Ask the Pro

Luckily, I happen to know quite a few people in my field. Therefore, trying to find a professional to interview was not too difficult. I decided to interview one of my friends who actually works out in East Lansing (aka home to MSU). He goes by the name of Jay, but his full name is J Tyler Koronic. He is a personal trainer at the Power House gym in East Lansing. Now, although Tyler is a guy and specializes in weight training, it was nice to hear a point of view from the actual trainer them-self. I basically asked Tyler a few questions. I hope this is as beneficial to you as it was to me.
1. Do you enjoy your field of work?
2. How did you get into fitness?
3. What are the difficulties to your job? Perks?
4.How do you prepare for a job like this?
5. What things should I know going into this field?
6. What type's of communication do you use in this field?
Tyler's response was; "Yes I love working in the fitness industry, endless opportunities as far as what you can do with it. I got into fitness through the sport of mixed martial arts, I started falling in love with working out through my sport and then followed my trainers advice to get certified to become a personal trainer, and so forth. The only real difficulty is adjusting to the hours, you have to cater to people that like to workout in the am before work and the evenings after work, so a lot of times will leave you with an awkward schedule, along with the discouragement with working with someone that won't put your advice into practice and doesn't see the results you'd like them to. The only preparation I did as a trainer was get certified, and shadow a trainer but as far as management and fitness directing that training usually comes inside of the company as your promoted. You should know you are getting into a field that works much like a teacher, busy in the winter and very slow in the summer, and know you can be very successful as long as you put the effort in, it's def. a reap what you sow industry."