Lucky or Good? My Personal trainer Internship at Results Fitness
The following is a guest post by Anthony Yeung. Anthony talks about his experience interning at Results Fitness: The process, the wisdom and the take-aways. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post please check out the contribution page.
“How did I end up here?”
For the past two months, I’ve been interning at one of America’s Top Ten gyms, absorbing wisdom and what makes them great. Learning their coaching skills and exercises and getting hands-on experience taught me more about fitness than I could ever imagine.
But I felt lucky that (somehow) I landed the job.
Even more so was the fact that I got the opportunity to interview for Results Fitness.
Why?
Because of my lackluster fitness background:
I majored in Economics. I didn’t take any exercise-science classes in university. The closest I came was going to the campus gym.
I was a “late-bloomer.” I switched to Health and Fitness in October 2011. Previously, my career was a hodgepodge of finance, education, and random jobs – nothing that would blow Hiring Managers away, I’d say. I wasn’t “strong” or “athletic.” I played Varsity Golf in high school. (Well, I think it’s a sport). I wasn’t muscular or athletic, and had no experience with the TRX, kettlebells, or any plyometrics.
Heck, even my parents didn’t want me to be a personal trainer
Do what you love
Now, before you egg my house, I did have two important things on my side:
I lived their Core Values:
“Constantly Learn, Always Improve.” Personal development has done wonders for me; I wouldn’t be here without it. Books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Education of Millionaires, Vagabonding, and Awareness changed the way I understood the world and – more importantly – the way I understood myself.
“Have Fun And A Sense Of Humor.” I might do that too much – just ask all my high school teachers. (Bless their souls).
- “Have Integrity, Be Honest And Transparent.” Before Results, I worked at a company with a shabby “corporate structure”. We worked under the same roof, but didn’t support each other. (Quite the opposite, sometimes). I loathed the gossip and mud-slinging, and quit after a week. Needless to say, I found Results’ approach refreshing.
“Bring Your Best.” Starting out as a fitness young’n, my heroes were Nate Green, Eric Cressey, Joe DeFranco, and Medhi Hadim. And while that list exploded over the years, one thing still unites them all – they always bring their best. No question. They bring a tenacity I’ve never witnessed, and it’s made me better.
I deeply respected that mentality and hoped to build a life reflecting it.
I wanted it. Bad.
- This was my first interview in the fitness industry, and one of a handful of gyms in all of Los Angeles County I wanted to intern for. I had to make it count.
- Not to mention, I burned some bridges. Whoops.
The Interview
The entire staff attended. And I’ve never participated in a group interview.
It was me, with my cheap suit and complimentary Strawberry Surge, facing every Results Fitness trainer and therapist.
Almost every person asked at least one question and took notes. The amount of experience surrounding me was incredible. And intimidating. I mean, these coaches were top notch – who was I?
Well, they asked questions about about me and several about myself in relation to their Core Values. I had to give examples and think on my feet for an hour.
And this was for JUST for their internship. If they added some kettlebell snatches, I would’ve sunk.
Crazy enough, I enjoyed that they didn’t ask boring or predictable questions – they wanted to test my character and personality.
“We’ll teach you everything you need to know here. What we’re looking for is quality people.”
Hmm, did they read Linchpin too?
The Results Fitness Way
I’m a big fan of their exercise program design.
No Results Fitness programs are alike because no clients are alike – everyone has different body structures, training histories, goals, etc. Thus, the staff handcrafts every program to meet specific needs.
There are common things, however, that all clients benefit from:
Chairs? What chairs? From the time a client comes for a workout to the time they leave, I’m not sure they’ll sit once. (Although some curl up against a wall after their finisher). That’s done on purpose:
- We sit too much. Why sit more?
- Clients are always moving. Rests between exercises often consist of light stretches, mobility drills, and/or activation work. No time is wasted.
The only time they’re not standing is when they’re doing this
We build patterns. Can’t lunge or squat? Or poor stability throughout? We reteach the body how to perform those movements, with progressions and regressions for each. Then we load those patterns. Simple, but effective.
We activate your muscles. The Results Fitness methodology gets the muscles firing, then loads the movement patterns. What would happen if someone did a heavy set of Bulgarian Splits Squats with sleepy glutes? Which muscles would work overtime? And what if they continued that compensation?
I don’t even want to think about that.
We cover all facets of training. Power development. Strength training. Metabolic work. Activation and mobility drills. All in the same workout.
Did I mention no time is wasted?
The Road Ahead
“Life is too short to be small.” – Benjamin Disraeli
For a small guy, I dream big.
I want to be a successful fitness coach and help countless people change their lives. I want to grow as a fitness writer, contribute to popular websites, and take my website to amazing heights. (I just wish my name was easier to spell).
I want to open a gym someday. I want to travel and live in places I can’t even pronounce. And, hopefully soon, I want to wear a tuxedo and play blackjack in Monaco before hopping on my yacht.
But it won’t happen overnight.
Becoming a great trainer – or fitness writer – will take countless repetitions, years of dedication, and patience. My internship is just the beginning of a long journey.
But it’s a journey I’m glad to be a part of.
No matter where I’ll end up, I know my internship at Results Fitness prepared me for something special.
Maybe it wasn’t luck at all.
Have you ever done or would like to do a personal trainer internship? Let us know your thoughts and experiences. Also, don’t forget to “like” thePTDC’s Facebook page and join our movement
Anthony Yeung, CSCS, just finished an internship at Result’s Fitness and is now embarking on his career in the fitness industry. He maintains a blog at www.anthonyjyeung.com or you can find him on Twitter
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