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for Professional Intimacy by
Rod McDonald |
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From the rich and famous to the everyday participant,
personal training has transcended its niche
market to be available in almost every fitness
centre in North America. This highly sought-after
service has also grown to become the highest
profit revenue stream in most
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fitness centres. Why has personal training become so mainstream?
One could argue that the success of personal training
is due to the extensive knowledge and experience that
the trainer brings to the client, permitting the client
to train at a safer, more challenging level, thereby resulting
in greater improvements from the time they spend in the
gym. This is definitely true, but to better understand
the power of personal training we have to look beyond
the aesthetic results that many clients strive for.
Personal trainers develop a unique connection with
their clients unlike that achieved by other fitness
or wellness professionals. Due to the time most personal
trainers spend one-on-one with their clients (usually
between 2-5 contact hours per week), personal trainers
achieve what I call “professional intimacy”.
This might seem like a contradiction in terms; however,
it very accurately describes the symbiotic relationship
between client and trainer. On a superficial level,
the trainer needs the client and the client needs the
trainer, but beyond that, the client reveals a part
of himself or herself to the trainer that they are unlikely
to open up to any other personal or professional contact
they have. Think of the physical proximity that client
and trainer share. Consider the emotional, physical,
and psychological release that a client experiences
when they are pushed to their limits by a talented trainer.
It is no wonder good trainers keep their clients for
years at a stretch. Beyond the short-term boost personal
trainers provide, many clients experience an incredible
psycho-physiological release by guiding them towards
a substantial goal. Good personal trainers might help
a client improve their body composition, but great personal
trainers help their clients re-connect with their bodies,
counteracting the numbing and dulling we experience
as a result the sometimes harsh world around us. This
dulling of the senses is a self-protection that we build
up much like we build up callus on our hands as a result
of daily stress. This “emotional callus”
that clients build up can be slowly but surely be stripped
away, revealing their potential. This is a benefit of
personal training that trainers rarely promote as a
service they provide, most not aware that they are providing
it, but regardless the result is the same. Personal
trainers help people change their lives.
This emotional callus can be paralyzing to people without
help. Imagine feeling unattractive, tired, and disinterested
in life, and not knowing why. Many potential clients
are just drifting through life like this, alive, but
not living life to its fullest. Of course, not everyone
is like that, and not all clients need that professional
intimacy, but when a client and trainer have it, it
feels like there is nothing they can’t do. No
goal unattainable and no weight un-liftable.
I am not suggesting that personal trainers should replace
psychologists or psychotherapists, and certainly, only
qualified professionals should even attempt to help
someone through personal or professional dilemmas. But
the reality is that through exercise and physical activity,
personal trainers can help someone get in better touch
with themselves and provide them with an element most
of us lack- personal contact. So go for professional
intimacy and be the greatest personal trainer you can
be.
On behalf of Can-Fit-Pro, I salute you, the certified
personal trainers who deliver the very best of yourselves,
day in and day out, improving the lives of the clients
you work with.
Rod McDonald
Can-Fit-Pro
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