Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Have you seen one of these in the gym before?...

Yeah?

It’s a Personal Trainers staff profile detailing what they ‘specialise’ in.

It’s a lot, I know. It’s like, what the hell do you do mate? Bitta this, bitta that, but at the end of the day not so much at all.

I find these profiles to a BIG red flag when it comes to finding gyms, a personal trainer or a coach. People spread themselves too thin, that that have no real base in their profession or their craft. They can service for this or that, but I doubt they are running clients in ALL of these categories (there are exceptions).

Now for example, as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist AND a Strength & Conditioning Coach, I am qualified to do a BUTT LOAD of things.

Cancer, diabetes, athlete rehabilitation, mental health, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputees etc etc. and it gets deeper than that when you bring in age, experience, professionals, juniors etc.

Another example, Physiotherapists are trained in a VAST range of rehabilitation (much like EP’s are), but you don’t have 1 single Physio ward for ALL rehab patients in a hospital do you?

NO, you have separate wards with specific specialised rehabilitation specialists.

 And even then they have other Allied Health professionals around them assisting also (OP’s, EP’s, Ortho’s and more).

Picking a specialty and sticking to that not only allows you, the trainer/coach/clinician to narrow down your market, it allows the customer to find who they need and get the right service for them to get the results that they NEED and WANT.

Another red flag is qualifications. The biggest NO NO I see constantly is when a personal trainer lists ‘Rehabilitation’ as one of their specialty areas but have no actual qualifications that allow them to work with injured people.

This can also be a HUGE legal problem for them, and yourself if you chose to go with them for your ‘rehab’ and something goes wrong. They are not covered and you may be left worse off than you started.

As for me, I chose to use my education and training to work in Musculoskeletal rehab, athletic development (youth) and performance. Because that is what I LOVE to do, and that way I can spend all of my time catering to that population. Instead of giving a little here and a litter there and getting ‘okay’ results.

Now you may be thinking, “but you have like 8 different ‘specialties’ listed on your website as well”

Well yes, but majority are musculoskeletal conditions and target to the general population and athletes. Also, as an EP, I want those who need it to come to me so I can then refer them onto someone else who specialises in that area if it’s not one of my areas and you can  get better service elsewhere.

So the very first step you can take before jumping into this jungle of qualifications, is know what YOU want and know what YOU need. Not just throwing a dart at the staff profile board and going with your first option. If you’re unsure, like many are, give me a message and I’ll be happy to talk you through everything so that you can find the best person for the job.

As for health professionals, narrow down your market to a niche that you want to specialise in, and really focus on that. Yes it will reduce the pool of clients you can get, but it will also put you on the map as being ‘that guy/girl’ for the job. You will be on the forefront of people mind when it comes to that area, because you are that person, the ‘shoulder’ guy, the ‘diabetes’ chick, the ‘strength’ dude. You will get better results, better clients, and a reputation that will attract the very best clients for your business.

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