Piss off, I'm exercising.

Personal training is hard.  Don't get me wrong; it's insanely rewarding as well, but it's still hard.  It's a beautiful thing to be able to inspire another person and to help them reach their goals.  To build a warm, caring relationship with a stranger.  To form a bond as a teacher, a cheerleader and a coach.  It makes me smile to walk past a client at the gym and see that client practicing what we worked on just days before -- working hard towards a goal that I know means the world to them.  Recalling the memory of that same client tearfully telling me about the day they decided that they would not be overweight anymore.  It's a life change for me, and I couldn't be more proud.

But then there's the much less talked about side of personal training.  The underbelly.  The 'Client-Getting' side.  They call it "Prospecting."  And this, dear readers, while I have always known was part-of-the-deal, is the side of personal training that I find particularly difficult, no matter how poised or outgoing I may appear to be on the outside.

It is, for most people, not easy to just approach a stranger and casually start a conversation.  Making it harder is that while at the gym, 97.999% of the members have ear buds in the entire time -- a universal sign for, "Piss off, I'm exercising, I do not want to talk."  Plus, let's face it: gym members are onto me.  They can see me coming with my gym shirt and my clip board a mile away.  They know what I'm up to and they're not buying.  Unless I'm giving something away for free.  People always go for free.  But the smart ones know that free usually comes with a catch.  So I've ditched the clipboard in the hopes that the gym shirt alone says, "Talk to me, I work here," while at the same time casually saying, "I'm here to help, and I'm also here to chat and be a pal.  But I JUST MIGHT pitch you on the idea of a free assessment and personal training session."  Dangling the worm in the hopes that you'll bite.

Ugh.

Thank God I'm not a salesperson, really.  I have no idea how much my services go for, what kind of packages are available and in truth, I honestly do NOT want to know.  I just want to help people.  To make a difference through fitness and exercise.  I put a lot of thought into the workouts I plan for clients and I want them to succeed without the smarmy, icky details like how much I'm going to get paid.  But I do have to get paid, so I do have to keep prospecting.  And I have to keep prospecting a LOT, because after one month at my new job as muscle creator, I only have two clients.

So off to the gym I go.  I smile.  I say good morning.  I introduce myself to all who will dare remove their headphones and grant me a minute of their time.  I try to remember every one's names -- no easy feat when you're old like me and your memory stinks and you're nervous enough about talking to strangers, let alone averaging a mere five hours of sleep while running a house, being a wife and trying to mother a special needs child!  If you can see the panic in my eyes like a deer caught in the headlights try not to laugh too hard. The truth of the matter is that so far, I've met some lovely co-workers I consider myself lucky to know and some of whom inspire me to be a better trainer and mentor than I ever thought possible. I truly love all my clients - BOTH OF THEM! - so I will continue to persevere and wage the war against grumpy gym rats and let the exercising population at large beware: I am here to interrupt your workout, but I promise, I will make it worth your while.