The Show Up Fitness Podcast
Join Chris Hitchko, author of 'How to Become A Successful Personal Trainer' VOL 2 and CEO of Show Up Fitness as he guides personal trainers towards success.
90% of personal trainers quit within 12-months in the USA, 18-months in the UK, Show Up Fitness is helping change those statistics. The Show Up Fitness CPT is one of the fastest growing PT certifications in the world with partnerships with over 500-gyms including Life Time Fitness, Equinox, Genesis, EoS, and numerous other elite partnerships.
This podcast focuses on refining trade, business, and people skills to help trainers excel in the fitness industry. Discover effective client programming, revenue generation, medical professional networking, and elite assessment strategies.
Learn how to become a successful Show Up Fitness CPT at www.showupfitness.com. Send your questions to Chris on Instagram @showupfitness or via email at info@showupfitness.com."
The Show Up Fitness Podcast
Equinox Interview Process (Phone): Get Hired At Equinox w/ SUF-CPT
Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!
How to Become A Successful Personal Trainer Vol 2, Chapter 5 is dedicated to helping people get hired at Equinox and Life Time. Mijoia is looking to get hired at the Berkeley Equinox. This podcast will help her build confidence, review her elevator speech, and land her dream job as a QUALIFIED Certified Personal Trainer w/ the BEST personal training certification in fitness, SUF-CPT.
Landing a trainer position at elite gyms like Equinox isn't just about having a certification—it's about demonstrating you're the complete package. This episode breaks down exactly how to stand out in an industry where 90% of personal trainers quit within their first year.
Most certification programs prepare you technically but leave you woefully unprepared for the business side of training, especially sales. That's why the average trainer takes six to nine months to reach $10,000 in monthly revenue, while Show Up Fitness-certified trainers typically hit this milestone in just one to three months.
When approaching your dream job interview, preparation is everything. Recruiters at premium gyms receive thousands of applications yearly and can spot a half-hearted effort immediately. We walk through crafting the perfect elevator pitch, researching the company thoroughly (knowing everything from the CEO's name to their expansion plans), and confidently discussing your strengths and weaknesses in ways that position you as an asset.
The secret sauce? Confidence without cockiness. Learning to articulate your ambitions ("I will be the top-performing trainer at this location") while demonstrating humility and a willingness to learn. We explore how to mirror your interviewer's communication style, ask thought-provoking questions, and follow up persistently if you don't hear back.
Whether you're an introvert or extrovert, we show you how to leverage your natural tendencies as strengths rather than limitations. The practical strategies shared have helped place
Want to ask us a question? Email email info@showupfitness.com with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/showupfitnessinternship/?hl=en
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@showupfitnessinternship
Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Personal Trainer Book (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Personal-Trainer-Successful/dp/B08WS992F8
Show Up Fitness Internship & CPT: https://online.showupfitness.com/pages/online-show-up?utm_term=show%20up%20fitness
NASM study guide: ...
On top of that, the average trainer takes them about six to nine months to ramp up to $10,000 of revenue production. It takes show-up trainers between one and three months on average. So we are leveling up the industry and we're excited to help great trainers like Majoya, and I thank you for reaching out to me. Welcome to the Show Up Fitness Podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry. One qualified trainer in time with our in-person and online personal training certification. If you want to become an elite personal trainer, head on over to showupfitnesscom. Also, make sure to check out my book, how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. Have a great day. Keep showing up, howdy y'all.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to the show fitness podcast. Today we're going to help our girl in Berkeley, my Joya. You are going to get hired at Equinox. I'm very confident because you have your show fitness CPT, because you are everything that I talk about in my book. Help, nick, you are a qualified trainer and that's exactly why the best gyms in the world prefer our certification, and my book, volume 2, chapter 5, is strictly dedicated to helping people get hired at the best gyms in the world and some of those questions that you're going to see from the recruiter is around knowing everything about the company. You have to understand and look through the lens of that recruiter. We are getting hundreds, if not thousands, of applications per year for these elite gyms, and so these individuals have to shift through a lot of bullshit, five page resumes, and so you're just kind of taking the best of the worst and then you give them a call and hi, my name is Chris.
Speaker 1:Me like workout, bang bang weights. I like to train, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like here's another Neanderthal. I don't want this dipshit. So do you have the people skills? Are you professional? They can screen a lot on a voice call. So when they ask for a time, you need to be urgent. I've talked to trainers. Maybe in a couple of weeks. I don't want you. Where's the urgency? Because you're going to take that same half-assed approach for this job. You're going to want to work part-time, a couple hours here and there, thinking you're training celebrities. You're going to be entitled. You're not a good fit.
Speaker 1:They want someone with a yes mentality, a winner's mindset, and so if they ask, can you do the phone? So if the recruiter were to ask, can you do the phone interview on Monday at four o'clock. You say, yes, I can. If you would like, I could do it today. Put some urgency to get on the call and show your value. It's just going to be tell me about yourself. That's your elevator pitch. Practice this, and what I suggest is you get your phone, you put it on the counter and do a three minute elevator pitch and then watch it with the volume off and then listen to it and don't look at the video, listen to your word fillers. So my name is Chris and you know I really like to like train and I go to the gym and I like to do bench press and I like to do this. No, be confident your name. Give me some information, some fun stuff that keeps me entertained. If I've had 30 interviews on the phone, it's going to be a lot of the word fillers. It's going to be a lot of talking.
Speaker 1:The person on the other end is probably screwing around on social media. They're not even listening, because that is the quality of trainers today. I'm not knocking trainers, but our profession is not looked at respectfully. That's on you. To level up, do you have the fundamentals of movement? Do you have the competency. That's one part of it. But you need the confidence. You need the people skills. You don't learn that in the textbook. I can only imagine how many shitty interviews that they come across and they must be so frustrated. So when you come in with a fresh breath of air and you're smiling on the phone, even though you don't see them, and you ask them how their day is going, where they're from, you relate to them as the recruiter. They're going. Oh wow, that's pretty cool. She's probably going to set some expectations for the call and just start it out by saying tell me a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to give you an example, as if I was a newer trainer with about a year of experience. Or recently you just got your show up in a CPT, because that's the equivalent of a trainer with a textbook cert with a couple of years of experience. Show up in a CPT put you at the front of the list. You're the best out there. So you need to let them know you're the best confidently, but not too confidently. That's that concocting that I talk about in my book. My name is Chris. I got certified with Show Up Fitness CPT. I'm sure you're familiar with them, one of the fastest growing certifications out there. They really hammer down anatomy programming, building your book of business, not being afraid of sales, and so I'm super excited to add value and help clients.
Speaker 1:My joy and passion around fitness is helping people set PRs. It doesn't matter if you're 10 or if you're 110, I understand the human body. So when I get an opportunity to show that value, I can help people see things and imagine things that they've never even imagined before. For example, what are some of your goals? I would flip it back on the interviewer because trainers don't do that. They have a script. They're reading with ums and ahs, and then she's like, oh, that's it. Well, actually, right now I'm doing some Nike run club. I'm doing some weight training Awesome, those are so cool. I love doing those. What are some of your physical goals? Do we have like if a genie were to pop out of a lamp? Are you trying to focus on A, b or C? What are they?
Speaker 1:You notice my voice tone. I'm having fun with the conversation. It's kind of like flirting. It's like you're going on a date. You're interviewing, but in a fun way. Let's take dating, for example. You go out on the date, you're late, you have some weird Do you like to have sex? Asking weird, inappropriate questions. You have great eye contact. You're smiling. Wow, I love your nails. Those are great. Those are some cool shoes. So tell me about yourself what's going on. You are building rapport. Different than other applicants. She's going to reach out or he's going to reach out to the manager and say we got a hot trainer coming in. I say hot as in hot in the fact that they are qualifying. We got to get them in, we got to get them hired ASAP. Depending on your personality, have fun with it.
Speaker 1:My strengths are my biceps. I'm just joking. My strengths are being punctual. Military time says if you're five minutes early, you're five minutes late, something along those lines. I make sure I'm always on time. We set today's appointment at two o'clock. I isolated myself in my room reading a book at 1.30. I needed to make sure that I was on time and ready to perform at my maximal level. A weakness should always be a strength and these questions are designed to weed out the weak links for candidates. I just don't like working that much. I'm not an early morning person. I'm introverted. So I don't like people. Or I'm extroverted and I'm just really fucking annoying.
Speaker 1:Or you're cussing on the interview and this is all for show that I'm giving you right now. You are super, super professional and you're going to be nervous. So that's why you got to record yourself and watch how you move. If you're walking around and pacing, the interviewer is going to sense that. They're going to sense the anxiousness. There's going to be an expectation for that. People get nervous. But when you practice and practice, and practice and you're calm and collected and confident the three killer Cs then you're going to crush it and you're going to wow them so you can get into that practical. So if you do not feel comfortable with the question, put it back on them. That's a great question. Do you mind if I think about that for a second? Push, mute and go holy, fuck, my heart rate is pounding. I'm going to do a pushup, breathe, chris, breathe and then come back on.
Speaker 1:A weakness that I have is I tend to overly commit. So when I'm really passionate about a job, I'm going to get to the gym at 5 am. I'm going to leave at 10 pm. I'm going to be there all the time because I want to excel. I'm going to find out who the top performer is. I'm going to take notes. I'm going to find out who the lowest performer is. I'm going to take notes. I'm going to analyze to see how I can perform to my maximal capacity in that environment, which in the past has led me to burnout. But what I've learned from that is I need to have one day where I just focus on myself. So Sundays are my day. Put social media on the back burner. I don't even use my phone and I just connect and I see what my thoughts are. I like to get out in nature and do my stuff yoga, breath work. Whatever that manager is going to be like, is that even a weakness? I think that's more of a strength. Holy crap. That's awesome. So let's follow up with that. What can you tell me about Equinox? You need to know everything. The CEO is Harvey Spinnick. I think I screwed up his last name. I wouldn't say that to him, but I would say your CEO is Harvey.
Speaker 1:You guys were founded in the late 1980s. You originated in New York. You have roughly 110 or so gyms. You have hotels which are freaking amazing. I've been to a few. You can fabricate the truth a little bit. If you haven't, maybe you've seen pictures and photos online, but you want to let them know you've done your research.
Speaker 1:I want to go to the Equinox in Berkeley or San Francisco or San Jose. Well then, go to it, get a day pass Work out. I went to the Equinox in Berkeley or San Francisco or San Jose well then, go to it, get a day pass workout. I went to the Equinox in San Ramon and it was amazing. They had a steam room. I love the eucalyptus towels. I got a membership just for the eucalyptus towels. It's an amazing environment. You can just tell that the member base is a higher performing and I want to surround myself with like-minded individuals. And so Equinox, in my opinion, is the single best gym in the world. Because you guys are international. You have gyms in London. I was actually doing some research the other day and it said it's one of the best gyms in London. So not only are you the best gym in the United States, but also in the UK. That's what I want to be a part of.
Speaker 1:I know there's roughly about 4,000 trainers. There's three tiers you got your coach, you got your coach plus and your coach X. I'm not 100% certain if Berkeley is a coach X club, because I know it's specific ones throughout the company. But you start out as a coach. You can test out once you go through the EPTI, which is Equinox Personal Training Institute, and then when you can level yourself up, once you go through the EPTI, which is Equinox Personal Training Institute, and then, when you can level yourself up and you go through Precision Nutrition, you get your PN1. You can then become a coach plus. So there's three coach tiers. The average training rate is around 150. I'm really excited to get to that tier X status because I want to be able to pitch 175 plus because I know that's my value.
Speaker 1:The members want to work with the best trainers and that's who I am. So that person on the other side is going huh, holy fucking shit, we need this person ASAP. They're confident, they know a lot about our company. I didn't even realize that they understood the coach, coach plus coach X, because when people do their research today, they go on Reddit and they listen to Billy Bob 13 telling you about how Equinox sucks and they take all your money and it's outdated. Blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 1:Victims. When you ask a victim positive things about life, they're going to find every negative thing. That's what a lot of trainers are. They point a finger, they take no accountability, they're not action-based, they don't have the foundation, they're afraid of sales and they feel like they should get everything handed to them. Well, don't be like that. And so when you go in with that mentality, I'm going to be the best trainer at the Berkeley Equinox 100%. Your mind has to know that. Say it in the mirror my joya, I'm going to be the number one trainer at Berkeley by the end of the year. My joya, I'm going to be the number one trainer in Berkeley by the end of the year. And say it over and over and over. And that's what you have to go in and lead with that call, because they want confidence.
Speaker 1:It's okay if you have the word fillers and you talk too much. Hell, I talk a lot, I know it. Though I mirror my individual in front of me. So, on the phone, if the person calls, whichever recruiter it is, mirror their tone. Hello, is Chris available? Hey, how's it going? You, motherfucker, I'm ready to go today. Yeah, that's not going to work. Hey, is Chris there? Hello, this is Chris. How can I help you? So you're mirroring their tone. If it's a girl and their tone is a little lower soft-spoken. Don't be overly bombastic when you're communicating. Try to buckle it down a little bit. If the person seems really bubbly, you need to be bubbly. Mirror the individual who's in front of you or on the phone.
Speaker 1:They're not going to ask you much about the assessment process, but it's good to know you get two equal fits, so equal EQ fit, which is the fitness assessment. We're going to go over the FMS, which they will teach you or me, if you're getting hired there, how to do it. So they. You have like a two to three week onboarding process where they teach you how to do everything. They're not going to ask you about the FMS what are the seven tests? But it wouldn't hurt you to go online and type in FMS, great cook, what are the screens? And then so if they were to ask, maybe they would you just say FMS. I personally haven't done it before, but I'm familiar with the seven tests. I'm really excited to learn. I'm a sponge. I'm going to soak up everything and learn from everyone and be very coachable.
Speaker 1:So that elevator pitch of yours should be about three to five minutes, unless she or he were to say do it in 30 seconds. So practice a 30 second one practice a five minute one. Have some emotion in there. We all have cool stories. They want to hear it. If you've been struggling with weight loss or body dysmorphia or an eating disorder or you have a cool transformation maybe you had asthma or you had injuries pretty common stories to hear with trainers make sure to tell it. You want them to feel that emotion because then you're going to be more likely to stick around. I would say statistics such as I just want to let you know that I thank you for everything you're doing for the fitness industry, because you could probably vouch for this.
Speaker 1:90% of trainers quit within the first year. They go through a simple textbook certification NASM, ace, issa super, super easy to get. They don't have the competency, they don't have the confidence, they're afraid of sales. I'm really excited to implement what I learned with my certification because the business side in sales is fun. I'm looking forward to relating and networking with people. I'm really excited to learn more from Equinox and the technical side of stuff.
Speaker 1:There isn't a gym that's better out there than Equinox. You may not believe that, but you have to say that they need to know that they're the best. So trainers today don't do their research and they're going to ask them about the FMS Trainers today don't do their research. They don't even realize there's a hundred plus gyms. You can go into the filings for that company. Equinox when were they founded? Who were they founded by? What are their long-term goals? Equinox 2030,? What are the plans and the more that you give them, they're going to be super surprised. You may find out that they're opening up an Equinox in Atlanta or Austin and it's going to be in 2026. Maybe it says it on their website.
Speaker 1:I've talked to managers and I know more about Equinox than they do and they come to me and they'll text me. Chris, do you know what's going on over here? Because I keep myself connected online with management, upper management, recruiters, hr. I talk to everyone. Linkedin is an amazing place to go and learn because they'll post articles that maybe haven't been released on your typical news sources. So then you read about that and then I ask a manager. They go. Actually, I need to ask my manager because I'm not aware of it. We're transitioning into the three coach status, where it used to be tier three, tier three plus tier X. That's just doing your research and people do not do it today.
Speaker 1:So here's your summary on how to get hired at any Equinox or Lifetime the best gyms in the world. You need to have a qualified certification. They're looking for NSCA, acsm. Show up in a CPT. They want experience. If you do not get a call back, you got lost in the process. So that's why you first apply online. If you don't hear back in a couple of days, go to the gym and follow up with a manager, and if you don't hear back in a couple of days, you go back in again. You need to be borderline annoying, because trainers will apply one time. They don't get a response back and they're thinking, oh man, I'm not going to work. That's my dream job.
Speaker 1:Victim, victim, victim. You have to go in with a winner's mentality. You are the best trainer in the world. You're going to go to one of the best gyms in the world. You're going to go to one of the best gyms in the world. You're going to become the best trainer at their facility and then you're going to become the best trainer in that market and then on the West coast and then worldwide.
Speaker 1:Because if you don't believe that you will not make it, how are you going to prove to yourself, to an executive that you are worth $150 per hour. If you don't even believe that because you're looking at your bank account and I need this job because I need money now, you're desperate. Desperation is not sexy, so do your research about the company. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Ask great questions. If you start speaking too fast, ask for a moment. I'm a little nervous, to be honest. Would it be okay with you if I just put it on mute and took a few big deep breaths to get myself collected? Absolutely, they're going to appreciate that. And then you come back and I'm ready to rock and roll. Have your elevator pitch developed and practice it. Look in the mirror. Why are you the best trainer? What do you have to bring to the team?
Speaker 1:If I were to ask you a difficult question such as why should I hire you or the person who I just interviewed? What separates you? They want confidence. I've gone through the best certification. I have the fundamentals and the foundation to succeed. I want to go to the best gym where I can make that happen, and that's what Equinox is. I'm going to be there all the time, within the corporate rules and what they're going to allow. I have a mentality and a hunger where I want to be the best, and that competition.
Speaker 1:Some can say it's a weakness. I see it as a strength because I'm going to learn, learn, learn. I'm going to be a sponge. I'm coachable and I will become the best. I'm confident in that. That's why you need to hire me. Depending on your level of confidence, you could even go a step further. That's a great question why you should hire me over the person who you just interviewed. I'm going to ask you a question why should hire me over the person who you just interviewed? I'm going to ask you a question why wouldn't you want to hire a trainer who's become the top performing in the market within six months? A lot of people don't have the guts to say that. If you were to say that confidently, they're going to go whoa. That's what we want, because training is a business and sales are part of the game.
Speaker 1:I'm not afraid of sales. I'm excited to have someone say no, because I'm going to ask them and I'm looking them in the eye with a smile and say why don't you want to get in the best shape of your life, working with the best trainer at Equinox? I'm going to let them know. I'm confident, but I'm not cocky. Cocky is narcissistic. You just talk about how great you are. Notice how I brought in other things with my goal of helping people. You always have to say that, but they want to hear your story. Yes, but they want to hear. You're not afraid of sales. That's the number one reason why you should hire me, because I'm excited about the sales process. That doesn't deter me. The average trainer quits within one year is because they're not confident with sales.
Speaker 1:I'm really excited to pitch $175, go to my manager and say I made an oopsie. I'm a coach plus and I just charged a coach X pricing. How should we handle this? And that manager is going to go ah, damn it, I'll figure it out. This is a really great problem to have. I've never experienced this in my career as a trainer and a manager. Let me go talk to my manager. Who's going to talk to their manager? And all of a sudden it goes up to the top that you're charging the highest amount because you believe in yourself. That's what they want.
Speaker 1:Know about the brand from A to Z. Know about the hotels. It's good to know about the FMS. Don't ask too much about money. Yes, it's important, but you will find that out later on. If they were to ask you, what do you know about the pricing structure here? I just know that Equinox is the best gym, so I know that they're going to be paying their trainers fairly, based on market rate. You could have personal questions such as you have a couple of kids, do they have daycare? That's fine. Have questions to ask at the end, but don't ask about money. How long have you been working at Equinox and why do you feel it's the best company? I would ask the recruiter, if you were me, knowing that the practical interview is next, what's one thing you would do to really prepare yourself? That's a big thinker. You are assuming that you're getting that next practical interview. I'm giving you all a lot. Listen to this a few times and take from it what fits your personality.
Speaker 1:If you consider yourself an introvert, dropping comedy lines or trying to be funny may not work for you. Funny may not work for you. I'm not funny, but I can say it in a way. It's kind of over the top and they're going to get a chuckle out of it, and then I'll always smile and say I'm just joking. If you were to say during the interview.
Speaker 1:What is your strength? My biceps. And you look at them, dead serious. They're going to be like, oh God, I don't want this Versus. What's one of your strengths? Oh, as you can see, my biceps. I'm just joking, but you see how I come up with I'm just joking and I smile. They're going to giggle Some of them. That was stupid, but that was getting a laugh out of people. That's the personality side that they want.
Speaker 1:If you are an introvert, use it as your strength. It's not a weakness. I am great one-on-one. I am an introvert. Some people look at that negatively. I don't know why. I love being an introvert because when it's one-on-one I shine. I guarantee you I'm going to have one of the highest closing rates because I'm great one-on-one. That's the confidence that they want to hear. If you're an extrovert, you can say some people think an extrovert is negative. It's super positive because I can relate to anyone. I'm going to be walking around on the gym floor talking to everyone, becoming the mayor, smiling, shaking hands, clapping baby's hands, being fun and energetic, because that's who I am. I'm going to use my past experience at job A, b and C, whatever it was, and I'm going to use it to really highlight my strengths working with people and helping them get their goals Because, at the end of the day, that's exactly what this is.
Speaker 1:It's a people business but it's results orientated. I need to deliver on my promise, I need to get them results and I need to be confident in asking to train with me, which is a value proposition, and I know that I'm the best of the clients are going to get the best results. You need to have questions to ask them. If they were to say, do you have any questions? Oh no, I'm just good to get off, I'm just excited to get off the call and you're slurring your speech and you're using a bunch of word fillers. That's not attractive. Ask stimulating questions. It could even be a little off topic, you know. I just wanted to ask you are there any books you're reading right now that you really enjoy? Because I just finished how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer, volume 2, and that was really thought provoking. What are some books you would suggest for me as a trainer that can level myself up, but maybe also around people skills or biographies, because I just love to read.
Speaker 1:You're different. Do you think trainers have asked managers what are some great books you've read recently. No, they ask them at seminars because these are the top performing 1% trainers in the world, because they're continuing their education, they're investing in themselves. These are the best. The average trainer quits within a year.
Speaker 1:Victim mentality. They're transactional. They have a really easy certification. They're not competent in a movement analysis. They don't understand pain. They can't assess and I have to say this a trillion times. I'm pretty sure I say this on every freaking podcast.
Speaker 1:I'm not calling you, the trainer, an idiot. I'm saying the training industry is full of a bunch of incompetent trainers because the process is so easy. They don't set you up for success. There isn't accountability. There isn't a process to set trainers up for success. There isn't accountability. There isn't a process to set trainers up for success. It's just buy the next certification. Buy the next certification, which is a textbook.
Speaker 1:Ask yourself this could you reach out to NASM, ace or ISSA and say I'm really struggling right now with the interview process. Do you think someone would do a podcast for me? See how long that takes. See if they do it for you. See if they personalize it for you. I'm an annoying personality online and also YouTube. I do it to have fun. I'm a gem. Now we're getting into my month Multi-personality.
Speaker 1:At the end of the day, I'm confident in our product and I know we have the best certification because the proof is in the pudding when trainers go to these gyms they become the best. That's why we've had the number one trainer at Crunch at Equinox and Lifetime Actually 15 at Equinox. I'd say that's pretty damn good. And trainers also are training past a year. Most quote within a year. On top of that, the average trainer takes them about six to nine months to ramp up to $10,000 of revenue production. It takes show up trainers between one and three months on average.
Speaker 1:So we are leveling up the industry and we're excited to help great trainers like Majoya, and I thank you for reaching out to me. If you want to get hired at one of the best gyms in the world, get your show up in a CPT. It will level you up to really understand movement programming, anatomy, the assessment process. We will connect you with recruiters so you can get hired at one of these gyms and you can start helping your clients, because that's what you want to do. Have a great day, read the book, give that sucker a five-star review. Let us know when we can help you level up and remember big biceps are better and small ones are deep, showing up.