Hope you had a great weekend!  Mine was awesome and the highlight was definitely giving a couple of workshops at the UWO Exercise and Nutrition Symposium.  Not only was I able to volunteer my time for a great cause (raising funds for the UWO Fastball Team), I got to meet some great people and reconnect with a few friends.

More than a few people who participated in my workshop expressed an interest in doing what I do as a career.  I don’t blame them, but I also want to make sure they know what they are getting into – the good parts and the bad, so I will start by sharing a little video I shot in the winter giving you an sense of my morning routine.  It isn’t pretty….ha ha.   Click on the “more” tag to see the video. 

More misconceptions about being a trainer:

• Waking up at 4:30am is easy for you – clients will say, “yeah, but you are used to it!”  Note:  you never get use to getting up at 4:30 am
• You go to bed at 9pm (8:30pm is actually my goal) so you can forget about going out on a work night.
• Not only will you start work at 6am, you will finish work somewhere between 6-9pm.  I have been at this for 15 years and most nights I am done by 5 or 6pm which is a luxury.  Plan to spend 4-6 years working 12+ hours per day.
• Be prepared to work 5-10 years making very little money - $20,0000 would be a great start- you may get up to $30,000 after 5 years (before TAX)
• You will start in a ‘regular’ gym, you are not going to finish school and start training pro athletes. 
• You will not know anything about being a trainer when you finish school – that is okay – you have theory and now you will learn the art of program design – another good reason to spend a few years working in a big gym.