Gini Grimsley | Personal Training vs. the Mass Fitness Revolution: How to Stand Out

The private sector is growing, and so is the competition. With low barriers to entry and clients cycling in and out of programs, you need a strong business strategy to stand out and build staying power. Gini Grimsley draws on her experience across commercial fitness and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) leadership to address top questions coaches are asking: Where is the smartest place to start? How do you set your rates? How do you grow a client base in a new community? Grimsley distinguishes between being certified and being qualified, noting credentials open the door while applied experience takes you further. She introduces a framework for “periodizing your paycheck,” reverse-engineering income goals into a viable revenue model. Grimsley also outlines how to integrate into established communities and balance hybrid in-person and online coaching. If you are exploring the private sector or refining your approach, gain practical strategies to find your niche and achieve career flexibility.

Reach out to Gini on Instagram: @gdotgperiod, LinkedIn: @gini-grimsley-ms-cscs, or by email: trainwithgini@gmail.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

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“We're all trying to do the same thing and getting people moving and performing at a very high level because of the carryover that it does have, whether they're performing on the court, or I like to say, performing in the boardroom.” 9:25

“There's all these apps that are coming into play. So not even online coaching, it's just fitness for the masses. And it's always kind of been like that. You go back to the '80s, it was the aerobics tapes that people were buying and doing. And this is the evolution of that, but people start and stop programs more often than we really care for them to and the health outcomes reflect that. […] How do we get people hooked on fitness in a way that meets them where they are and helps them get to where they want to be in a realistic sense, versus trying to get someone to high performance?” 15:30

“You can't become a good leader until you've become a good follower. And the same thing applies to personal trainers. You can't be a good personal trainer until you experience what good personal training, good coaching actually is.” 18:15

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[00:00:02.84] Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast, season 9, episode 20.
[00:00:08.00] There's all these apps that are coming into play, so not even online coaching. It's just fitness for the masses. And it's always kind of been like that. You go back to the '80s, it was the aerobics tapes that people were buying and doing. And this is the evolution of that. But people start and stop programs more often than we really care for them to. And the health outcomes reflect that.
[00:00:31.66] And so I think the work to be done to help upset the status quo right now is, how do we get people hooked on fitness in a way that meets them where they are and helps them get to where they want to be in a realistic sense, versus trying to get someone to high performance? Yeah, high performance, but if they're starting at ground zero or even a little worse, that's a big hill to climb.
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[00:00:58.00] This is the NSCA's Coaching Podcast, where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know but probably didn't learn in school. There's strength and conditioning. And then there's everything else.
[00:01:08.61] This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon, NSCA's coaching and sports science program manager. Each episode we try to highlight a different area of the field. And today our guest is someone who is an active volunteer with the NSCA. She's worked as a personal trainer and led staffs within commercial health and fitness facilities, in addition to her background in sport. Gini Grimsley, it was awesome seeing you in Kansas City at the national conference this year. Thanks for coming on the podcast to share with us.
[00:01:38.79] Yeah, man, thanks for having me. It's always good to see people in person. I think that's one of the things that we don't get as much face time as we did prior to COVID, but happy to connect virtually as well.
[00:01:50.05] Perfect. So diving right in, I saw you played college, some pro basketball, so basketball at a high level. But what got you started with strength and conditioning in your career?
[00:02:03.46] It's one of those things-- you are playing sport, and you find parts of the sport that you really enjoy. Practice for me was fun. Playing games was fun. But looking back, everything always centered around the weight room. And starting in high school, I was very close with the athletic director at my high school.
[00:02:27.00] So he made sure that I was in the strength training classes. They created a girls' strength training class as a PE elective because I needed that. There were several of us who needed it. So they took care of us in that way. And that just kind of sparked that passion for what you can do with a body in the weight room and how that transfers not only into sport, but now that I'm a little bit older and still practicing that physicality is how that translates to the real world and in your professional career as well.
[00:03:00.49] So that's kind of where it started. And then, anytime I had to do observation hours in my undergrad program at UNCG, it was like, I'm going to go to the weight room because I really enjoyed the strength coach. And I liked watching the guys lift and learning the different cues.
[00:03:14.77] And for a Division I school back then, so almost 20 years ago now, we had one strength coach for 16 teams. Now, granted, that has changed in the last 20 years. But it's like, all right, how can you make one person cover all 16 teams and be effective? And that was like the problem solving piece that attracted me even more and then carrying on.
[00:03:35.53] And I thought when I went to App, I wanted to do cardiac rehab. And I'm like, yeah, I'm going to help old sick people work out. And that was part of it. But I ended up going to App. My cohort had several now more high-profile strength coaches that I was taking classes with. And one guy won a World Series with the Astros. Another guy worked with USA Rugby. Another one's worked with the Raiders a bunch.
[00:04:00.86] And it's one of those things where I'm like, actually, the strength and conditioning side is-- the science part is my passion. But then realizing you can apply that stuff to just about any population, from clinical to subclinical, to gen pop, to elite level athletics-- so once I was done playing and getting to that, it was like, all right, how do I continue doing what I'm doing, maybe not necessarily going the sport coaching route, but staying in coaching and doing something in that realm?
[00:04:32.40] So that leads me to, you've worked a lot in the private sector. You're coming off your term as the chair of our personal training professional development group. You're the vice chair now, still very involved. And this is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. So we talk to a lot of coaches out there. And a lot of people in our field view personal training and coaching as completely different areas. Do you think that's true, or do you see it as more a lot of crossover?
[00:05:01.96] I think there's a lot more crossover than people want to realize. If you think about it, you're coaching someone, just we're putting a label on that someone. That someone is a college athlete, that someone is a professional athlete. I view private sector.
[00:05:20.64] And one of the things that I've changed my mind on as well is personal trainers typically have a bad reputation. We get that from the big box gym. People sit for a weekend course. They hurt people. They make them do burpees for hours, and they throw up. And you get all that.
[00:05:36.46] So you get all of that context that typically comes with the title personal trainer. But zoom out, we're all coaching bodies in front of us, whether it is someone who is just starting out in the beginning of their journey or someone who is trying to make that next step in their career. And it all depends on the environment that we're doing it in and the degree to which we can challenge that body in front of us.
[00:06:01.35] So when we talk about college coaches and private sector and people working with athletic populations and general populations, the science is exactly the same. The application to a degree will be different. And so as we're thinking about this, private sector is just the environment in which we practice coaching.
[00:06:23.17] And so I know it's probably going to ruffle some feathers with some of our more established personal trainers who have really leaned into that title and embodied it. But at the end of the day, we're all coaches. And we're all taking somewhere on a journey.
[00:06:40.67] I mean, the term coaching goes back a long time. Obviously, there's a lot of coaching that goes on today, sports psychology, corporate coaching. We've done training sessions at the NSCA for public speaking. And there's coaches for that.
[00:06:58.62] So I think, looking at it in a broader sense, the word "coaching" as an action that we do, as strength and conditioning professionals, allows us to be a little more open minded about all the different areas we can work within this profession. And that should be encouraging for us that there are more places to work in the field.
[00:07:24.40] I think it's interesting-- I've had a couple coaches reach out since NatCon a couple of weeks ago who are not interested in private sector but want to understand it a little bit more as a backup plan. We know the world of NIL at the collegiate level. We know the tumultuous career path that being in the pro sector can be as well and even some of the high school coaches. If it doesn't pan out, what am I going to do?
[00:07:51.31] Well, private sector is the only place you can land. So how does that work? And there's certain things that I think are the same, which the coaching, the science, that piece is relatively the same. But then there's the business, the time management.
[00:08:09.75] You get some of that as you move up the ladder, from what I understand, on the collegiate side, at least, moving into an associate athletic director position. But if you're afraid of selling your services, then that's the hurdle that some of these folks need to clear. And just understanding that it's not a hard sales job, it's just being able to articulate the value that you bring and can bring to other people.
[00:08:36.93] And I mean, sometimes when I start talking about, what life is like on the other side of the fence, they're like, oh, man, you can work a part of a day, not the entire day. A lot of times pay comes up. But at the same time, if you're going to work in a performance facility, what's the difference in working in a performance facility other than charging a fee for those kids to come in, to working in a collegiate weight room?
[00:09:04.26] So I think there's some give and take but just understanding. Like I said earlier, it's about the environment you're in, not necessarily the work that you're doing. So I thank the NSCA for giving me the opportunity to share that with some of my peers that are on the institutional coaching side. But at the same time, we're all trying to do the same thing and getting people moving and performing at a very high level because of the carryover that it does have, whether they're performing on the court, or I like to say, performing in the boardroom. So either way is--
[00:09:42.28] So you come from a sport background. You've worked in the private sector. Maybe that's your specialty that you've carved out the people you work with. Do you think it's important in the private sector to really have a niche or an area of specialization that you can market?
[00:09:58.59] I think it is to a certain extent. I think when you start to approach guru status, then you've probably taken it too far. But having a group of people that fill your bucket-- and one of my mentors taught me this a while ago. Amy Thompson was one of my first fitness national directors that I worked for. And it was understanding that you're going to have a hodgepodge of clients, but you're going to have a quarter of them that are going to fill your bucket.
[00:10:28.71] They're going to be your niche that you go and think about and spend time researching and trying to learn more about to better serve them. And everyone else just kind of has general needs. That's the approach more so to take is that, yes, I can help 80% of the population and 80% of the people who come to see me. But that 20% is going to be the ones that get me excited about coming to work every single day because I'm trying to help them solve a problem for themselves.
[00:11:00.58] And so, to a certain point, carve out the niche. But at the same time, you got to understand, if you're working in private sector, unless you have built your facility to totally cater to that group, big box gyms, you're getting whoever walks through that front door. Boutique studios, you can-- I think it's going to depend a little bit more on your location.
[00:11:23.14] And now that online is a thing, anyone that I've worked with online has fallen into that demographic of I was a former high-level athlete. I took some time off. And that time off turned into a lot of time off. And how do I get back to doing something?
[00:11:41.18] And so you fall into some of these niches at the same time. But it's one of those things. What you're passionate about is what's going to drive that niche. And if you're passionate about something that's super, super-- niche I guess is the best way to say it-- then you got to understand, that's probably not going to be enough of a pool to pull from to pay your bills. So you've got to balance what's going to help pay my bills versus what I'm actually passionate about.
[00:12:13.59] You mentioned some of the different areas that you can work in the private sector, from the big box gyms to studios. You mentioned online. Obviously, that's on the rise a lot right now post COVID and just the way the world is. What are other areas that you're seeing emerge within the fitness space that you see maybe as opportunity or that are maybe challenging some of the norms that you've seen in space?
[00:12:38.45] I mean, you've got your typical big box. So even in big box, there's high value, low price, which is-- the last company I worked for fell into that category. You've got your luxury, big box You've got your specialized boutiques. You've got personal training-only studios.
[00:12:58.98] You've got performance centers. Performance centers and campus rec-- campus rec might be one of the next best pipelines to becoming a successful personal trainer, private sector coach because you're getting a ton of practice while you're still learning as you go. And so you refine a lot of skills coming through that and then stepping out into a luxury big box or a personal training studio being able to make a pretty decent living right off the bat. And I think that one is probably overlooked a decent amount.
[00:13:31.18] Everybody wants to go online. And I think that's fabulous. I think it is one of the best ways that we have to serve a broader audience. Now we're not limited by transportation to and from home and gym.
[00:13:47.24] But I think there's a lot of underqualified folks who are moving into that online space without spending time in person. And I think that's a big thing that a lot of folks miss is like, if you haven't coached someone in person, how on Earth are you going to coach them online when you haven't seen them move-- you don't see them see them move-- and you have very few experiences to pull from to draw your assumptions to?
[00:14:13.34] So that's an interesting space. But I think the thing that's probably challenging status quo even more is this idea of hybrid training. I'm not talking about hybrid athletes, but this idea of maybe I see this person once a week or once a month in person, but then I program everything else for them to do on their own.
[00:14:37.24] And that tends to be a little bit better model for trainers who want to have a little bit more balance to their life. It's like, I can charge a little bit more per month, take on a few more clients. And as long as they've got their business systems in place, they're able to manage a much bigger book of business without having to work 40 to 50 hours on the floor.
[00:15:02.71] Ideally, if you're doing in-person training, you're probably doing about 25 hours. And then everything else on the back end is client and business management. So if you're able to blend that in-person and online, that tends to be one of the better approaches to running the business side of things. You still get to see people move and are able to coach them, but you don't need to handhold them the whole time and have them come in.
[00:15:30.53] And then there's all these apps that are coming into play. So not even online coaching, it's just fitness for the masses. And it's always kind of been like that. You go back to the '80s, it was the aerobics tapes that people were buying and doing. And this is the evolution of that. But people start and stop programs more often than we really care for them to. And the health outcomes reflect that.
[00:15:55.24] And so I think the work to be done to help upset the status quo right now is, how do we get people hooked on fitness in a way that meets them where they are and helps them get to where they want to be in a realistic sense, versus trying to get someone to high performance? Yeah, high performance, but if they're starting at ground zero or even a little worse, that's a big hill to climb.
[00:16:19.04] And so we're thinking about. That might be the next step and what needs to happen and the thing to shake up what we're doing already.
[00:16:30.98] I like it. In coaching, we talk about buy-in. It's a little bit different flavor of what you're talking about. But I like that, getting people hooked on fitness so that they keep coming back so that we improve health, fitness across society. That has a lot of positive implications for the world, obviously.
[00:16:49.27] You touched on qualifications within the personal training space. And a lot of times-- I mean, I'll admit, when I look at that space, I've often said it's such a low barrier of entry that it creates a really challenging environment to assert yourself as a qualified professional, as a personal trainer.
[00:17:10.99] How do you view that? What advice do you give to young or up and coming personal trainers or private sector folks that are trying to get established just in the world today, the way it views personal training?
[00:17:26.75] Man.
[00:17:29.37] Not to put you on the spot at all, the CSCS, the CPT. But I know you answer this all the time.
[00:17:37.86] Totally. I really do value the initial credential. At the end of the day, that shows me that you've at least invested some time, some energy, and some money into being a full-time participant in the field. That's not the end of it, though. You have to then go and put what you learned into practice.
[00:18:00.64] My partner works for The Citadel. And one of the big things here in Charleston is the cadets have this philosophy of you can't become a good leader until you've become a good follower. And the same thing applies to personal trainers. It's like, you can't be a good personal trainer until you experience what good personal training, good coaching actually is.
[00:18:27.36] And for these folks coming in-- Eric, you'd be surprised. I ran an informal poll with some trainers that I just happened to have contact with. And I just asked them, how many of you have actually run a program, not even gotten trained before, coached before? But how many of you have ever run a structured program?
[00:18:51.17] 60% was the number of the folks that I polled had ever run. So that means almost half of our new trainers or trainers in the field have never run a structured program, yet we're asking them to write structured periodized progressive programming for their clients. And so this idea of, yeah, I sat for my certification-- I know what I'm doing.
[00:19:16.61] You're certified, but that does not necessarily make you qualified. The qualification comes from trial and error, learning, practicing on yourself as you being your very first client, and then going and using what you've learned in a safe and structured way with your clients.
[00:19:36.66] But the current system we have right now of sitting for a certification, passing it with 70% to 75% as the minimum standard, there's still 25%-- if someone just barely passed, there's still 25% of the content that they didn't grasp. But now we're letting them loose on the world.
[00:19:55.36] And I think, getting to a point where we don't just have certified personal trainers or certified strength and conditioning specialists that we actually have these qualified professionals to go in and change the narrative-- but a lot of times the investment can't or won't be made by the decision makers, and that's their prerogative. That's fine.
[00:20:20.80] I don't know that big box personal training, the way it's currently running now, will make it over the next 10 to 15 years. That's just my personal opinion and the experiences that I have. Small group training, we're asking someone who barely passed a thing to come in and work with someone one on one, to now work with a group of two to four people at a time. I don't know if that's the right answer either.
[00:20:43.63] And so there's something missing with the hands-on component of-- you go. You learn all of this theory. Where's the practical piece? How do we get someone to actually understand what it's like to manage a client from them being a prospect to them ultimately purchasing your service, you servicing them, and then them graduating away if they ever do?
[00:21:09.95] That's what a qualified coach does. A certified coach is like, I'm going to sell this package. And if they show up, God bless them. And if not, I'm still going to get paid because I made that commission on that sale. And that, unfortunately, is the narrative that we have to change.
[00:21:30.42] And if it's the fight the NSCA wants to take on, the PDG is behind it. I know I've talked to my other PDG chairs and some of the other vice chairs in the room. And they're like, yeah, man, we've got to make coach be a respectable career path because I still think it's viewed as a hobby.
[00:21:51.56] The running joke for us is if you can't make it as a personal trainer or coach, you go and do real estate, same skill set, same everything there. And it's like, no, let's make this viable. The hours suck at first.
[00:22:08.32] Same thing happens on the strength and conditioning side. You're in early with teams. You're in early with clients. Maybe you get a break midday. Maybe you're working with different teams. You're 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM in both private sector and in the sports setting.
[00:22:24.94] So if we could get to a point where the certifications allow us to have better, qualified candidates for hire, that is what we need. And if that means we need to do an internship, if that means we need to do hands-on workshops, whatever that is, to get them from certified to qualified to bridge that gap, then that will be the thing that is the catalyst to change in the private sector portion of the industry.
[00:23:01.72] I like that approach of certified to qualified. I will say at the NSCA, we're on the prevention side, not the health care side. That's a great position to be. I think a lot of times we will look at the health side and be like, wow, those fields are so established. Well, they have challenges too. And that prevention side, especially in the private sector, is a really great place. You can develop a lot of different types of career opportunities within that.
[00:23:31.57] I like that you talked about your initial qualification is just to get in the door, to get an opportunity to work with people. We've all been there. I need a quick CPT certification-- I mean, this is-- I hear this all the time-- just so that I can get hired and pursue this path or work with somebody.
[00:23:53.45] But then to actually be good, to actually do the job well, getting the right credential, getting the right education behind it, continuing to grow it, that's really what it's about. And one question I do get all the time-- since we're hitting the big topics here, Gini-- coaches don't always know what they're worth in this space. And that becomes really challenging in the private sector because you're actually putting a price tag on these services.
[00:24:21.25] What advice do you give coaches, really at all levels, when, hey, how much do I charge for this? I've been doing this at the college level for years, but how do I know what to attach to this for my services? How do you even start that process?
[00:24:37.56] There's a couple ways to look at that. Typically if you're going into a big box or even a PT studio, they're probably going to help you set your rates anyway. If you're going into a PT studio where you get to set your rates, that's a little bit different story.
[00:24:57.52] But I think it all starts with what amount of money do you need to make in a year to live the lifestyle you wish to live. You got to figure out what that number is first and work backwards. You're periodizing your paycheck at the end of the day. You do the same thing with programming. What is the big, hairy, audacious goal that you're trying to get this athlete to achieve? And you work back from that within the given timeline.
[00:25:27.21] You do the same thing with your paycheck, right? If you're a college strength and conditioning coach, making $50k, working a ton of hours-- you're running to the ground. Well, say you want to bump that up to 75 but work less hours. Well, you take 75. You divide it by 50. You divide that by-- let's see. I'd say 25 instead of 40. Or you could divide it by 40 if you're going to do some sort of blended income.
[00:25:57.47] That's your hourly rate that you need to figure out how to make. And so you break it down to the smallest number and then start working your way forward. So that means I need this many clients. I built an entire spreadsheet for our trainers when I was the national director of fitness for VASA that did exactly that.
[00:26:19.85] It's like, all right, here's your rate based on your credentials, experience, and number of clients. Here's what you're telling me you want to make. Here's how many clients you actually need and how many sessions you need to perform every week in order to hit that.
[00:26:33.44] Then you can start to massage that number. Well, maybe 75k isn't the number that I want to hit. Maybe it's 60k. It's just 10,000 more. But if I can get some of the hours back in my day that I would normally spend on the weight room floor to start to build a family, to not be as stressed, to not be as sick, to actually give myself time to train, I just gave myself probably more than a $10,000 increase based on what I'm making initially.
[00:27:01.10] And so that's one way to look at it is like, all right, how much do I need to make? What is my livable number? And then work back from there. The other way to look at it is if you're going into that studio where you are able to set your own rates, cool, what's the average income for the area that you're going to be working in? How many houses are in the drivable distance?
[00:27:28.69] OK, so if you're in a low-income neighborhood and people from the higher income neighborhoods aren't going to drive into that neighborhood to come train with you, then you're probably not going to be able to charge the money you want to charge. So location is important. But then, also, what are the comparables around? If you're pricing yourself out of that market, charging $150 a session when every gym in the area is charging $60, I can almost guarantee you a typical client or athlete or anybody is not going to be able to tell the difference between the $60 session and your $150 session, just as an uninformed consumer.
[00:28:05.65] So it's getting in the ballpark, maybe pricing yourself at what you feel comfortable with, and then rolling with it. So if you know what you're going to charge-- you know what you need to make-- now you can set targets for how many clients you need to get like, what is an acquisition number every month? If someone falls off, how to manage that. So there's a lot more that goes into it than I think a lot of people think. They're like, oh, I'm going to go in, and I'm going to make $100,000 working in the private sector.
[00:28:31.90] You could, but what are you selling and then training? And what other supplemental income do you have? If I were to go back right now and be an in-person coach, I'd probably only coach about 10 to 15 hours. And I would make up the difference in online coaching just because, one, programming is going to take me the same amount for both groups. I enjoy being around people. But I also don't want to be on my feet for eight hours a day.
[00:29:01.50] So it's one of those things where you find that blend and balance of income-producing activities and make it happen. It's a grind, and you'll get there. But I think a lot of people think coming in they're going to make it right off the bat. And really it's probably a six to 12-month ramp up to 80% and then another six months before you're at 100% of what you're actually going to make.
[00:29:24.29] So if you can make that leap and start to get people coming in and training with you, then you're going to be in a really good spot. And if not, that's the flame out that we tend to see with some of these folks who have big ambitions but maybe not the work ethic to support it.
[00:29:42.51] So on your point-- and maybe this is the world we're in today-- I'm seeing people value flexibility in their lives a lot more than maybe in the past. That grind it out mentality isn't as appealing for everybody in a traditional sense. But people are very open, whether it's side hustles or additional opportunities or the way you said, make up the difference-- find other ways to make up the difference.
[00:30:10.59] From online training, there's products that I see people aligning with. There's social media. How do you view those areas as income producing? Do you think that's where the field needs to be? Obviously, there's some challenges and pitfalls there that we can talk about as well. What are your thoughts there?
[00:30:31.48] I don't think so. I don't think the strength and conditioning practitioner needs to worry too much about it. I think having an online presence is necessary, but being a, quote, unquote, "influencer," I think is probably-- you're chasing a dream because there's a lot of factors that have to go into that to be popular on Instagram. And if you're aligning with certain products, when those things fall out of trend, then there goes that.
[00:30:58.26] So I think they're probably more like cherries on top than they are reliable sources of income. And a lot of times, those affiliate codes, you're making like $0.50 on a $20 purchase. You're not making anything unless it's done at a huge scale.
[00:31:12.52] So you can. But I mean, when you align yourself with partners who better support your clientele, whether it be athletes, gen pop, tactical, whatever it is, that typically enhances the relationship. Even though you're not getting any money from them, you're able to maybe get referrals, or you're able to get a sponsorship down the road.
[00:31:38.14] It's not anything that's going to be right here, right now. But it's a relationship within your network that sometimes makes you a little bit more credible. In the past, I've partnered with a physical therapy clinic who would refer clients over to me. I would send my clients to them as needed. And it was a nice give and take. That is still probably the best partnership or affiliation that you can have.
[00:32:03.10] Anything that's in the social media sphere-- man, that thing is as tumultuous as anything. If you're trying to build a business there, you and 30 million other people are trying to do the same thing. So at some point, the message becomes so diluted that you're not able to get any business from it. Starting in your community, starting with the people who already know you, and branching from there is still probably the best way to establish yourself and do that.
[00:32:36.29] One question I also get on this very topic is coach moving to a new area, looking to get established in the private sector-- and where do they start in terms of making those local connections? How do you build a clientele or a base for business that you can get started with?
[00:32:57.69] And I'm going through this a little bit personally. So we moved to Charleston about eight months ago. And with my new job, it was work at home, work remotely. And I'm just trying to get connected to the fitness industry as a whole. So not even looking for a job. It's more of like, how do I meet people and be as connected as I was back in Denver?
[00:33:21.22] You actually have to go visit people. Shooting a DM to someone saying, hey, man, I'm interested in the job you got signed up probably isn't going to cut it. It's like, hey, I'd love to meet you for coffee. I've already taken five workouts at your gym. I love the space. I want to hear your story. It's making that honestly curious invitation to just sit down with somebody.
[00:33:45.88] So I've been going through, taking a week of classes at several different gyms here in the area. And I've made a few really good connections that I'm happy to continue to add folks like that to my network. But it actually takes you investing in someone else before they'll ever invest in you. So if you're trying to get in at a PT studio, go tour it as a prospective client. If you're trying to work at the local big box gym, go work out there. Let people see you using the space.
[00:34:20.35] And a lot of times, you're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you. If you are going to a big powerlifting gym, but you have no experience powerlifting and it's kind of scary, then you're probably not going to be a very good fit there, versus going somewhere that maybe is a little bit more of gen pop, older rec center type situation. So you also want to find the spaces that you are most comfortable in.
[00:34:47.23] But I think getting out, making connections-- and then as you start looking for clients, it's getting into communities that already are established. So if I were to go out-- like I said, if I were to go back into in-person training, I'm going to go join the local pickleball club. It is the lowest hanging fruit. These people play pickleball eight days a week, thinking it's going to make them better at pickleball. And they need something else to support their pickleball habit.
[00:35:21.86] Let me introduce myself. Hi, I'm Gini. I'm a strength and conditioning coach. I've just started playing pickleball. I really enjoy it. And meeting these people on a personal level versus coming in, I'm the best pickleball SSC professional you've ever seen-- that's not going to work for people.
[00:35:39.64] You coming in and just saying, hey, I'm the [MUTED] and good luck, probably not the best way to go about it. But going in with a genuine curiosity of meeting people and finding a community, that's going to help you establish yourself really quickly and with some credibility.
[00:35:58.84] I like that. And helps you develop mutual interests with potential clients or people that you want to come to you for services in the future. Another one I'm hearing a lot of is the running clubs that are out there.
[00:36:12.59] Charleston's huge for running. When I drive into the peninsula, it's running club, running club. And you guys might not be able to see this. But it's on the left, on the right, running club in every single park. I mean, even the HYROX folks, folks who are training for these trendy events, they need training. But again, you have to integrate yourself into that community in order for them to get to know you, start to like you, and begin to trust you.
[00:36:43.65] And I think there's parallels there into sport as well. You want to be great as a football strength coach or a baseball strength coach, you got to be in that world to establish yourself and be credible in that space. Gini, I want to go back to the NSCA for a second, give you an opportunity to share about the Personal Trainers Professional Development Group. What is it? How can people get involved?
[00:37:07.96] Totally. So the Personal Trainer Professional Development Group, which is always a mouthful for me to say, it started as a SIG back in the day, 10, 15 years ago. And there are four groups, one for personal trainers, one for high school, college coaches, and then high school coaches.
[00:37:28.74] These professional development groups are bringing the practitioners in that segment of the industry together to help us establish what the needs are for that community. For personal trainers, it's understanding, OK, do we just want to be called personal trainers? Or do we prefer to be described as the private sector?
[00:37:51.50] So it's coming up with that work to do. And it also helps us bring relatable, anecdotal evidence to the NSCA's board of directors for them to make informed decisions on as well. So we're really the conduit between the members of the NSCA who work in that environment and the people who make the decisions about the direction of the NSCA.
[00:38:15.43] There's the chair who is-- it's now Joseph Sudimack. I'm the vice chair. Joshua Dillaha is the secretary. So we have an executive council that's about nine members big with the chair, with the other positions. And we're the ones who get together every quarter and see what's going on, what can we do to improve the sets of resources that we have for this community, what are the things that NSCA needs to consider for this community, any of that work the executive council has.
[00:38:55.43] And then at the national conference, we have a meeting and share out some of the things that we've come up with. We also provide space for members of the group to share back to us like, hey, here's what we're seeing on a bigger scale. And can you help us with that? So it's this nice collaboration between the chair and the executive council with the members of the group to understand what's going on and really to keep an ear to the ground on what's happening in the private sector.
[00:39:26.56] So when I was the chair, we had it set up-- and I think Joe is going to keep it this way-- is that we had someone from every part of the private sector community. We had academians. We had researchers. We had small PT facility, big box, one that's a little bit more tactical related, one that's a little bit more sports performance. There's some online components.
[00:39:51.62] So we have a pretty good reach there. And we're always looking for people to get involved. So if you haven't volunteered with the NSCA before, now is the time. We need more volunteers than ever to get the word out about sharing the profession of strength and conditioning because it's not just about the coaches. It's about the profession as a whole and about advancing the NCAA to be the gold standard moving forward in strength and conditioning and the practice.
[00:40:22.84] So it's one of those things where if we can get more folks involved, I don't know how many people within the NCAA membership actually know that the PDGs are a thing. But reach out to us. Let us know. We want to know what's going on. And we can't figure that out without input from you guys.
[00:40:41.98] So if you're hearing this, and you're like, what the heck is the PDG? Reach out. We're more than happy to answer those questions. And we're going to have some more outward-facing meetings to bring folks into and get folks more involved.
[00:40:56.94] For all our listeners, the PDGs are a great opportunity to elevate your voice in the field. We go as staff members to the PDGs when we need additional feedback and input to know what's going on out there from all the different areas. So we're thankful for our volunteers.
[00:41:15.57] So many volunteers make up the NSCA. And I always say that the NSCA isn't 50 staff members in Colorado Springs. It's 60,000 members and certificants worldwide. And we need a way to channel those voices into action. That's a big part of what the PDG program is about. So we're going to put that link into the show notes so you can check out all the different PDGs we have, including personal trainers.
[00:41:43.73] Gini, for our listeners who want to connect with you, what's the best way to do that?
[00:41:49.19] You guys can shoot me an email. I think it's on the registry on NSCA is trainwithgini@gmail.com. Give me a follow on Instagram. There's some fitness stuff on there, my dogs, stuff that I put on the grill. And it's one of those things like, you follow me, I'll give you a follow back. And I just like to share my love of fitness and strength conditioning with everyone I come in contact with.
[00:42:15.64] So if you want to shoot me a message there, we can connect. People have reached out before just to learn more about the PDGs, more about getting into working in the private sector. Really I'm happy to chat about anything. So come at me.
[00:42:35.38] I like it. So from certified to qualified, staying informed as an industry, giving back, sharing your voice with the NSCA so we can take action, some of the big themes you heard in the episode today. Gini, thanks for being with us.
[00:42:50.56] Thanks for having me.
[00:42:52.38] Awesome. Always enjoy seeing you at the conferences. You're on the East Coast now. I don't see you as much here in Colorado Springs. So we appreciate you and everything you're doing and everything all of our volunteers are doing to our listeners. Thanks for tuning in, and special thanks to Sorinex Exercise Equipment. We appreciate their support.
[00:43:10.69] Hey, guys. It's Dr. Bryan Mann coming at you from Texas A&M University. Hey, this is a call to arms. If you feel like there's something that needs to be done, something that needs to be changed, this is your call to go ahead and sign up for the volunteer opportunities within the SIGs, the different committees, or just to get involved in your local chapter. Please go to the website for more details.
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[00:43:34.27] This was the NSCA's Coaching Podcast. The National Strength and Conditioning Association was founded in 1978 by strength and conditioning coaches to share information, resources, and help advance the profession. Serving coaches for over 40 years, the NSCA is the trusted source for strength and conditioning professionals. Be sure to join us next time.
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