14 Lessons in 14 Years Working In A Health Club
Over the past 14 years, since I was 18 years old, I have worked at a health club. At the end of this week I will be transitioning out of the club and starting a new position with a company called The Parisi Speed School as their Director of Coaching and Education. This is an amazing position that allows me to work closely with some of the smartest minds in sports performance, develop education for the entire Parisi coaching network, and most importantly, allow me to be at home a hell of a lot more than I currently am.
Win-win for the Lee Household.
The extra-extra bonus is that I have a ton more freedom to explore Purposeful Strength and keep this train rolling as well. Win-win-win...how rare is that unicorn?
For those who read this, and know me personally (which everyone probably does at this point), you know I’ve coached at the Vermont Parisi for the past 10 years. What often gets overlooked is that my real ‘day job’ has always been coaching adults with their fitness, helping gym members get acclimated to the fitness equipment at the gym, and helping organizations in my area create robust workplace wellness programs for their employees.
I think it’s been a pretty neat gig.
What I want to do with this week's newsletter is write a recap of the 14 lessons I have learned during my time at a massive health club (as if the title didn’t give it away…). Some points will be short and sweet, a la my list of 32 for my birthday, and some points will require a little more elaboration on my end. All in all, this was a super fun list to come up with, one that helped me reflect on the first 14 years of my career in fitness, and one that helped me really value the experience I’ve gained and how it has helped me climb to this point in my career.
I hope you enjoy it!
The gym offers more questions than it does answers.
Which machine is right for me? Should I do what that person is doing? How many reps in this set?
The gym is an amazing place, but the confusion is real. What I have always told new members is to think of the gym like a big ass Mall. There are going to be stores you love, stores you don’t need, and stores you hate going in to. Each type and piece of equipment is the same thing. Focus your attention on what YOU need out of the trip to the gym, and not what you see other people doing.
“Gym Anxiety” is very real, but often for the wrong reason.
I have never heard of this term until 2019. When I explore the concept, and talk to people who experience this anxiety sensation, It typically comes down to the thought that people at the gym are going to watch and judge what you are doing.
Maybe.
But what I have found is that people go to the gym and want to be left alone...and they probably don’t care what you or anyone else is doing.
Unless you draw attention to yourself, then people will look.
I’m not saying Gym Anxiety isn’t real, it totally is, but much of the reasoning behind it is falsely perpetuated.
Fitness doesn’t equal gym.
That’s it. That’s the point.
Kidding.
If the past 18 months has taught me anything, it’s that people need good COACHING rather than people need a good GYM. You can achieve fitness in a variety of different ways. Big company marketing strategies have taught us to associate fitness with gyms, good for them. What many need is a plan and coaching on that plan to help them reach their goals.
The only right way to workout is the right way for you.
If any one tells you that _____ or ______ is the best way to train. Run away.
See point number 3 above. Clients are always shocked when I tell them “If it works for you, great, lets keep it going”. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that.
Accountability = Consistency.
This is a cold reality when it comes to achieving fitness goals. Largely, this is what has kept me employed as a Personal Trainer for the last decade-plus.
Accountability can be a friend, a group that motivates you to show up, a person (like me) who makes sure you’re doing what you say you’re going to do. It can be financial, it can be personal. As you see, it can be a lot of different things, but you gotta have it.
Personal Trainers genuinely want your questions.
You’ve probably read in my newsletter that if you have questions, reply to this email and I’ll provide my thoughts and answer(s)- thank you to those who have sent in questions!
People think Personal Trainers are going to send them an invoice for any fitness, nutrition, or health question they get asked. Totally not the case. Trainers want the questions. We all jumped into this profession to help people. Asking questions shows engagement, and we love that.
Seriously though, if you have a question on fitness/nutrition/health, reply to this email and let's jam.
People who workout without music are 100% psychopaths.
No, you can’t change my mind.
The answer is always way more simple than you expect.
The classic fitness answer to any question is “it depends”. The second answer is always WAY more simple or straight forward than you would think.
Q: “What's the best time to workout?”
A: Whenever you can get it in
Q: “What's the best exercise to build a better looking butt?”
A: “Something lower-body that you can do really well and not hurt yourself”
The other aspect to this point is that the question’s people ask 90% of the time do not apply to their level of fitness OR the goals they are trying to achieve.
Rather than worry about how many grams of protein to eat after your workout, just focus on eating the total amount you should have on a daily basis.
There’s no need for a microscope when you can use your eyes.
The 5am gym crowd is the most intense group of human’s you will ever meet
Seriously, the 5am people are the most disciplined and intense to be around. Do not get in their way.
If you work in a gym, you better watch Netflix.
This one's for all my aspiring Personal Trainers. This might be one of the better pieces of career advice.
80% of my conversations are about pop culture, Netflix shows, and sports. The other 20% revolve around answering questions surrounding point number 7 on this list…
People assume Personal Trainers are chicken and rice eating meatheads who only want to talk about bench pressing and squatting- and honestly, that’s a fair assumption.
BUT on the surface, you’ve got to be able to be a normal person and talk about the things your clients want to talk about.
Don’t beat a dead horse.
This one’s simple. Some people hate the gym and that’s okay!
Refer back to point number 3...you can achieve fitness 1001 different ways, do it in such a way that you’re happy and enjoy doing it.
‘Gym Fashion’ became real in 2017
When I look at pictures of me from 2010-2014, all I wore was old t-shirts and whatever shorts I could find. Now, when I open my closet it’s Lululemon, Project Rock, Rhone, etc. Athleisure has BOOMED over the past 5 years, and rightfully so...someone sponsor me dammit!
People think of the gym as an extension of their home. It’s really cool and a major pain in the ass all at the same time.
I don’t think this needs much of an explanation. Sometimes I felt like I was in an episode of Big Brother the way people walked around the gym...
There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone find clarity in their process to achieve their goals.
I used to think that helping people reach their goals was the best feeling in the world. As time went on, what I found is that people often entered their quest for fitness with more questions than answers (see point number 1 on this list). When I start talking with people about their fitness and their goals surrounding fitness, I love helping them find clarity in the process. Coming up with goals is easy- if you read last week's newsletter, you know sometimes those goals aren’t the best, but they are goals nonetheless- the challenge 99% of the time is finding clarity on achieving the goal. The process truly is the best part.
As this book comes to an end, I couldn’t be more excited to open the next one. I’ve been feeling amazing amounts of gratitude over the past couple months as I knew this week was coming. Thank you for letting me take this week’s newsletter and sharing some personal thoughts- it was insanely therapeutic writing this and I hope you found some awesome insights.
PS- one of my goals is to grow this platform, Purposeful Strength. I have a huge favor to ask you. If you’ve ever found any of my content valuable, any of the programs on the website useful, or if my Training services have helped you…I would love a short review and rating on Purposeful’s Google My Business Page (click here!). A massive Thank you!