I’ve worked in the health and fitness industry for over a decade, and I’ve managed to build three very different but very successful businesses. I’ve run a small personal training business in Shoreditch, London;I’ve owned a gym and employed staff; I’ve built an online health and fitness business. As health and fitness professionals the opportunities are endless, but what price are we willing to pay when it comes to our own health, happiness and success?
Working as a health and fitness professional is one of the most rewarding jobs we can do, but it’s not as easy as you think. Those of us who truly make a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our clients often go above and beyond. This can leave us exhausted, anxious, stressed and broken because we fail to protect our number one asset… our health.
I know the feeling well, and this is why I’ve created the Protect The Asset course for health and fitness professionals. Those of us who are passionate about health and longevity must unite together to influence and inspire the behaviour change needed to prevent chronic disease and endorse sustainable health. Now more than ever, health and fitness professionals have a critical role to play.
1. We need more ambitious, driven and committed health and fitness professionals
People out there are suffering from chronic illness and they’re struggling to make the behaviour changes that are needed to improve their life. They need support, empowerment and the knowledge that ambitious, driven and committed health and fitness professionals can offer.
Our current health systems are failing to prevent and reverse disease. The chronic disease epidemic is one of the most significant challenges humanity is facing today. The current health and fitness industry is also failing to deliver the service that people need to change their behaviours and improve their quality of life.
We are getting fatter and sicker. Why? Because our health system focuses on suppressing symptoms rather than addressing the underlying cause of disease. Drugs are not the answer; they mask the symptoms and expose us to a list of side effects which leads conventional doctors to prescribe more medications. The pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank as more and more people are suffering.
“84% of the risk of chronic disease is not genetic, but environmental and behavioural”
Our environment has changed, but our genes have not. Chronic disease is not hereditary, your genes determine which diseases you might be predisposed to, but the choices you make every single day around your diet, physical activity, sleep, stress management, and other lifestyle factors have a greater significance to your health.
“Genes load the gun, the environment pulls the trigger.”
Our doctors are not trained in nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management or lifestyle factors, they only know symptoms and drugs. Health and fitness professionals have a critical role to play in terms of supporting and educating clients on diet, lifestyle and environmental exposures that impact their genes and biology. Only by prioritising our own health and longevity can we start to promote sustainable health over what is fast, fun and easy.
“I’ve grown to acknowledge that a healthy diet, a good exercise plan and a solid supplement routine are not going to be helpful unless we are willing to take a more sustainable view on health. ”
Exercise and diet both play a crucial role, but there is a much broader picture of health that we must grasp if we are going to make a difference in the health and happiness of our clients. Only when we are at our best can we provide the service that is needed. In our role as personal trainers, coaches and gym owners the emphasis is on educating people as they make the behaviour changes needed to prevent chronic illnesses and promote vitality.
2. The fitness industry promotes health but fails to support it
Wellness is a multifaceted endeavour, requiring a holistic approach that covers a wide range of health habits and lifestyle factors. Although many personal trainers and coaches know about exercise and the basics of nutrition they often undervalue the other three five of sustainable health. Between training clients, marketing, managing a business, earning an income, writing programmes, eating healthy, exercising, continuing education, reading, and researching, where is the time for self-care and self-compassion?
For a long time, my personal goals were dedicated solely to my career and my training. Just like many health and fitness professionals, I burnt the candle at both ends, failing to set boundaries and protect my number one asset. We sell our time for money and we never seem to have enough of either. My work and training took priority over my relationships, my sleep, my recovery, my holidays and my long term health.
As the years passed, my career went from one success to the next, and my training continued to evolve. But this all came at a cost. I failed to take care of my body, mind, and spirit and the implications left me feeling broken and bordering on depressed.
“You’ll never have the time to do everything. Every decision has an opportunity cost. When you choose one thing, you simultaneously don’t choose several others. ”
Although my diet was healthy and I was exercising regularly, I was feeling low on energy, anxious, stressed, and struggled to see the many errors of my ways. I’m not the only health and fitness professional that feels this way; most of us live our lives on other people’s terms. Our days are spent achieving other people’s goals and submitting to other people’s agendas. We make the mistake of not organising our life in such a way that we command every waking and sleeping moment. Instead, we relentlessly reacted to many of the endless opportunities presented.
As health and fitness professionals, we often fail to value our time and we allow the industry and our clients to dictate our lives. We become addicted to making others happy. Our ongoing efforts grant us high levels of job satisfaction and financial reward, but at what cost to our own health and wellbeing?
“How can we preach health and fitness if we’re struggling to take care of ourselves?”
3. Health and Fitness Professionals need the courage to prioritise their needs and health
I became addicted to reactively being guided by other people’s agendas and forget about my own needs. I know a lot of personal trainers and coaches who have walked, or are walking into the same trap.
I learned most of this the hard way. If you want to have more freedom and balance in your life, you must have the courage to protect your schedule and value your time, your health and your happiness. Successful health fitness professionals need to:
Set clear boundaries around their daily, weekly and monthly schedule
Know their purpose, vision and goals
Know what success means to them
Know their values and put them into action
Find a sustainable training method that supports their long-term health and success
Find a sustainable diet suited to their lifestyles
Prioritise their rest, recovery and sleep
Implement stress management tools to improve both health and performance
4. 85% of Personal Trainers fail in the first two years
Many health and fitness professionals operate their businesses as a solo entity. This option is a great fit for those with an entrepreneurial streak, but it requires a lot of hard work that includes training clients, writing programmes, doing administration, managing your accounts, ongoing education, marketing, research and more. You build your business from scratch, determine your hours, choose your clientele and have the freedom to branch out into different revenue streams. There is great earning potential in our industry, but we can not do it all, we need to find our niche to be recognised as a true professional.
By defining a niche and knowing what success means we can find a better work-life balance that includes self-care and career growth.
So, while we may face many challenges, putting in the required legwork and creating the freedom to own your time and energy gives you the courage to stay true to your values and move closer towards your purpose and vision for the future. If we want to be a part of this gratifying industry, we must learn to master the art of protecting our number one asset. As I said, we need strong, happy, healthy and well-educated advocates in the industry right now more than ever.
What’s the next step on your exciting journey?
The fitness industry needs change. We need to find a better way to educate ourselves and our clients on the importance of sustainable health over superficial goals. As health and fitness professionals we have a critical role to play in reversing and preventing chronic illness.
I coach ambitious, driven and committed health and fitness professionals who strive to juggle their health, career, peak performance, & personal life.
These entrepreneurs appear to be confident, brave, happy and successful. Their enthusiasm is fuelled by regular exercise, eating clean, a love of learning and their ability to muscle through every task and challenge.
They seem to have life under control but in reality, they are exhausted, anxious, stressed, broken, and failing to prioritise health and happiness.
I know the feeling well.
Fitness Professionals find it hard to get ahead in an industry that promotes health but fails to support it. We often burn the candle at both ends, failing to set boundaries and protect our number one asset, our health. Our ‘I will work harder’ mentality is detrimental to sleep quality and quantity, hormonal balance, immune function, digestive health, inflammation, brain fog, stress tolerance and recovery.
We are flying from one task to the next, worrying about our growing list of responsibilities and ignoring our true values and needs. We quickly fall into the trap of what is fun, fast and easy, over what truly aligns with our belief systems. Our self-defeating habits have detrimental impacts on our relationships, health, happiness, and performance.
We quickly become burnt out and start to lose sight of our passion due to the unsupportive industry expectations.
I work with personal trainers, coaches and gym owners to help them find the courage, compassion and self-love by bravely embraces a sustainable lifestyle that allows us to balance work, rest, play, health and happiness.
Guided by sustainable behaviour changes, we work together to explore and experiment with:
The beauty of clarifying your purpose vision and goals
Sustainable time management
Uncover your unique ability
Streamline your priorities
Sustainable diet reset is more than just calories and macronutrients
Nutrient density and functional health markers
Digestive Health
Sustainable diet alterations
Optimising nutrients for peak performance
Sustainable stress management
Sustainable training
Sustainable rest and recovery
Why your environment matters
My aim is to coach Fitness Professionals so they too can achieve balance. So they have the ability to thrive in their careers and still have the energy to enjoy a life outside of work.
I’m launching a BETA version of my ‘Protect The Asset: Ambitious, Driven & Committed Fitness Professionals’ 14-week program which will show you how you too can lead a sustainable lifestyle in an industry that doesn’t support it. The first-ever course will launch on 17th February 2020 and I’m looking for 10 fitness professionals who are ready to embrace a lifestyle that allows you to balance work, rest, play, health and happiness.