Forked podcast introduces Michel Babin; personal trainer, strength conditioning coach, athletic therapist, osteopath and naturopath. He has been working in the health and fitness industry for 12 years.
Worked in the maritimes and moved to Montreal 6 years ago, to start his fitness business.
He shares his 3 keys to being a successful personal trainer.
1. You need clients to like you and you need to be someone who people can connect with easily.
2. you need to get results with your c...
Forked podcast introduces Michel Babin; personal trainer, strength conditioning coach, athletic therapist, osteopath and naturopath. He has been working in the health and fitness industry for 12 years.
Worked in the maritimes and moved to Montreal 6 years ago, to start his fitness business.
He shares his 3 keys to being a successful personal trainer.
1. You need clients to like you and you need to be someone who people can connect with easily.
2. you need to get results with your clients. It will entice others to want to work with you through referrals.
3. The experience of your session must be fun and motivational.
00:04:00 I ask Michel what his feelings are on working with clients who are not getting results; working with clients who don’t want to commit to the full process. Are we willing to let go of a client who isn’t getting results? Isn’t it more important to keep working with a client, as exercising still has major health benefits even if the results aren’t necessarily there?
00:07:00 Michels response to this is that the client inevitably must take accountability for the results they have. The trainer however must probe into the underlying reasons this client may not be getting results. Are they not being truthful about nutrition habits? or are they being inconsistent with exercise?
Michel states clearly that if you are doing the right steps you will get results.
00:08:00 We discuss Michels interesting looking green liquid he showed up to the recording with. It is his vegetable powder supplement that he consumes regularly. His belief is that we don’t get enough nutrients in our diet especially considering the depleted nutrient values of fruits and vegetables that have been sitting in warehouses and store shelves.
00:08:45 I ask Michel the big question about letting go of a client due to lack of results. Is this really a good idea especially in the beginning of our career when client scarcity is a problem and we are having financial struggles?
Michel has never let go of a client. He takes his accountability, in that he he digs deep to find out why they aren’t getting results. He expects clients to be honest and recognize their own behaviour. Also he cautions us with pushing too many changes on people at once. Start with one or two changes. Let some cheating occur and work step by step.
00:10:30 With Michels extensive background, I’m curious if his multidisciplinary approach helps in weathering the storms of change that are inevitably a part of business.
His response is that it has certainly helped him to be more flexible in his approach to building his client base.
20:00 Building our fitness business can’t always be smooth. I ask Michel about the transitions that were difficult and what prompted change in the direction of his practice? After experiencing the restrictions of working in a large corporate gym, he knew that he wanted to move toward something that gave him more freedom.
He was able to rise to the top of his personal training business in the maritimes after branching off on his own.
21:30 Michel moved to Montreal to be with his girlfriend. This began his efforts to build his business in a new city.
22:30 we recognize the importance of our partners in supporting us in our efforts. We give a big shout out to his girlfriend Veronique Cassey who works in Radio oncology at the Montreal children’s hospital .
26:00 We discuss the challenges of starting over again from scratch. How do we rebuild our network?
28:30 the pain of not earning money at the startup phase of our business. Having faith in our process and having gratitude.
34:00 when we find ourselves doing jobs that test our determination to follow our dream. We can’t always leave the job we would like to leave. We need to transition, respecting that we have responsibilities.
40:00 we discuss the importance of purpose on our journey. Purpose helps to dictate the direction when we come to forks in our path.
To find what our purpose can be, we can look to our past and try to recall the things that we loved and could spend endless time doing. Sometimes the hardest moments we went through can reveal what our purpose may be. Learning from our pain.
48:00 coming from a small town and adjusting to the less friendly side of a bigger city.
49:00 final words of weathering change and bringing your most flexible attitude forward.
Get in touch with Michel Babin on Facebook.
