A New Day for Personal Trainers
by Phil Kaplan
In a few moments I’ll share how the ground has shaken, the sky has fallen, the mountains crumbled and the opportunity for a new breed of fitness professional has flung open its doors for the few willing to enter the blue ocean.
First, let me share a few thoughts.
After having written over 3500 articles, 7 books, and conducted seminars around the world for over 40,000 fitness professionals, I’d say it had impact.
What did?
My words. My appearances. My passion.
Get the Personal Training Profits Book FREESHE SPOKE OUT IN ANGER
I’ll never forget the day an angry woman stood up in my session at an IHRSA conference and yelled out (in a voice that today we might attribute to her being a “Karen”) . . .
“Everything you’re saying is wrong!!
That was a bold attack and a pretty global statement. After all, I said a lot of things that day.
“What, specifically, that I said was wrong?”
“You said if we fail to coach our clients on lifestyle and nutrition we cannot take responsibility for their outcomes.”
“I did say that. And I believe it. Why are you so troubled by that statement?”
“Because it’s ILLEGAL for Personal Trainers to talk about nutrition.”
Today when you hear that you’ll likely laugh at the absurdity of it, but back then, the room grew silent. For the most part, those in attendance agreed!
Fake news at its origin!
I responded with the story of “the Diet Ginger Ale Lady.” The story includes the line, "the bubbles make you feel full and the ginger gives you all the nutrients you need," but I’ll save that for another time.
Outbursts were not uncommon when I presented simple concepts that appared radical to a not-yet-cooked industry as personal training was back then. The field was in its infancy and I was turning over a few stones that raised both eyebrows and reactions.
When I started speaking at the National Conferences in 1992, I had already earned a handsome living as a personal trainer, and nutritional guidance, a value-based exchange, and firm agreements with clients that ensured I’d get paid for cancels and no-shows were huge factors in my learning to turn a struggling career into a true profession. It’s just that “the industry” wasn’t ready to change their antiquated and flawed beliefs. That didn’t stop me from talking.
Or from doing.
In the years to come I had experienced my first “1,000,000 year,” my conquests in media, radio, and the home shopping channels, and I built and operated clubs and studios of all sizes including my 800 square foot personal training studio which I nicknamed “The Profit Monster,” as it generated over $85,000 per month. In 800 square feet!
I was retained as a consultant by some of the world’s iconic fitness leaders, got to peek behind the curtain of the largest nutritional supplement and infomercial companies, and sat down with Conrad Swanson and Ron something or other in Orlando to brainstorm and create the first magazine created to teach Personal Trainers how to prosper.
As I was carving a path, I was up against the stoic practices of the health club industry, an industry that convinced “trainers” that any certification was a credential and represented competence. An industry that told their fitness staff members “never take blood pressure,” and reinforced the all-too-common line shared theatrically by hecklers in my seminar audiences, “it’s illegal for a personal trainer to talk about nutrition.”
Suffice it to say, we’ve come a long way, from a time where trainers were told they had to “clean machines” in the gyms that employed them, conduct three free sessions for every new member, and were elevated to earn $8.50 per ½ hour with a paid client, to a place where fitness entrepreneurs abound, and “six-figure trainers” are no longer an anomaly.
Most of those trainers who entered the field within the last 20 years probably know nothing about my path-carving. Yet, terms such as “physique transformation,” “supportive nutrition,” “the cheat day,” and other mainstays came out of my early books and articles.
Lines I spoke at conferences were taken, borrowed, and replicated until they became a part of the industry jargon and the fabric of our field.
Yes, I feel it had impact. And now, it’s time for the leap.
Change is imminent and the change I’m riding the wave of is unprecedented in its potential and power.
This is not an article about me. It’s about you. Sure, we started off with what might have sounded like boasting, but if you know me at all, you know that isn’t my nature or my intention. I just want you to know, if you landed here . . . if you’re reading this . . . the words you’re reading are backed by passion, evidence, and decades of insight.
Before I go on and share a bit about the movement I’ve initiated, the evolution of the Personal Trainer into a health catalyst with immense power and value in this new world (especially new since March of 2020), I want to gift you a free copy of the book I released way back in “those days.”
I’m inviting you to take a massive career leap.
Personal Training Profits and a Secure Fitness Future was the book that turned thousands of struggling trainers into professionals, turned dreams into avocations, and became the launching pad for some of the most visible and accomplished personal trainers today.
I want you to have it free.
As soon as you download the book, I’ll share what the future holds for you.
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Who is Phil Kaplan
Phil Kaplan is a Personal Fitness Trainer by passion and trade. His commitment to delivering thrilling outcomes and his hunger for mastery of human betterment has led him along an extensive path establishing him as a Medical Fitness Leader and Pioneer. Having worked with over 10,000 clients, travelled the world conducting seminars for over 500,000 people, and appearing on over 1,000 TV and radio programs, he stepped away from the limelight to pursue a divine vision. In 2005, after being misdiagnosed with a chronic disease, Phil obsessed over the idea of creating interventions that empower people to “treat” themselves, and “cure” rather than “manage” their conditions. He continues to appear at fitness and medical conferences sharing his insights and strategies, and continues to build a massive body of evidence for 21st century “human healing.” The A.L.I.V.E. Program, the Metabolic Reboot, The Younger Better Stronger Program, and The Miracle of 7 are all active vehicles toward helping people return to excellence and find their best selves.
