Use your leadership ability to impact more lives

Being a fitness trainer is more than just putting together meal plans and exercises that get results.

It’s about being the push someone needs to make a change or the coach that someone has always needed to get themselves to the next step. As a fitness trainer, you’re more than just a trainer—you’re a huge reason for your client’s success.

And it’s time you gave yourself some credit.

Every fitness trainer is a leader. You have to consistently lead by example to show your clients that you’re not just telling them to work out. You’re living and breathing that lifestyle too. You’re putting just as much effort into yourself as you expect them to put towards them.

The key to feeling like a leader is knowing what your “Why” is.

What’s Your “Why” as a Fitness Trainer?

Every business owner, and you included, has to figure out what their why is. What’s the reason that you wake up every morning and want to train people instead of working as a software developer or a contractor?

Maybe it’s because you were out of shape and you realized how much your life improved when you lost the extra weight.

Maybe you’ve figured out how to gain muscle in a fast, healthy way and you want to share that knowledge with others.

Maybe you know the difference working out and eating right has on your lifestyle, and you want to show as many people as possible that they need to do the same.

Whatever your “Why” is, it’s going to become the foundation of your business. It’ll be what you build your business on top of as you continue to serve people and fulfill that purpose.

If you’re having trouble figuring out your why, here are a few questions to reflect on:

• WHO do you want to train?
• HOW do you want to train them?
• WHAT do you believe is holding them back?

Let’s say you want to train busy moms. You know what it’s like to be a parent and realize just how overlooked moms are when it comes to fitness. Trainers expect them to do 30-minute workouts, but they don’t have the time. Your “Who” is busy moms. Your “HOW” is with fast bodyweight exercises that can be done in 15-minutes. Your “WHAT” is that these moms don’t have the confidence to get back into the gym or start working out again, and it makes them put off starting.

This turns your “Why” into,

“I wake up every morning and want to work with busy moms who don’t have the time for long workouts and need the confidence boost to believe they can get back into shape. If I can help them feel confident and strong again, they’ll be happier and show their children the importance of taking care of their bodies, which would have a ripple effect through the healthy habits their children pick up in the future.”

What’s your “Why”?

How To Showcase Your Why in Your Branding

You’re going to add your “Why” into the content you create for your brand regularly. For example, when you make an Instagram feed video with quick workouts for moms to do at home while their baby is napping, you’ll start by saying something like.

“I know you’re too busy for a long workout—but you still want to get a workout in. Here’s a 15-minute workout you can do without waking up your baby.”

Showcasing your “Why” in your branding shows your ideal client that you’re in this for more than the income. You’re in this to help them with something they’ve been struggling with. Once you have your “Why” nailed down, you’ll be able to keep mentioning it in your branding and content moving forward.

You might start to feel like a broken record with your “Why,” but don’t worry. People aren’t going to get annoyed that you keep talking about busy moms are and how tough it is for them to get a work out in. They’re going to relate to it and realize you’re the first fitness trainer that’s ever really got them.

And that’s when you’re able to turn your social media audience into fitness customers.

Once you have fitness customers, you’ll want to make sure to keep going above and beyond for them by showing them that your “Why” goes far past the sale. You can do this through Live Q&As, DMing them and asking them how things are going, and helping them with anything that’s in your wheelhouse. Fitness clients are looking for a trainer that cares about them, and if you showcase consistently how much you care about their progress—they’re not going to want to leave.