Jamie Staley, CPT, Pn1
Last week, I submitted my resignation for a job I thought I would never leave. Granted, I hadn’t been there in about five months because I’m still on maternity leave, but I needed to make official what I already knew in my head and my heart. The right decisions are often the hardest ones and this was definitely the case.
When I started at this gym about three and a half years ago, I was a fresh little baby trainer who had zero confidence and didn’t know very much at all. I had never even been in a gym consistently until I was hired, aside from a brief internship at another gym in town. I learned so much and this place was exactly what I needed for a season.
And, sadly, now that season is over.
Becoming a mom has challenged me and forced me to really ask myself how I want to spend my time. How am I going to show up for my daughter and be an excellent mother while also continuing a career that I love?
The answer to that question for me is to become an online coach and work with all my clients virtually. Now, let me be clear, I have not sold my soul to Beachbody, Optavia, Arbonne, or any other shady MLM. I’ve had other online clients over the years, but now it’s time to make it the main thing instead of the side thing.
Online coaching has many wins for me: choosing my own work hours, working from home, freedom to work from anywhere, and being with my child when she needs me.
However, online coaching also has huge advantages for clients: cheaper than in-person training, ability to stick with it when traveling, being able to workout from home and on their own time, more attention to nutrition, and overall a more organized and thorough experience.
As a trainer, I can only do so much with a client for the one to three hours I see them each week. Especially because my main job is just to get them through a workout. But with coaching, we can spend so much more time on nutrition, recovery, clear goal setting and tracking, all workouts (not just strength training), and so much more. Communication is much more frequent and clear with the client management software I will be using. I can also work with anyone, not just those that go to my gym or are located near me.
For a price comparison, one month of in-person training (training 3x/week for four weeks) would have cost $520 (plus the cost of the membership). One month of online coaching is about half that amount. My goal has always been to help anyone that reaches out to me for help with their fitness or nutrition and being able to offer a product that is more affordable is a huge win for me and for future clients.
So that’s the update folks. I’m still feeling all my feelings about it, but I’m excited for what this change will bring.
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