5 Ways to Avoid Trainer Burnout

[John Izzo]

This is from my blog. Hopefully, it can be useful for some trainers starting out! read the entire post here.

1.) Don't train EVERY single client you meet.
Alot of trainers make the mistake and try to avoid turning away business. Sounds logical, right? Well, some clients may be more difficult than others and some personalities don't mesh very well. This can make sessions seem longer and boring. Some clients don't respond well to intensity or orders, so a trainer can feel "held back". This can cause serious burn-out which leads to boredom. If a trainer becomes bored of a client, chances are the exercise program will suffer. So, use "consultations" to measure a potential client's commitment level and match them up with the appropriate trainer (if you work with a team).

2.) Keep sessions between 30-45 min.
I stopped training 1 hour sessions. I still offer them, and have 2-3 clients that prefer a 60 minute session, but the bulk of my clients use 30 minutes sessions. They are great because they are fast, time efficient, and effective. My clients are happy because they get to go back to their business lives or family lives and still get a workout in. I am happy because I am able to keep my clients focused, motivated, and adhere to the program better (because it is shorter).

3.) Take days off.
And I mean, take days off in the middle of the week. Don't be afraid to re-charge your batteries. Extended weekends are great for you to spend time with your family, get things done, and do things you have been holding off. Time off in the middle of the week lets you get to those errands you have been holding off, which helps to alleviate stress.

4.) Make clients work around your schedule.
Yes...plain and simple. If they want to work with you that much, they will make the time to see you. You simply have to return with the results. If you get them the results, they will wait for you or they will see you on their lunch break, rather than go to the local happy hour.

5.) Get out and train yourself!
Sounds simply and something that should be automatic, right? Well, if you fail at #1, 2,3, 4--chances are you will never have free time to workout, or you will be too "burnt out" to train. Make designated time in the day to train in your studio or gym. If you start losing your desire to train yourself, you will begin to feel sluggish, out-of-shape, and nasty. You will lose the initiative to do what you love to do. Get in the gym and workout!

[Jean-Paul]

Thanks for that reminder, John. I certainly could have followed this advice myself a couple of years ago. In hindsight, I just think 22 years was a really long time to be a trainer. The last 16 years of running a business eventually took all the fun out of it for me. The last few years were just agonizing, all because I was so burned out.

[AskTheTrainer]

Originally Posted by John Izzo

This is from my blog. Hopefully, it can be useful for some trainers starting out! read the entire post here.

3.) Take days off.
And I mean, take days off in the middle of the week. Don't be afraid to re-charge your batteries. Extended weekends are great for you to spend time with your family, get things done, and do things you have been holding off. Time off in the middle of the week lets you get to those errands you have been holding off, which helps to alleviate stress.

Good article. I believe many trainers experience burnout signs but fail to recognize them until its too late.

I think days off and/or extended weekends are not enough to ward off the infamous trainer burnout.

When I was training tons of hours at our fitness studio me and the other trainers would take week long vacations every 2-3 months.

We found a week on a beach somewhere was enough to get rid of the sour taste in our mouths from problem clients, miss the daily schedule of training sessions and our clients and when we came back we loved our job close to 100% again.

[Dave Chesser]

Originally Posted by John Izzo

2.) Keep sessions between 30-45 min.
I stopped training 1 hour sessions. I still offer them, and have 2-3 clients that prefer a 60 minute session, but the bulk of my clients use 30 minutes sessions.

I'm a fairly new trainer and I'm getting certified under NASM. Looking at the quote above I have two questions if you don't mind:

1. How do you get the SMR, stretching, cardio, etc. from NASM's OPT model to fit in one hour? That seems pretty tight.

2. I like the OPT model but it seems a bit....busy...I guess is the right word. Can NASM's approach contribute to trainer burnout?

Thanks!

[LisaS]

^ just a thought - for ongoing clients, perhaps the SMR, stretching and cardio etc. are done by the client on the client's time and only the workout/actual training is done with the trainer in attendance in the smaller time window. But then, I'm not John.

[Dave Chesser]

Originally Posted by LisaS

^ just a thought - for ongoing clients, perhaps the SMR, stretching and cardio etc. are done by the client on the client's time and only the workout/actual training is done with the trainer in attendance in the smaller time window. But then, I'm not John.

I think that's a good idea. Might help avoid client burnout as well as the trainers. I would likely ditch the reactive and agility portion for many clients until the power level is reached, too.

Trying to do too many things seems likely to lead to burnout.

[John Izzo]

The initial appointment with a new client is typically 60 minutes. We discuss goals, obstacles, and then we go over a couple quick assessments. Based on those assessments, I teach them foam rolling stuff and stretching. The movement prep and SMR is done prior to the next session. The client usually comes in a few minutes early and then is ready for me, as soon as I am done with the client before. 30 minutes works well because we bang out sets and combo's, and leave little time for dilly-dally.