Personal Trainer West New York Hudson – Gina Jackson
Oct 28
Interviews
2 comments so far
1. Where do you train and how long have you been Personal Training?
I have the good fortune of living and working in a building complex that houses a fully equipped fitness center, complete with a Olympic size swimming pool where I provide independent, private fitness and strength training instructions, as a Certified Personal Trainer. I have been doing so for more than ten years.
In addition, I am the Director/Owner of Pilates Fitness Studio (commercial space lease on the Mall Level of the same complex) where I provide private, semi-private pilates training on the apparatus and group mat classes as well as cross-training with the TRX Suspension Straps to the larger community within a five mile radius of the complex.
I have been teaching Pilates for more than seven years and wouldn’t change one aspect of my life, now that all the pieces have fallen into place.
2. What made you start as a Personal Trainer?
My life was turned upside down with the .dotcom industry demise in 2000; wherein my VP, Strategic Planning position and department at a startup media company were wiped out by layoffs; my own personal trainer seemed to be enjoying more of his life, health and passion for his work than I had in my corporate life for the previous 15-20 years and basically, my heart strings were not being pulled to continue to pursue the corporate path. Thus the timing was right for me to make the lifestyle and career change to fitness consulting.
3. What certifications do you have and do you have any specialty training or sports specific training?
I have certifications as Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Nutritional Consultant, National Exercise and Sports Training Association (NESTA); Reebok Core Training Certifications and am a New York Power Pilates Certified Instructor of Mat and Apparatus.
Additionally, I trained, competed and won First Place Women’s Lightweight Bodybuilding competition in 2002.
4. Is promoting yourself as a personal trainer something you work at and do you have methods you say work for you?
My corporate and career experiences are based in management, marketing and sales; therefore, the skills required for self-promotion were very much innate. Yes, I work at it, as every business person should do, however, the difference maybe that I enjoy the process creating the business proposition as an independent fitness professional and then watching and experiencing the results unfold.
I built websites and associated blogs (FitnessbyGina.com, and Pilates4Fitness.com and Prescription4Fitness.com) at the outset of my business development and aimed each at a specific target market, Strength, Pilates and Online Training, respectively. I have orchestrated all my events and fitness programs utilizing web functionality with the intent of minimizing paper usage and the resultant costs of printing.
All my marketing efforts are targeted at the local five-mile radius within the area I choose to work – only; thus, I rarely paid for online advertising, but utilized local search meta-marketing tools (now Googles Places) to have my target market find me. All my print advertising dollars were spent in business cards and postcards vs. printed media outlets. As a result, my reputation grew in the area and my business grew to the point of sustainability for more than ten years.
5. What is the worst/best thing about being a personal trainer?
Best thing about the work is the long-term personal impact our work has on the lives of other people. All the angst of one troublesome client can be erased in the moment you receive an email or a comment from a client/student whose life and body has been changed as a result of the time, work and energy you have given to them. I have incredible joy with the delight of another finding the strength and means to do something physical they once perceived impossible.
The worst thing about being a teacher/trainer are the early morning hours necessary to help people find that delight.
6. Do you have a particular style or something that sets you apart from other personal trainers?
My clients call me “GI Jane” as my persona and style are generally direct, focused and form-specific. I can be rather “drill-sargent-like” yet, at the same time, I provide instructions with compassion, empathy and humor.
I am aware that people want support, strength and clear direction from a teacher/trainer and they would not seek my support and qualified opinion if I did not give them the “real me” in the process of helping them uncover the “real person” they will become.
7. I have heard that as an average Personal Trainers can burn out quickly and the average is around 3-4 years. What do you think are some of the reasons?
Burnout will occur for personal trainers, teachers or any worker when they
- fail to place contract terms and/or boundaries around their life and work.
- de-value themselves by giving away their time and energy for the sake of filling an hour
- fail to receive full monetary value of the expertise they provide.
- end up working excessive hours to make ends meet (as a result of de-valuing their time and expertise)
- fail to build time on the schedule for themselves that honors their own body, mind and psyche.
8. When do you think that a client no longer needs a personal trainer?
A client no longer needs a personal trainer when they are comfortable and capable of using a gym or fitness facility and safely performing a challenging exercise program that will maintain, build, tone and strengthen their body, regularly and consistently.
However, sometimes we all want a little kick, challenge and/or variety and for that reason a trainer/teacher can (and will) always be called upon.
While I teach Pilates regularly, I still workout regularly and enjoy training with a Master Teacher for an hour each week in a New York Pilates Studio.
9. How much do think that variety plays a part in keeping clients happy with your services and coming back.
Variety is key to my own personal workouts and thus a key aspect of the training I provide to clients. There are only a few of us that actually get a kick out of sweating, stretching and pushing and pulling weights around. The rest pay these few to help them appreciate the joy of what we do naturally.
Therefore, variety is an essential element to the job and the success of the personal training relationship.
10. Are there some factors or a list of things you apply to your sessions that make clients happy and interested in your personal training sessions?
- Keeping the focus on their training program and their own personal goals first and foremost. When/if I notice them straying from the schedule or program regimen, I help them re-focus their attention by asking if their goals have changed so that training adjustments can be factored into place.
- Always compliment and applaud the progress and push-back (hard) on the detours.
- Private Training is very personal, so the conversations (with both males and females) tends to reveal the personal side of life that is real and important to both of us. I feel that it cannot be avoided in the course of the personal exchange and my job is to keep the conversation and energy up beat, focused and ongoing throughout the course of the training relationship. Dialogue ranges from health, politics, current events and world affairs and is interspersed with counting the number of reps while balancing on the Bosu.
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ACE and NASM are industry leaders and would be my choice for functional strength and personal training credentials. Power Pilates would be my only choice for a pilates teaching certification.
Hi Gina I really enjoyed reading your interview. In regard to Personal Trainer Certifications can you offer any suggestions to someone thinking about making good choices for their career?