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
Ep. 226 (India) Passion meets Profession w/ Shubh Hamirwasia from Maharashtra
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Shubh Hamirwasia IG: Kaaffi_shubh from Maharashtra India.
Transform your career as a personal trainer in India. Become a certified personal trainer with Show Up Fitness CPT recognized globally.
Ever wondered how a personal struggle with weight could transform into a thriving fitness career? Meet Shubh, who turned his experience as an overweight teenager into a powerful platform for helping others in India navigate their fitness journeys.
Shubh's story begins at 16 when a Les Mills instructor saw potential in him and encouraged him to try teaching classes. What started as a way to improve his own fitness quickly evolved into a passion for helping others. Facing the reality that quality personal trainers were beyond his budget, Shubh took matters into his own hands by pursuing ACSM certification. "How difficult can this be?" he thought – a question that launched him into multiple certifications and eventually, a career training others.
The conversation provides fascinating insights into India's unique fitness landscape, where "skinny fat" is more prevalent than obesity. Shubh explains how economic factors and cultural traditions impact protein consumption, creating distinct challenges for fitness professionals. Unlike Western markets where trainers often leave the industry quickly, Shubh notes that in India, personal training attracts people from other careers due to its earning potential – an interesting contrast that shapes the professional environment.
What makes Shubh's approach special is his commitment to education and mentorship. "Don't focus on money for the first five years," he advises new trainers. "Surround yourself with the best mentors that you can." This philosophy of prioritizing learning over immediate returns mirrors the approach effective trainers take with clients – focusing on sustainable progress rather than quick fixes. His disciplined lifestyle (including non-negotiable sleep from 9:30-4:30) demonstrates h
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Welcome to the Show Up Fitness Podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry one qualified trainer at a 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 and keep showing up. Forget to subscribe, rate and review. Have a great day and keep showing up. Howdy y'all? Welcome back to the Show of Fitness podcast.
Speaker 1:Today we are coming to you from India. We got Mr Shubh and he is going to talk to us about the life of a trainer. He started when he was 16. Les Mills how cool is that? And now he has a big smile right now because he is kicking major ass over there doing a great job. And we interviewed him for the show up fitness book that we're going to release there in India how to become a successful personal trainer and it's going to be specific to the Indian market. We're really excited to help more trainers become successful, like yourself, my man. So thank you for taking the time today.
Speaker 2:Thanks for calling me.
Speaker 1:So let's just start from the beginning. Tell us more about yourself, how you got into this and what you're currently doing.
Speaker 2:So I started. I got into the industry because I was a really, really fat kid and my parents used to go to a great gym which offered less meals and the trainer over there, who happened to also be a master trainer of the programs, was closer to my age and after doing the program for around six months or so, the training was happening to become an instructor and he said come, let's do this thing, you try it, try it out. And I tried it. It went very well, I did really well at it and I fell in love with it. I absolutely fell in love. Tried it. It went very well, I did really well at it and I fell in love with it. I absolutely fell in love with it, went on to do all the certifications that were available in India and Les Mills.
Speaker 2:Later on, and along with that, when I was 17, I think, yeah, when I was 17, I did the ACSM certified personal trainer course as well. So that got me into the personal training side of things, and that I did only because I really honestly couldn't afford the personal trainer at my gym. The ones who were affordable didn't seem to know all that much and the ones who knew the stuff were too expensive for me to hire. So I'm like how difficult can this be? And I just went under the acsm course myself, which ended up being quite pretty simple, and that is how the journey began. And then I don't know seven, eight certifications down. Now I'm helping other people do the same thing because it helped me.
Speaker 1:It definitely helps them. That's awesome. My first gym that I worked at in California was really big into Les Mills, body combat and the sculpting classes, the spin classes, body pump and the energy in those are just insane. You got some songs blasting, some music, you're doing a ton of reps and the energy is just contagious.
Speaker 2:It's amazing, especially when you get a good instructor. I was really lucky to have some of the best instructors my country had to offer at my gym and a couple of gyms close to my place, so I'm really blessed that I had good mentors, but because of them I happened to become, I would say, an above average instructor, and so my classes also went pretty decent, so the energy was always really high and a lot of fun in the classes for sure, and I love that because if you're not familiar with Les Mills, it's a huge company.
Speaker 1:One of my buddies is very high up there and it's fun to talk to him about the client engagement and getting these classes in gyms, because the community aspect from these classes is huge. But you really have to put in a ton of work to become an instructor. You can't just show up and get a simple certification. You have to be able to pass a test. You got to submit a video, there's a lot that goes into it and then there's a whole energy as well. So if you don't have that looking the part and talking the part, then you're not going to be able to get certified through them right?
Speaker 2:Oh, a hundred percent though, because I did when I was really young and that was the first thing I got introduced to. The learning curve initially was quite steep because I had to learn not only what to say, how to do it, but also like when to do it and execute a class together when I was a complete beginner at the entire industry, really. And again, I was 16, so like I was literally a child, so it was. It was fun to go through that very steep learning curve because it taught me a lot and, again, blessed to have great mentors. They made the process far easier for me than it is for other people now and that's huge.
Speaker 1:It's about having a mentor, but getting out of your comfort zone and recognizing that and then doing it, and so many trainers today kind of like how you did with ACSM and you compare the two and you're like, oh, it's actually not that bad. And unfortunately we don't have that rigorous process, at least here in the States, where you have to go through and learn by doing and you get feedback and you have people say stuff like OK, your energy needs to be a little higher and make sure to you know, check out people in the class. And you didn't hit this note when the when the class was going on, and so there's a lot of great feedback in that process.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, and especially since I didn't work in a gym or as a trainer, that became a very good way to interact with many, many other people. So, since I was freelancing, this became a good way to interact with I don't know 30, 40, 50 people at once and then get feedback from them, give feedback to them, understand the entire process, since I wasn't at a gym the entire day, from morning till evening doing a shift, so it was a good way for me to also get to interact with people and learn the industry. Really.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. They say Anders Ericsson is one of the psychologists who came up with the 10,000 hour rule to become an expert and as a new trainer, if you were to go to like an LA fitness here in the States and maybe you get one or two clients in an hour, you fast forward that for a year. You might get maybe a couple hundred experiences with a client, but when you're in these classes you're getting 50 per class, and so this is really levels you up, and the cool thing is that you're setting the expectation from the beginning based off your energy and your presentation. So you're going to get a lot of people attracted to you and they're probably going to ask questions about how their body's feeling and they want to work with you one-off, and so you just get a ton of repetition.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, a hundred percent. Couldn't agree more with you on that.
Speaker 1:And so then we look at your social media and you got quite the following how were you able to grow that?
Speaker 2:oh. So making videos and editing videos is actually what I want to do full-time, not training like. I stumbled across training at an early age, but I also, at the same time, went into the creative field and I love both of them equally. But the health and fitness aspect of it came because I wanted to train myself. I was a fat kid. I didn't want to be a fat kid anymore, so the best way I found to do it, instead of outsourcing back then, was to learn everything myself and do it Now I also, after training so many people, why not combine both?
Speaker 2:So now I make videos because I know how to make videos and I also happen to know stuff about health and fitness. So it was like a no brainer for me to just combine the two and make videos online, since I love doing both the things so much. So that's how it just slowly and steadily kept growing and I honestly never expected to reach wherever it is now. Also Like it used to be a pipe dream when I was 10, 11 years old that, oh, maybe I can make money putting videos online. It used to be like an absolute pipe dream and now I'm living it every day. So it's really. It is quite unreal.
Speaker 1:I love that. Let's talk for a second about what you were saying earlier about being a little fat kid. I was a little fat kid as well, and in the States it's unfortunate that a lot of kids are overweight and obese. Do you see that a lot in India as well? Do you see the obesity factor rising?
Speaker 2:100% obesity is good. I think India is a diabetes capital of the world, so instead of being obese, you will find skinny fat over here far more, where people look not obese as per se, but you can definitely tell that they don't have muscle and that they're not fit by any means. So it's not as bad as the US when it comes to like they go into full-fledged obesity, but it's not good over here either. So typically, I think you'll get your protein quite right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so typically what you'll see is, for a male at least, they're kind of skinny, but then they kind of have a big belly and it's because they have that metabolic disease where inside they're not working very well. So they have high blood pressure, their lipid levels are really elevated and it's unfortunate because we shouldn't be seeing that. And and what are some of the things that you attribute that to? What are the factors in india?
Speaker 2:I part of it definitely has to be chronically low. Protein consumption, not directly but indirectly, ends up affecting the diet quite a bit. That also will be attributed to the fact that there's a lot of poverty here. A lot of people simply just can't afford having that much protein in their diet, which understandably so. The population is giant. I am lucky I can afford the protein. I am lucky I can do all that in the city I live in.
Speaker 2:But the rest of the country, if you don't have money to eat, I don't think when you do get a little bit of money you would be focusing on the most expensive macronutrient. You will just get whatever food you get your hands on. So I'm sure that plays a huge role over here. And this lack of education, I think is also a very big thing where protein is just not part of our culture. So if you go wherever in India you go, unless you're like a city or a state where eating meat is quite common which are quite few states only in India where that's common, common Getting protein into your diet does get quite challenging. And plus, there's no education, which I think is the bigger factor. Now the economy is growing so much and people do have money Now. Education can follow and actually make them understand the benefits of at least starting off with getting enough protein and then eventually getting down to everything else down the line, which are the other problems.
Speaker 1:Now, if I were a trainer in India and I wanted to master the nutrition side of it, where would trainers go? You mentioned earlier about the ACSM for getting a certification for personal training, and that market is pretty open. It's a free market for certifications and I know there's some that will pop up that claim they're the best. But what about for nutrition? Where would trainers go?
Speaker 2:Personally the place where I studied my acsm from. So acsm is the exam you just give with acsm but there was like a coaching center, if you can call it that, over here which has some of the best professors I have come across in my life, like not just in terms of the education they have, but the the level at which they're teaching, like there are people who love teaching and hence they have come into teaching, not just coming into it for money or any of those reasons. So there's one company it's called exercise science academy. They have a bunch of certifications from where I did my acsm certification, like I studied over there with them, where you'll finish the syllabus. Maybe if it's a six-month program of weekends, you'll finish the entire syllabus in maybe three months and the other three months goes into just them teaching you what you actually need to know to be able to train people Real-life examples, practicals, stuff like that which is not there in the paper.
Speaker 2:They make you understand the concepts of training far beyond what the exam is going to ask you. Exam is almost like an afterthought at the end of that program. So they also have a few nutrition certificates which I assume are going to be the best because I know they're only in Bombay. They do have online classes in the rest of the country, but in terms of the physical classes, they're only in Bombay the rest of the country. I think online resources will be the best option.
Speaker 1:So one of the fascinating things that I've observed working with a lot of people from India is the work ethic and the importance behind education.
Speaker 1:Well, here in the States the mentality is I want to do it as fast as I can, I want to do it online and it's a lot of anecdotal where I used to teach at a school called NPTI and there's barely 40 of them and I would put that as the gold standard, but people look at that and say six months, that's way too long, Whereas just really the grit behind wanting to learn I believe Devon, when he went through the program, he went through all of our material in like 10 days, where it takes most people two months and I just love that excitement and hunger behind wanting to learn because that's really what's going to separate you from quote unquote the competition, because here in the States at least, they base it a lot of how you look like oh, I got a six pack, I got big biceps, whatever it is. I must be smart and, as we know, that's not the case. I really appreciate the the quest for learning more in the foundation, because it's really important and we need more of that.
Speaker 2:Definitely. I don't know if I agree with you that you had a good experience talking to people who are that way, but I for sure know most people over here, at least in this industry, are not that way. I think both of us are lucky to have interacted with people who are actually passionate about it. I assume because we are passionate about it we attract them. But I also know I know far more people who are not actually passionate about it, who come to classes who just want the certification so they can get paid x amount more per client.
Speaker 1:So that's fascinating. So I mean it's pretty similar here in the sense that 90% of trainers quit within the first year, and I think it's because of the long-term value and their expectations. When you go in with that transactional approach, I'm going to get certified quickly It'll be like in the same sense as respected professions like doctors and lawyers oh, I want to become a doctor fast. It's kind of an oxymoron you can excel quickly, but you're not going to expedite the process per se, and so for those that really make it into a career, you double down and you invest in that, and so that's a fascinating comparison right there. Why do you think so many trainers or do you experience that over there? Do you see a lot of trainers changing careers? They try to get into it. They can't make it, then they have to do something else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, In my experience, most people come into this industry around me at least because it pays more than most other jobs over here will pay them with the comparable amount of work that they have to do.
Speaker 2:So in over here it ends up being the opposite where people actually want to get into it from other jobs because it's paying more for quote unquote lesser work. Because at the end of the day, if the gym only cares about the certification you have not the knowledge, not really and then they're going to pay you the certification you have not the knowledge, not really and then they're going to pay you more if you have that much. They will just rack up x amount of certification that they need that they can manage and then just get paid how much ever they're getting paid at the gym for personal training. So I have seen people who have switched over to other careers but in my in my experience at least it's the opposite over here that people come into this career because it's paying more, but to a lot of the other jobs you could actually be doing in the country.
Speaker 1:So it's a very quickly growing market and a lot of opportunity there. Do you ever see yourself wanting to get involved in like gym ownership, or what would you like to do in the future?
Speaker 2:Gym ownership definitely not like to do in the future. Gym ownership definitely not, at least not in my city, my like in bombay. Real estate prices are through the roof. It's not easy running a gym over here. Most gyms over here don't work just because the real estate price. The reason why less moves also has stopped over here is because it's too expensive to run that program here.
Speaker 2:But in the future what I see myself doing, continue to make videos for sure, what I make videos on. I'm not I'm not 100 certain on yet maybe going into advertisement stuff like that. But I will continue the page that I have right now on health because I know I'm not going to stop being healthy. So as I am being healthy, there's no reason why I don't share how other people can be healthy doing things that I'm like I'm also learning every day. I'm sharing what I learn other people get to learn. So it's like, oh, it's a win-win, it's a win-win for everybody in this situation. So my page will definitely stay on, but I will venture out into more different video making formats and hopefully get back to lessons if I can, in case they restart over here in the city, because this is a passion project.
Speaker 1:I love that. What would be the advice you have for a newer trainer who's coming up? Maybe it was like a double, like an avatar, in the sense that you could coach yourself when you were 16. What would be the piece of advice that you would give to be successful?
Speaker 2:Surround yourself with the best mentors that you can. Don't focus on money for the first five years. The money will definitely come. After that, money will come irrespective. Just focus on surrounding yourself with the best mentors, because that will propel you far more than anything else you can do. Once you have that sorted experiment, however, you want.
Speaker 1:I love that and there's a famous quote for your career and it's like the first 10 years focus on learning, the second 10 years you're really going to start earning and then those last 10 years you start giving back in return. And I think what unfortunate thing is people want that quick fix in the beginning. But we have to approach training almost the same way we would work with a client. You have obesity or you're skinny fat, whatever it is, and if we set unrealistic expectations like you're going to reverse this in three months, it's not going to work. But if we play the long game, let's make small tweaks here and there. Right now you're getting X amount of protein, let's get X amount plus 10 grams and try to do that for a couple of weeks and then you just continue to parlay on those good habits.
Speaker 2:And then, a year from now, you're going to be a completely different person, definitely. Yes, that's a very good way, just iterating over and over instead of trying to make big jumps it will compound far better than trying to make big jumps which don't reach anywhere.
Speaker 1:I appreciate your time today. This was great meeting you. You are 12 and a half hours ahead, so I'm sure that you're probably going to get into some video editing and be up. Until what time will you be working to tonight?
Speaker 2:I'll go offline after the call and I'll fall asleep in like an hour oh, nice good, you got a good schedule then huh yeah, 9 30 to 4 30 is sleeping, non-negotiable I love that.
Speaker 1:That's why you're able to maintain your health and keep on kicking ass. So thank you for your time. Where could people find you on social media?
Speaker 2:oh, my profile is at coffeeaffee Shub, so K-A-A-F-F-I underscore Shub, my name On Instagram only, actually, as of now.
Speaker 1:I will throw that into the podcast and again I appreciate your time and hopefully one day we'll be breaking bread, so thank you. Lovely talking to you. Lovely talking to you. Info at showupfitnesscom and we will send you that 30 day program so you can begin to help people who are quote unquote skinny fat, who had excess adiposity in their mid region, maybe not that much muscle mass from not eating enough protein and training properly. We will send you that program for free. Just remember big biceps are better than small ones and keep showing up.