Categoriescoaching

How to Guarantee Your Clients Will Have a Hard Time Actually Getting Results

If you train people for a living, read this.

Copyright: ruigsantos / 123RF Stock Photo

Don’t Guarantee Results

It’s seems counterintuitive, maybe even borderline asinine, not to guarantee your clients results, right? I mean, what the hell are they hiring you for?

HINT: It’s not to trade baseball cards or tickle fights.

I had a new client start with me recently and within ten minutes of her initial assessment she was relaying a story of her previous coach telling her she’d see results in “x” weeks.

Guaranteed.

Guess what didn’t happen?

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I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to set myself up for that kind of standard or expectation as a coach. Unless their goals are any of the following….

  1. Cut diamonds with their pecs.
  2. Build a deadlift that shakes the ground all the way down in Kentucky.
  3. Become a world class hugger.

…I’m not guaranteeing anything, let alone within a specific window of time.

When a new person shows up to CORE I have zero insight into their work ethic, degree of compliance, or any other outside factors that may or may not come into play (family responsibilities, work schedule, Andor marathon watching schedule).

Don’t get me wrong: There should always be an open dialogue and some form of communication with regards to goal setting. But don’t set yourself (or your client) up for a trap by guaranteeing results.

So, Uh, Since We’re Talking About Goals

It behooves any coach to encourage their client to be more specific with their goal setting. Having realistic and tangible goals in sight helps nudge more intent and purpose.

It keeps people more invested in their training.

Just be careful of someone being too vague (“I want to lose weight”), unrealistic (“I want to add 100 lbs to my deadlift in two weeks”), or downright batshit crazy (“I want to pet a Unicorn”).

Lets us a too vague example.

Too Vague = “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get stronger.”

Camera focusing on measuring tape and woman weighting on scales at bedroom. Concept of dieting

Neither is a bad goal. They’re just both vague as shit. It’s like me saying something to the effect of “I want food” when asked what I am in the mood for for dinner.

When someone suggests a vague goal like the ones above I’ll usually try to dig a bit deeper:

  • “Why do you want to lose weight/get stronger?”

  • “What’s prevented you from achieving those goals in the past?”

  • “How will attaining those goals make you feel once you hit them?”

Peeling back the onion with follow-up questions reveals quite a bit. The person soon understands they need to switch gears and latch onto something more concrete.

Which serves as a nice segue to…

Try to Encourage More Performance Based Goals

I’ve been a champion of this approach for a number of years now.

Setting performance-based goals is a game changer.

For example, with many of my female clients, instead of allowing them to default to the “I want to lose weight” trope, I’ll encourage them to pick a performance-based goal to train towards instead:

  • Perform their first strict, unassisted chin-up
  • Deadlift their bodyweight for five reps
  • Perform ten, strict pushups from the floor.
  • Beat Wonder Woman in a fist-fight.

Trap Bar Deadlift.

Setting a performance-based goal makes things so much clearer from a programming standpoint. First off, it makes getting rid of the superfluous foo-foo bullshit easier. Secondly, and most important, is that it gives people purpose in their training.

There’s a WHY behind the madness.

Each exercise, exercise order, load, set/rep, and rest period is curated for the sole purpose of hitting that goal.

To steal a famous quote from strength coach, Dan John:

“The goal is to keep the goal, the goal.”

Either your training program is bringing you one step closer to hitting your goal, or…it’s not.

What I find, more often than not, is when I can get a client to marry him or herself to training for a performance-based goal, the work and effort involved often results in them hitting that aesthetic goal anyways.

It’s a win-win.

The dose of empowerment is priceless.

Set Up Process Goals

This is so simple it’s absurd.

Basically, process goals are smaller, more bite-sized, DAILY, goals people should try to hit that will compliment their ability to hit “big rock” training goals.

I mean, how “strong” is someone going to get if they’re routinely only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night? What are the chances someone is going to “lose weight” if their idea of a veggie is a piece of lettuce on top of their double bacon cheeseburger?

bacon cheeseburger on toasted pretzel bun served with fries and beer

Setting up 2-3 process goals – getting at least seven hours of sleep a night, shooting for 3-4 servings of vegetables per day, eating out less – for people to strive for every day is a great way to not only keep them on task, but provide an unparalleled sense of accomplishment as well.

As they check off hitting each goal per day, they gain more and more confidence and sense of “holy shit, I can do this.”

Build Autonomy, Competency, and Relatedness

These are just fancy-schmancy ways of saying people want to have a sense of freedom/choice in their training, they want to feel like they can do shit, and they want to be part of a community.1

Autonomy: People don’t like to be told what to do. When someone is told what to do or not to do, the human response is something called reactance.

They revolt. Go against the grain. Tell you to go fuck yourself.

Basically, they do whatever it is you told them not to do anyway.

Admittedly, when someone is paying you to be their coach, there’s a degree of “do what I tell you to do” that comes with territory.

However, I’d encourage any coach or trainer to build a level of CHOICE into their programming.

  • Maybe your client gets to choose what variation of deadlift they perform that day.
  • Maybe you let them choose if they want to use dumbbells or kettlebells for certain movements.
  • Maybe you give them a 5-10 minute window at the end of their session to do some additional glute training.

That sense of freedom/autonomy will undoubtedly build a greater degree of compliance.

Competency: This is easy. People don’t like to fail. I’d argue failing is good and part of the growing process, but that’s besides the point.

People want to feel like they can DO stuff. For example, if someone has little experience strength training, what’s the likelihood they’re going to feel great about barbell back squatting on Day #1.

Now, I’m not saying a good coach can’t teach someone how to back squat in a matter of minutes.

It’s very doable.

However, what I am saying is don’t be a dickhead. It can be intimidating for some people to place a barbell on their back, and you’re not doing them any favors by force-feeding it.

Doing squats with barbell

I feel the squat is a valuable pattern everyone should become competent with. That doesn’t mean everyone has to start with a barbell on their back.

Goblet squats are a splendid starting point for many people. Once they’re comfortable with that, we can progress accordingly.

Relatedness: Keeping this one brief, going out of your way to build a culture where people are surrounded by like-minded individuals and they can be themselves is paramount.

Don’t Be Scared to Dish Out Some Tough Love

Bringing this whole discussion full-circle: Remember that new client I mentioned above, the one who told me her previous trainer guaranteed her results?

She asked me an obvious question:

“When do you think I will see results?”

My response:

“If you kinda-sorta train, you’ll get kinda-sorta results.”

This was a (maybe not so subtle) hint that it’s up to HER.

You get out of training what you put into it.

As someone’s coach I’ll be there to support them and help augment their training experience. However, it’s also important to relay the message that part of the onus on them, too.

They have to take ownership and responsibility.

Categoriesbusiness

5 Things Fitness Professionals Need to Consider When It Comes to Taxes

There was time in my blogging career where I’d be more apt to dedicate writing energy toward topics like “Top 5 Carrie Bradshaw Breakups” than anything related to business, let alone taxes.

However, a major mishap I made back in 2007 when I transitioned to being self-employed made me change my tune quickly. 

Let’s just say I needed a new pair of pants when I realized I owed the IRS a lot of money because I didn’t properly prepare for things beforehand.

I get it. It’s not lost on me that most fitness pros reading would rather me write about assessment or how to turn people into deadlifting T-1000’s. I do plenty of that.  Today’s post, though – courtesy of fitness business expert Billy Hofacker – is what most fitness professionals NEED to be ingesting.

I hope it helps (it totally will).

Copyright: pixelrobot

5 Things Fitness Professionals Need to Consider When It Comes to Taxes

Most fit pros are afraid of taxes. They can be scary, especially if you don’t understand some basics. Not keeping up with and paying your taxes can get you into trouble.

Here is some good news.

With some basic information and planning, you can avoid some pretty unpleasant traps. Also, while nobody likes paying them, owing for taxes means you are making money! Besides, if you work independently as a coach, you get to dress more comfortably for work than many of your peers!

If you have employees, you need to deposit a certain amount withheld from them for taxes or you could be in trouble. If you have products you sell and use the sales tax money for other things, you won’t make it.

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As a general rule, you’ll want to set aside a percentage of your profit into a separate savings account so you can pay quarterly estimates to the IRS. Without getting too sophisticated and if you don’t have historical data from your business to look at, 25% is a good place to start.

For example, if you are going to pay yourself $1,000 from your business, take $250 and deposit it into your tax savings account and the remaining $750 would go to you.

In my early days as an independent trainer I neglected to do this. I accumulated a six thousand dollar liability with the IRS and had to pay it off over the following 2 years while building my career. That was over a decade ago. Since then, by incorporating this strategy of withholding taxes on myself, I have not had the tax man after me since!

*To Discover the Tool I Used to Pay Down That Debt and Much More, Download the Debt Destroyer Tool. 

Note From TG: I’m a huge proponent of the Profit First approach to running your business. When I left Cressey Sports Performance in 2015 to begin my own venture in Boston I immediately adopted this system and have been thriving off it since. Having a set plan to know where your money is going at the end of each month to plan for things like taxes, business expenses, and PAYING YOURSELF is crucial. I can’t recommend the book enough. I’m also way more jacked now than I was then. Coincidence?

 

The above scenario applies to you if you are taxed as a Schedule C or partnership. You will have to pay quarterly estimates to the IRS for income tax. If you are taxed as an S-corp, you pay payroll taxes on any salaries paid to employees, including you.

As an S-corp, you can pay the amount of taxes needed through the payroll taxes in order to cover any tax liability. This helps ensure you are always up to speed with your tax payments and hopefully it’s an example of “out of sight, out of mind.”

I personally use that method and it has taken away my tax stress.

Euro Financial, money, tax pressure concept

Finally, when you have some actual historical data, like previous personal and business tax returns, you can work with your accountant to determine the percentage of revenue that goes to taxes. You can also determine, with your accountant2, what the estimated tax responsibility for your business will be and turn that into a percentage of revenue.

You can then transfer that amount into a tax savings account every two weeks or so and use those funds to either pay your estimates (e.g. Schedule C) or reimburse yourself for the taxes the business paid (e.g. S-Corp).

The important thing to remember is that regardless of how your business is structured, you pay taxes on profit and not profit distributions.

For that reason, you will want to be sure to…

1. Keep Good Records

Hopefully, you’re not just handing your accountant a shoe box full of receipts at the end of the year. I used to know someone who did that.:)

Many crumpled receipts from stores. The concept of shopping, taxes and budget

In all seriousness, paper receipts for deductible items are fine but you may want to keep digital copies as well just to be safe. Taking pictures, scanning them, or using one of the many receipt/expense apps works. Other than that you’ll want to keep good records of what’s coming in (income) and what’s going out (expenses).

Other than staying organized for taxes, this will help you stay focused on how much you’re making.

2. Bookkeeping

Do you know the difference between credits and debits? Assets vs. liabilities? While it’s probably not why you got into a fitness career, some bookkeeping basics will serve you well.

Even if you’re not ready to take a college level accounting course, you might want to look into accounting software. Besides helping you prepare for taxes, you can keep track of invoices and billing, as well as run financial reports to help guide you.

Then when tax time comes, you’ll have things organized and an efficient way to access your income and expense history.

Finally, as you grow in your career, it’s wise to evaluate the best uses of your time. While in the beginning, it may make sense to do everything yourself, at some point it may make more sense to hire a professional bookkeeper so you know things are done correctly and you can focus on your highest value priorities.

Just like any area, there are good bookkeepers and not so good ones. I know from experience. If you go that route, be sure to hire someone who understands at least basic accounting and how financial statements flow together. 

3. Know What You Can Deduct

A smart and wealthy client advised me early on to take any ethical deduction possible. Some of the bigger potential items to look at are travel, home office (Schedule C and Partnerships), and health insurance. Self-employed individuals can take some deductions “above the line.”

This means they can still take the standard deduction while also writing off some more items.

It’s important to know here that you can take a standard (flat) deduction or itemize all your deductions based on your expenses. Most Fit Pros will take the standard deduction route since it’s easiest but if you have a lot of expenses it may make more sense to itemize.

Do your homework and know what’s best for you.

4. Take Care of Your Future Self

People who work for big companies generally have an employer who sets up a retirement plan for them. Oftentimes, they get a company match. Since you may not have either of these luxuries, you’ll need to develop the discipline to take a portion of your income and set it aside for your big, beautiful future.

Business Banking and Saving money

With that said, there are some benefits here when it comes to tax season.

A self-employed individual can contribute up to 25 percent of net earnings, to a max of $61,000 in 2022, to a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA. Additionally, up to $14,000 can be contributed to a SIMPLE IRA. Those IRA contributions, which are above the line, may be tax deductable.

5. Where’s All My Money?

Fit pros are often confused when the end of the year comes and they owe taxes but don’t have the money to show for it. I hear comments like, “How can I be taxed?” I don’t have any money.

They simply don’t know what they don’t know.

There is a major difference between profit and net cash. I highly encourage you to track your profit but be equally diligent about tracking your “net cash.”

Net cash is used to see how much cash is left after expenses and owner’s distributions. Since owner’s distributions don’t count as “expenses,” they can cause a Fit pro to think they are doing better than they are. This is one of the biggest misunderstood things for fitness business owners 

The #1 rule in business is not to run out of cash! With a plan for preparing for taxes and an understanding of cash flow, you’ll be on your way to making a massive impact AND creating a career you love. 

About the Author

Billy Hofacker has been a personal trainer for over 20 years and is owner and CEO of Total Body Boot Camp and Performance Center in the hyper competitive market of Long Island, NY. 

Billy is now passionate about helping fitness professionals become financially fit.

He is the author of Fitness Profits as well the host of the leading financial podcast for fit pros, Your Fitness Money Coach Podcast.

You can book a free 15 minute Q&A call with him here. During that call, you can discuss and financial challenges to see if a personalized plan might be a good fit. 

Categoriescoaching personal training

Training Athletes vs. General Population Clients

A few years ago, while presenting at the NSCA Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, I mentioned to the crowd that I don’t work with a lot of athletes anymore.

By choice.

Copyright: yuran-78 / 123RF Stock Photo

Training Athletes vs. General Population Clients

Instead, I explained that currently 90-95% of my clientele are made up of general population clients.

You know, “normal” people.

What’s more, I noted that I actually preferred training them over professional athletes.

There was a cacophony of crickets chirping and cold, blank stares. You would have thought I had just told the crowd I had given up everything just so that I could go walk the land and practice kung-fu.

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During the subsequent Q&A later that day I had a handful of people approach to ask if I was okay and whether or not I needed medical attention for saying something so blasphemous me to further elaborate my comment from earlier:

“So, uh, you said you stopped training athletes to work with general population clients.

Like, why?”

Here’s What I Said

Before I peel back that onion, I think it’s important to address the elephant in the room.

I think the overlying credo in the fitness industry is that once you get to the point where you’re working with (professional) athletes or celebrities you’ve somehow “made it.”

You’re elite.

You can now write your memoir.3

Woman hold notebook. Book notes for the Story of my life. Personal memoirs notes concept.

Quick Aside: I also feel there’s a tendency for people within the industry to give more credence or credibility to certain certifications over others. For example if someone is a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) they’re obviously smarter and more qualified than a lowly CPT (Certified Personal Trainer)….and they can probably walk on water.4

Certifications are great and all (and necessary to some degree), but I guess I fall into the camp that tries not to place too much weight on the letters next to someone’s name, and more so on their experience and overall track record.

I get it: Training Gary from accounting doesn’t attach itself to as much prestige and luster as, say, an NFL player or Zac Efron.

However, as my friend and colleague, Mike Connelly, eloquently stated back in the day:

We all train people. Whether or not they get paid to play a sport does not change their “peopleness” nor does it impact your status as an elite trainer. You either know what you’re doing or you don’t and there is plenty of both on either side.

Training professional athletes and actors has its benefits and setbacks, as does training general population clients.

I’ve been fortunate to work with people on both sides of the fence.

I can tell you that throughout my career I’ve been every bit as excited watching one of my female clients nail her first strict, bodyweight chin-up as when I was watching an athlete of mine make his Major League debut.

Fun Tony Factoid: I watched one of my former athletes make his Big League debut the night of my Bachelor party.

Anyways, far be it from me to tell you which is the better fit or more rewarding route to take.

All I can do is speak for myself.

Speaking of which, how about I finally STFU and get to the meat and potatoes of the post.

“Tony, why did you CHOOSE to not work with pro athletes?”

Here’s What I Actually Said

1. You’re not my Mom, you can’t tell me what to do.

2. The truth is I still do train athletes.  My previous coaching position was at an institution – Cressey Sports Performance – which is known for working with a metric boat load of professional athletes.

Especially overhead athletes.

So, in effect, me switching gears and not training (professional) athletes at the same abundance was very much a result of that.

I simply am not around them as much compared to the past.

Rest assured, though, if Mike Trout wanted to train at CORE I wouldn’t turn him away….;o)

3. When I decided to leave CSP and open up my own small studio in Boston I knew the demographic I’d be catering to the most would be normal, everyday, all-I-want-to-do-is-to-be-able-to-pick-my-kid-up-and-not-hate-life people.

Partly because of the location of my studio, and partly because that’s what I wanted to do.

Don’t get me wrong: I loved working with athletes – and I still do.

However, as far as absolute joys in my life are concerned, outside of a good tickle fight, a heaping bowl of ice-cream, or rough-housing with my 5-year old, I have always gotten more out of helping “regular peeps” nail their first 2x bodyweight squat or helping someone finally conquer his or her’s chronic low-back pain.

I wanted to get back to former and the joy it brought me.

So that’s what I did.

Bye Felicia.

 

Besides, I don’t feel there’s any less pedigree of coaching involved at accomplishing any of the things mentioned above compared to improving someone’s VO2 max or vertical jump from 31 to 32 inches.

In fact, this quote from Vince Gabriele sums things up nicely:

I get more satisfaction helping a level 3 become a level 7, than a level 8 becoming a level 9. The former is so much more rewarding.

4. Also, if I really wanted to be honest with any young fitness professionals reading:

  • There’s more general population clients out there in the world than there are professional athletes. It’s an inevitable mathematical likelihood that, despite how important you feel you are and that only the elite of the elite can (and should) be privy to your superior training methodologies, you may, never, work with professional athletes.
  • But if you do, training athletes can provide a level of prestige that can be leveraged to garner more business.5 That said, and I think a lot of gym owners will agree with this, it’s general population clients that pay the rent and often result in more consistent revenue.

Something to think about.

And That’s That

If anything I hope this little rant resonates with those who may struggle with the notion that they’re “less qualified” because they don’t work with athletes , models, actors, or clowns.

That’s a bunch of hogwash.

Maturity in a trainer/coach is revealed in ‘the process of progress’ rather than who’s connected to it.6