
success and finding more passion in their careers than ever
before. There's a catch. It took recognition of what was
happening, and then some directed effort at breaking through.
* * *
In early February of 2000 I received a desperate
e-mail plea from a Professional Consulting client. It sounded
like what psychologists might call a "typical case" of executive
burn out . . . only . . . he wasn't an executive. He was
a trainer! Here's the e-mail and my response:
Phil, this is going to sound weird,
but I love being a trainer and I'm starting to hate it.
What I mean is, there's nothing in the world I'd rather
do, but I'm really getting tired of the routine of seeing
the same people all of the time. There's only so much
I can do with them. I don't really know what advice you
can offer me, but you seem so consistently motivated,
and I feel so trapped. Please, if you have any ideas on
how I can get the passion back, it would be more appreciated
than you'll ever know.
Response: What you're going through
is not weird at all. In fact, it's 100% natural and is
almost to be expected as you grow. Think about what happened.
This whole thing started with an idea. You wanted to be
a Personal Trainer. You took some steps, ranging from
getting certified to following through and building a
clientele, and there was always something more to shoot
for. I'm sure at the time that you decided to become a
Trainer, you were doing something else, something that
wasn't satisfying you at the highest levels 100% of the
time. That's why there was this void, a void that needed
to be filled, a void that you believed would be filled
by a Personal Training career.
Once you recognize that, you'll also realize
that you are not the same person as you were when the idea
was only a dream. As your career has grown, so have your
desires, and you've reached a point of stagnation. With
the right attitude, you'll learn to welcome frustration.
It is the predecessor of breakthrough.
The first thing you have to do to turn this
around is clear your head. Take a day or a weekend and separate
yourself from work. Completely. Invest in a little journal
or a spiral bound notebook, and take some time to both think
and write. In so many other fields of endeavor, professionals
are taught to set and live by goals, both long and short
term. Goal setting, developing a clear vision of where you
are headed, is a vital business exercise I find many in
our industry have ignored. Clarity of direction can offer
you freedom from the frustration you're feeling, and the
best way to gain that clarity is to tap into your heart
and into your brain and document your findings with pen
and paper.
What excites you? Write about it. Despite
the recent frustrations, what do you love about your present
career? What could you love about your present career if
things were different, and specifically, what things would
need to be different? If you're reading these questions
now and thinking that they're hard, that you don't have
the answer, I'm not surprised. If you had the immediate
answer you wouldn't have asked me, nor would you be so frustrated.
Here's where you need to trust me. Nobody can answer those
questions better than you. You're just not in a productive
enough state right now to uncover the answers. That's why
it's essential that you get your head clear. Start writing.
At first it will be difficult, but you'll be surprised how
freely the answers begin to flow.
Once you've identified those things you
do love about your career, and those things you'd like to
change, you'll be able to formulate some new goals, and
with goals and a plan for achievement, you leave frustration
by the wayside. When you think and write in your journal,
it's important that you put your perception of reality aside.
Don't write only about those things you believe you can
do. Fantasize. What would you absolutely love to do? Remember,
your personal training career started as a dream.
One of the best moves I made as a trainer,
once I began to grow tired of seeing the same faces three
times a week trying to remain the great motivator while
my brain was saying, "here we go again," was to distance
the time between the sessions and handle more clients. I
don't mean more sessions. I just mean more clients. See
clients less frequently. That adds some variety. It also
gives you some time between client sessions to create. When
you see your clients less frequently they'll have more to
tell you in each session, more challenges they'll need your
help with. Monotony will lessen.
Sign up, as a client, for sessions with
other trainers. Does that sound demeaning? It shouldn't.
It's networking. Let go of your ego and open up to learning
what it feels like to be a client. With a new perspective
you might find some new ideas for stimulating motivation,
not to mention the tips you'll pick up watching other professionals
at work.
Do you love educating people? Public speaking?
Do some seminars. You can visit schools, corporations, community
groups, and fitness centers. With some directed effort you'll
find plenty of ideas for speaking before groups. Every group
is different, and although deep down the people will benefit
from similar information, the variances in the group settings
and personalities can only leave you feeling a new sense
of adventure. A small group seminar every 7-14 days can
add a great new thrill to your career, and can be very instrumental
in securing a strong clientele.
Maybe the four walls you train between are
starting to close in. Find a new venue. Do you train in
a health club setting? If not, maybe you should, at least
one day a week. If you're already in a health club, maybe
you need to venture outside of the facility into the world
at large. Find a group of individuals you enjoy working
with and sway your marketing in that area. Fire fighters?
Business executives? Models? Professional Athletes?
Commit to master a new area of fitness.
Learn to teach spinning classes. Sign up for instructional
sessions in leading Cardio kickboxing groups. Attend a convention.
Network with other trainers. Attend a seminar on self-improvement,
or on persuasion skills. Sign up for a college course.
I assure you, separating yourself from the
daily grind that has you feeling trapped, and committing
to exploring the future, can only lead to a positive change,
although it might feel uncomfortable at the moment. Be honest
with yourself. Do you really "hate" training, or do you
simply hate the feeling of stagnation? I'd be willing to
bet it's the feeling of being "stuck." It's the Groundhogs
Day syndrome (you'll only understand that if you've seen
the movie with Bill Murray. If you haven't, rent it and
you'll know what I mean).
All I can do here is get you motivated to
find the answers within yourself. They're there. I promise
you. Just as you show up responsibly for each session, and
make every client session a priority, make the thinking
and writing time a priority, one that will break you through
this point of frustration and send you flying toward some
new compelling goals.
* * *
I won't share the follow up e-mail I received,
but I will share the good news. This individual took my
advice, spent a weekend at a friend's beach house with a
notebook and a pen, and two weeks later he's landed a new
job as Fitness Director for a 3-club fitness chain. And
. . . his motivation is out of control.
What makes me an expert on burn-out? I guess
the same thing that makes a victim who has overcome a challenge
a good coach for others currently facing an uphill battle.
I've been there. More than once. In hindsight I see that
each period of frustration was the predecessor of a major
breakthrough, another step on the ladder. In fact, had I
not faced and conquered those feelings of frustration, the
odds of my reaching 40,000+ trainers with this article would
be slim at best.
I did have help. I utilized outside resources.
I attended seminars. I networked with people in other professions
who were experiencing similar frustration as well as people
who "broke through." At one point I even interacted with
a world renowned Career Counselor. Interestingly, after
a series of assessment tests, the results indicated I was
right where I should have been, just a few steps off of
my mark. I realized after the experiences had become part
of my history that the power to overcome the frustration
was not ultimately delivered by an outside source, but rather
from within. Since that realization I wouldn't even attempt
to count the number of fitness professionals I've advised
with the same direction I shared in my e-mail response.
As Professionals we will face many challenges,
and it's the willingness to face those challenges and the
courage to overcome them that turns potential leaders into
leaders and potential champions into champions.
Here's a simple exercise analogy. Training
clients without a sense of ongoing reward is like training
your muscles without feeling "the pump." It's like working
out and missing that reassuring "burn." The "burn" is a
sensation once associated with pain that through repetition
has become me the great signpost that proves that you're
on the right track. Once the pump is gone, once you no longer
feel "the burn," the workouts become impotent and enthusiasm
wanes. What do you do when you lose the pump? Change the
stimulus. Switch to a new routine or a new mode of training
and it doesn't take long before you again feel the burn,
before you again decide you haven't yet tapped into your
own potential and you can become better, stronger, leaner,
or faster. If you can see every day as "training" for your
ultimate goals, it's quite simple to understand why burnout
occurs. You adapt. You're used to the stimulus. There isn't
any sign of new growth, and that simply means, it's time
to change the routine! If you ever experience the frustrations
of stagnation, the unexplained loss of Personal Training
passion, welcome the frustration, meet the challenge, and
instead of burning out, break through!
Phil Kaplan's New Book, Personal
Training Profits and A Secure Fitness Future has been
added to his line of products and programs geared toward
increasing the success of Personal Fitness Professionals
worldwide.
Feeling
the Burn . . . 