If you are going to take your clients through an aerobic workout during their session, you can either incorporate "heart rate maintenance" exercises into workout itself, or you can get anaerobic exercises out of way, and then move into an aerobic workout for second half of session. Just remember that if your goal is to keep your clients inside their target heart rate zone, there will be very little rest time in between exercises.

However, before you blindly go forcing all of your clients to stay inside their target heart rate zone for entire session, consider fitness goal of client, and metabolically intense benefits of structured strength training compared to a session when you just make sure they are sweating whole time!

Another option for your client's cardio is to have them do it on their own after end of training session. Obviously they still need your guidance on what to do, how to track their heart rate, and how long they should perform activity, but not all clients will actually need you to stay there and guide them during activity.

Also, it is not uncommon for people to own a piece of cardiovascular training equipment such as a treadmill, elliptical trainer, stair-stepper, etc. Nonetheless, most clients will still need some specific guidance on how to maximize benefits from type of equipment that they have access to. Things like interval training, cross training, and training at different heart rate levels are all things that you should educate your clients on, especially if they are going to be doing cardio on their own.

Business Resources

You must also consider business resources that you will need access to when training clients in their homes. The time factor has already been discussed, and you should also consider daily expenses involved in this type of training model. These include equipment expenses, "on road" expenses, and auto expenses.

Equipment expenses should be minimal. You may have an initial cost, but after your initial purchases, all of those assets are reusable. Basic items for home training include an adjustable set of dumbbells and an exercise ball at a bare minimum. It would also be a good idea to have a roll-up exercise mat, a jump rope, and any other items needed for type of activities that your clients will be engaging in. A great cardio idea for clients training at home is boxing drills. If you were to utilize that type of training, then a decent set of protective gloves for clients would be in order, as well as target mats that you hold for them to strike during their drills.

In all cases, items that you own stay with you, and they are simply taken from one client's house to next. It is a great idea to have your clients eventually buy their own gear, however, which keeps you from having to tote arm loads of equipment into and out of their houses day after day. Also, depending on type of program you put them on, they may use some of their own equipment in between training sessions.

"On Road" expenses include food and drinks while you are traveling. Depending on your schedule, you will be on road anywhere from 2 to 12 hours at a time! In those cases, you will obviously need to plan healthy places to eat along way, or keep portable meals in your vehicle each day. In any event, make sure that you consider cost of eating away from home as part of your business expenses.

Auto expenses are potentially biggest expense that you will have to face in order to train people at home. The wear and tear on your vehicle - although accountable on your taxes - can still be a drain on your financial resources. You have to keep your vehicle insured, fueled up, and in good working order at all times. The last thing that you want to do is be late for a client session because your car broke down, or you ran out of gas! Also, at anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 per gallon, gas can get expensive if you put in a lot of miles every day.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many considerations when deciding whether or not to train clients in their homes, and you must weigh those considerations against benefit of being "free" from gym trainer's normal boundaries, and instead being in charge of your own day to day business. In return, you can command higher per session fees for home training. Since you are saving your clients a lot of driving time and gym expenses, as well as giving them an opportunity to get healthy in privacy of their own homes, it is not unheard of for a home trainer to charge $75 to $100 or more per session. Figure in scheduling issues, exercise program that you will have your clients on, and resources needed, and decide for yourself if this type of training program will work for your business!

Flexibility

Although a trainer's day is usually dictated by a preset schedule, if you paint yourself into a corner with your calendar, you will quickly find that some of your clients can't stick with their program because their schedule is just not that black and white. In today's world of ever-changing landscape of professional as well as personal lifestyle factors, many people have trouble doing same thing day after day, and week after week. In order to keep your clients happy and on track with their programs, you must "roll with punches" and exhibit some flexibility when it comes to scheduling and training issues.

It is a very good idea to have a running cancellation policy for your business, and it is an equally good idea to educate your clients on need for regularity in their training program. However, being so inflexible that you charge a client $50 every time they get a flat tire, have to work late, or have a family emergency will quickly eliminate any professional bonding that your clients may have previously felt was a part of your working relationship. Enforce your policies, but be realistic about fact that life is just not as black and white as it may have been 20 years ago.

Forward Thinking

This is as much of a sales technique as it is a great customer service tool. In a nutshell, it means that you should always be planning for future when it comes to your clients. Talk to them about how you are going to start running with them once they get their weight down enough for their knees to handle stress. Explain to them how much fun it will be when you can start taking them through new training protocol that you put together. Get them excited about how good they are going to look on beach this summer after several more months of working out with you, or about how their cousin Sally is going to be so envious at Christmas time this year when she sees how much weight your client has lost.

All of these things plant seed for your clients that you are thinking about their future, and not just taking them through a workout. Let them know that you have great plans for them in future, and that you can't wait to see their results when they get to a certain point in program that you have them on. Again, your clients are people, and they want to be made to feel important, needed, and respected.

Over-delivering

Over-delivering value to your clients is probably most important technique out of any that have been listed so far. It is last in our list of customer service secrets so that it is one that you remember most!

Over-delivering is just what it sounds like - giving your clients more value for their money than they originally expected to get. In fact, all of items listed above are great examples of over-delivery. Do you think that when your clients hired you they expected to be getting gifts on their birthday, expected you to be excited about graduation of their children, or that they could vent to you about their mother-in-law during training sessions? These are all examples of infinite number of ways that you can over-deliver value to your clients.

In addition to what has already been listed, you can get much more specific with your over-delivery efforts. Each of your clients has a very well defined fitness goal that they are diligently working towards. As a fitness professional, you should be regularly keeping up with latest news stories about health and fitness, as well as getting Continuing Education Credits.

Put that information directly to use for your clients! How impressed do you think your client would be if their fitness goal is to be a competitive swimmer, and you take a course on training competitive swimmers? What about if you have picked up some clients who are over age of 55 and you start reading books and clipping articles on Senior Fitness? How about a bonus training session that you give your client when they reach a goal? What about if you have a client who is on high school wrestling team, and after working with him for 2 months, you offer to do a free class for his entire team? The teenager becomes a hero because his personal trainer gave up some winning tips before big meet, and you get a boat load of free publicity!

Conclusion

The pattern developing here is clear, and above examples are only sketches of things that you might consider. Remember that every successful personal trainer runs a business, he or she doesn't just workout with their clients. Get under hood of your business, tinker around with wiring, and find ways to "WOW" your clients everyday!