Does your Personal Trainer sell you supplements? If so, get rid of them!!!
If the answer is yes, ask yourself if the reason is to supplement your health and wellbeing or is it to supplement your Personal Trainer’s wage?
In my 18+ years of experience I have seen it all and I am not a fan of the way the majority of Personal Trainers go about it. The truth to the matter is that a well-credentialed trainer will be able to get you the results you are looking for by teaching and educating you about food, health, nutrition and exercise and that unless prescribed from your GP or specialist you rarely require much if any supplementation. If you do, then you can sure find those supplements way cheaper and on your own without your Personal Trainer selling you and pumping up just how beneficial they are to you so that they get a 20% or more cut for their selling.
To me, Personal Training is 100% about the client and their needs. You are the service provider to your client and for instance if your client wants or needs some direction and guidance towards nutritional supplementation and even equipment needs, then be it the trainer to research, source and in our case go and pick up the equipment and sell it to them at cost price. That is service, perhaps high level service but it is exactly what we are about and is just why we sit where we do in the market of over 30,000 registered Personal Trainers Australia-wide.
Sadly, I know so many Personal Trainers that align themselves with a supplement company and sell not for the benefit of their client but as stated above, to boost their own coffers. Herbalife is one such example and they prey on the many Personal Trainers battling to earn a regular income and need to make money to stay in the industry. Click here to read about Herbalife and here for another!
As the next picture shows, sadly 60% of Personal Trainers earn less than $40,000 a year and only 8% earn over $71,000 a year. Turnover of Personal Trainers is extremely high in the industry and most last no more than 9-18 months! So selecting a Personal Trainer is a big decision in that most likely they will be gone before 2 years is up! Not ideal when looking to have someone there for you to change your life and help you make the necessary lifestyle changes to reach your goals. Not to mention their experience, skills and educational background!
Just last week I met with a former respected Personal Trainer, public speaker and nutritional and health professional of 25 years experience. I was chuffed that he called me and wanted to meet up and see if we could mutually benefit each others business and direction. Sadly it was a case of the high and mighty having fallen and now wanting to offer a nutritional seminar for my clients at no cost… Alarm bells sounding I awaited his email with information on what he was going to deliver if we went ahead and to find (after watching a 45 minute example of one of his seminars) the content littered with the need to go on a 6 week program valued at $595 to help get fit, lose weight, improve health, etc. The actual supplement program I have never heard of and tried running it by my 20 year friend and leading dietitan Lisa Middleton whom too has never heard of it!
Here-in lies the biggest problem, to get health and weigh loss results, dietitians do not align themselves with Herbalife, Isagenix, Amway (Nutriway), etc. Why? Because they teach, encourage and guide you to better behavioural eating patterns and whilst they may suggest supplements or certain products they too (if credible, established and successful) will not profiteer off you by selling directly to you supplements from a supplementation company that they are aligned to.
So, do yourself a favour and steer clear of ANY Personal Trainer that has their best interests at heart and not yours and focus on you. At the end of the day, it is your money and part with it wisely. Find a Personal Trainer that is educated, qualified, experienced and is more interested in you than themselves!
Here is a link to my very own 12 point checklist on how to select a Personal Trainer that will help you make an educated decision – shop around and don’t just choose the first person to get back to you 🙂
FOOTNOTE: Not once in 18 years have I once aligned myself with any nutritional, body building or health supplementation company and never will.
Justin Moran
