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!

So what can you do to be more in touch with "programmed" caveman inside of you? Simple. Get out there and make an effort! Get up off your backside, stop making excuses, and MOVE. Start from inside, though - with Core.

What is meant by "the core" is successful inner teamwork of many systems in your body, all of them originating at center mass - torso area. We are talking about muscles of your lower back and spine, Transverse Abdominis muscle behind your "six-pack", obliques and other supporting muscles, circulatory and neurological systems that power these muscles with fuel and instructions, and many more muscles and tissues that all work together as a unit, collectively being called "the core".

Why does any of this matter to you? After all, it's only what you look like from outside that matters, right. Wrong! Your body's core is like a power plant. It fuels and controls everything that you do. From moving nutrient and oxygen-rich blood to your extremities, to very network of neurological pathways that control your arms and your legs - all of this starts at core.

All of your vital organs and systems are located in core area. Your heart, lungs, spine, stomach, liver, kidneys - list goes on. The only thing outside of your torso that you couldn't live without is your head. However, your head is directly connected to your spinal column, which is part of core!

Part of having a strong core is that actual muscles are thicker, stronger, and much more resistant to injury. If you have a weak core, you could give yourself a lifetime back injury just by picking up a box wrong way! On other hand, if your core muscles are strong and vital, you have a lot more "margin for error" when it comes to bending over, picking things up, keeping your balance, etc.

What about your posture? Posture is definitely controlled by a strong core. Would you think of having good posture as an important thing? You should! If not, let's take a secret shortcut to weight loss: Stand up straight and suck in your gut. Congratulations, you just lost 10 pounds!

Are you starting to see point? It all starts at core, so safeguarding inner-workings of your body is as important as it gets.

There are many great exercises to work your core, but listing them all is beyond scope of this article. The point that you should take home is that working your core should be an integral part of your life - even if you don't exercise on a regular basis. Even if you don't care about weight loss or physical appearance, safeguard your LIFE by having a strong core!

Here are some resources where you can learn about core exercises:

http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/l/bl_core.htm

Remember: Your core is your body's power plant. Keep YOUR body running at maximum power!