If as a personal trainer you didn’t believe that an individual’s gym time is more effective when they train with a personal trainer, then you would be in the wrong profession.  But, I am sure you are a believer.  Thus, it isn’t much of a stretch of the imagination to figure that trainers who work out with other trainers would find it of great benefit to their own fitness goals.  What may also be of benefit, but less obvious are the business benefits of two fitness professionals feeding off each other’s tactics and experience.

Chances are that when you work out with another trainer, you will want to be at your best.   Yes, you want to have an intense training session, but it is also important to show your level of focus to an exercise.  Showing how you focus on the movement and the technique.  You will also want to put your best foot forward when you are trying to get your training partner to push past a barrier for that extra repetition or weight limit.  The last thing you want to do is miss an opportunity to help one of your peers.  It’s during these sessions that you will be using the same techniques that you employ on your paying clients.  You will get the opportunity to see how another trainer reacts to them.  You will get practice saying them, which helps you build conviction in your words as you become more familiar with the dialogue.

Conversely, you may decide that you didn’t like the way you did something and thus opt to refine the way you deliver your message to a paying client.  Here again is where the process of continuously practicing what you want to say can lead to an improved client experience.  Improving the client experience is an ongoing process and a key to a successful personal training business.  New York City personal trainers have ample opportunity to workout together, as there are independent training gyms throughout the city where trainers use the gym in between client sessions.

On the other side, your training partner and fellow personal trainer will be showing off their best, or worst, and providing you with an inside view into some of their practices.  These are opportunities to how others conduct yourselves.  You may find some takeaways that you can incorporate into your own programs and dialogue.  On the flip side, you may be abhorred by what you see and be happy that you handle your own personal training business in a much better manner.

At the end, if you really want to improve your personal training business and have thick skin, ask for some feedback on some of the things you did.  Feedback is a priceless tool for any business.  In my years as part of the New York City fitness community, I have yet to find a NYC personal trainer who refused to provide feedback to a colleague.   Just ask!  If you are looking to connect with other personal trainers in the area, search the trainers on NeighborhoodTrainers. If you are looking to connect with new clients then add your trainer profile to the NeighborhoodTrainer community.