Career "Life Span" of the Personal Trainer

by Ryan Hogan | Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The following post was written by exercise physiologist, FILEX presenter and industry consultant William Sukala. You can read the original post on his blog by clicking here.

I was having dinner with a personal training colleague the other day when the conversation fell on the topic of the average professional "life span" of a personal trainer. We anecdotally observed that most trainers in the industry last anywhere from 1 to 3 years and then drop it for something else altogether. This prompted the question -- why so short?  ...read more

Customer service says no – how does the fitness industry measure up?

by Oliver Kitchingman | Monday, August 16, 2010

When I first arrived in Australia ten years ago, I remember being impressed by several incidents of good customer service that I received, and it was not uncommon to hear Aussies singing the praises of the quality customer service that was part and parcel of everyday life in this wide brown land. Either my impressions were some way off the mark and the locals were harking back to a bygone era, or something bad has happened in the past decade, because according to new findings, customer service ain’t what it was – or what it should be.

A recent survey by American Express World Service Australia has found that Australia’s reputation for customer service is languishing in the doldrums – in joint twelfth place with the UK out of twelve countries surveyed (behind the likes of the US, France, Canada, India and Holland).  ...read more

Will new PPCA music fees bring about a two-tier club system?

by Oliver Kitchingman | Monday, August 02, 2010

The Network Blog recently posted the topic ‘One word to describe the reality of teaching with PPCA free music – fine!’, which generated a considerable response. The comments made by numerous instructors, and the occasional participant, clearly illustrate the differing opinions about the issue.

The fitness industry has spent a huge amount of time, money and energy fighting the PPCA through the courts, in a bid to prevent the massive price hike from $1 per class to $15 per class. However, the music industry won, and the fitness industry has responded by moving, largely, to a PPCA-free model whereby many clubs are now using exclusively non-original-artist music.  ...read more

Love it or otherwise, we can use The Biggest Loser to boost our Fitness Businesses

by Analee Matthews | Tuesday, February 02, 2010

It's back on our boxes. And love it or hate it The Biggest Loser TV show has a potentially massive impact on our industry!

In past blogs, we've discussed whether the show is a pro or con for the industry, and whether it's offensive or helpful, but these ongoing debates aside, the bottom line is that there really is a great opportunity for PTs, clubs and group exercise instructors alike to tap into the heightened interest that the show creates, and really boost our business activities.   ...read more

Words of wisdom: essential books for Personal Trainer success

by Oliver Kitchingman | Friday, August 14, 2009

The following post is written by guest author Andrew Verdon.

I have been travelling a lot recently with my work with the Australian Institute of Sport as things speed up in the journey towards the London 2012 Olympic Games. It feels like I haven’t really been home since FILEX back in April!  ...read more

The Fitness Industry, is it recession proof?

by Ryan Hogan | Thursday, June 18, 2009

It seems like every new day brings yet more stories of economic doom and gloom. Businesses closing left, right and centre, people losing their jobs, houses and cars. Certainly, if you talk to anyone who works in the financial, real estate or corporate travel business, their spirits are nowhere near as high as they have been in recent years..

But what about our industry, the fitness industry? How are we as fitness professionals specifically being affected on a global scale? On a purely anecdotal basis, from the Network perspective, times are good. Our membership base is as solid as it ever has been, our FILEX event in 2009 was one of the biggest we have ever run and there seems to be increasing demand for our training courses. With the introduction of some fantastic new services, like PTontheNET and online eCEC courses, we have been able to adapt and streamline the business and attract a whole new generation of people to our organisation.  ...read more