Characteristics Of A Great Fitness Coach

Rick Mayo, Alloy Founder/CEO, and Matt Helland discuss the character traits of a successful Alloy fitness coach.

Fitness coaches come in all sizes and traits, but it takes a particular character to excel in our small group personal training model.

For one, this person must have a passion for fitness and a passion for helping people reach their health goals.

Fitness as a career or business is very fulfilling because you actually see the difference you make in people’s lives. Suffices to say, it also pays handsomely if you do it right!

In this episode, Rick and Matt go through some of the most essential traits that Alloy fitness coaches must possess to succeed and help our clients achieve their goals.

3 Major Characteristics of a Great Fitness Coach

✅Physical Traits
✅Energy and Enthusiasm Traits
✅Psychological or Personality Traits

Physical Traits

What are some of the physical traits or physical attributes that would make someone a better fitness coach at Alloy? Because our customer avatar is someone that wants to improve the quality of their life, move more, and live life to the fullest. They don’t want to compete in a bodybuilding competition, or a fitness competition, or bulk up massively. So fitness coaches need to be approachable and have similar goals to their clients.

Maybe our client’s is to play golf, but he still has to put on a business suit and go to work every day. They cannot put in massive amounts of time for body building. So whether you own an Alloy or a fitness based business, if your clients are not looking to be a bodybuilder or compete in extreme sports, don’t have your fitness coaches bulked up and dressed in tank tops. It’s important that you know that they’re dressed appropriately to address that customer you want to attract.

So most clients want their coach to be in good shape and dedicated to the journey so they can relate to them. So if a coach is on the same journey as their customers, it can actually be more in common. If you were 50 pounds in your mind, overweight, and lost 25 pounds already, you’re going to have so much more in common with the people that you’re sitting down with, then the person who’s always worked out or is genetically blessed.

If you understand the psychology and the pain points that person sitting in the seat across from you has, and you’re able to relate to them, then there’s nothing more powerful than that. You can see people all over Instagram and social media sharing their journey and people buying into their story. That is very impactful. Just from a social influencer standpoint, some of the most impactful people are people that aren’t necessarily the most buff and fit. They’re like the real people that are on a real journey and they’re 100% believable.

So this is for anybody listening that doesn’t feel like they’re as fit as they need to be. If you’re training people for bodybuilding competitions, it’s probably not a good fit. But if you’re training 45 to 65-year-old folks that are trying to live a better life and move better – and you’re on that journey too, you’re a perfect fit. So don’t let the fact that you’re not perfect get in your way. Your journey means you have a lot more in common with those clients. So if you are looking into an Alloy Personal Training franchise, one of the real benefits if you have the same journey as your clients, it will be much more interesting and easy for you to stay on track, while doing it for a higher purpose other than your own. If you can lead by example, while showing them and documenting the struggle daily, it’s powerful. So from a self-serving standpoint, if you want to keep yourself in shape and you are the operator of the brand, you’re going to be more compelled to stay in good shape.

Energy and Enthusiasm

We describe a fitness coach at Alloy as excited casual, someone with great energy, but not necessarily Rockstar energy. So for big gyms, the coach is drastically different. There was a rare bird that could coach a group training session with the right energy and then switch gears to coach personal training. Some of the more introverted coaches are technically savvy and great in a personal training setting, but really struggled in the bigger group class based setting.

With small group personal training, it’s a more intimate environment. So you don’t have to stand up there and be a superstar group instructor.

Psychological Traits

Some examples of psychological characteristics of a great fitness coach are punctuality and organization. Be on time because you’re being paid for the time you spend with clients. Other psychological or personality traits that lend themselves to successful behavior include attentiveness, a genuine interest in helping others, and a little of mental toughness. As a coach, you have a certain level of responsibility and you have to hold people accountable to goals and sometimes doing hard things. The nature of the coach client relationship includes needing to have some leadership qualities.

You need to be well-balanced emotionally as well. If you have a lot of things going on in your personal life and you can’t leave those things at the door. If you bring them into the sessions, it can be toxic and troublesome for the long-term benefit of clients. Be mentally tough by leaving your problems at the door and always bring your “A” game. It requires self-awareness and humility to leave your problems at the door and just focus on the people in front of you to bring your best to them. Make this the best part of their day. By default, it’s also going to benefit you to do your best every day.

We’re here to help the clients and we put that above all else which applies to every business.

In summary, great fitness coaches are dynamic, emotionally well sorted, and have a health journey of some sort. They have to understand that they are a leader and own it while holding people accountable. They have to be mentally tough and able to leave their problems at the door and focus on others. Finally, they should have a genuine passion for helping others.

Tune in to hear Rick and Matt explain how these characteristics make a great fitness coach with Alloy Personal Training Fitness Franchise.

Podcast with: Rick Mayo and Matt Helland