Andy Rose has been a personal trainer for most of his life. He's seen the industry completely transform and, because of what he has witnessed, he has created a podcast with a very clear purpose:
"Back in my day, being a professional actually meant something. So in this podcast I'm going to seek out to interview the true professionals in this industry — the people who paved the way for what we do today and the people who created an industry before there was ever such a thing as being a full-time professional personal trainer or a strength coach."
With Dave as his guest for Episode 5, Rose wastes no time getting down to business. In this episode, he asks Dave two key questions about the training and coaching industry.
1. What is the single worst thing that has been done to the training and coaching industry and can it be turned around?
The main problem Dave sees is a lack of interest or ability in trainers and coaches to help the industry grow. He explains this through a metaphor: In the industry right now, everyone is planting their seeds and expecting a big harvest. So they plant the seeds (help people with training), water the seeds, and then wait for the harvest (money). Then they get impatient, so they water the seeds more and lean against a tree, watching and waiting for the sun to come out so the seeds will grow. This cycle repeats with the trainers watering their seeds (helping people) then watching and becoming more and more impatient when the seeds don't grow into something to harvest (the trainers don't make tons of money). So they give up and say, "Screw it, I'm only helping people who pay me. I'm worth more than this, I shouldn't be doing all this work for free."
They believe that when they do work for free, their work isn't valued. The trainers stop helping people without payment and start charging people for everything. They don't answer questions on social media or forums, but instead ask for direct messages and then try to sell services.
What these trainers don't understand is that 20 or 30 years ago, the professions of being a personal trainer, a strength and conditioning coach, or an online trainer did not exist. They only exist today because of the harvest that was planted 20 or 30 years ago — they're reaping the harvest of the seeds planted long ago. What they plant now is what will determine the state of the industry in another few decades but, in Dave's mind, the problem is that they aren't taking care of the industry. Instead of adding soil to the land so the harvest can grow, they're laying concrete over it.
2. How do you want to be remembered?
First, Dave says he doesn't want to spend his time worrying about how people might remember him years from now. He believes that he was put here for a purpose, and he's fulfilling that purpose. Every day this happens is a good day to stay alive, and this purpose isn't going to change because of what someone thinks of him — now, or any number of years in the future. What he cares about is who he can impact today and how he can help them right now. As long as he can keep doing that, how he'll "be remembered" doesn't matter to him.
WATCH: Mark Lambert — Strength Coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL
Dave goes on to say that when you're able to put your ego aside, you stop worrying about things that are out of your control. You don't spend time being concerned about things that don't help you or anyone else. This has taken time, and Dave admits that there were times that his ego did get in the way of his business. It took growth and maturity, both personally and with the company, to overcome this. Getting rid of this ego also led to transformations for elitefts. It has taken 20 years of business for Dave to feel comfortable using the word "trust" as a core value of the company — because trust is something that others give you, not something that you can give yourself.
The ego can mess everything up, and this is the biggest mistake Dave sees for online trainers. It's all over their marketing and they don't even know it. No one cares what you squat and no one cares what degrees you have. What they care about is what you can do for them. If you focus on that and focus on making the industry better, not much else matters.
The other gym I go to to use the pool has a swath of 20 something "personal trainers" having senior citizens learn how to do 12 different types of curls and dumbbell bench exercises. Never have I seen them teach someone how to pick up a weigh of the floor, squat, press overhead, or anything with a barbell. It is obvious that all these kids that are "trainers" have made all their gains with drugs so why not have the clients do the same worthless exercises.
@steve you make some very good points indeed. Why reinvent the wheel? It's already perfectly round.