From PT Clinic To Independent Trainer w/ Wendy in Tucson

Want a real blueprint for going from overwhelmed rookie to confident, independent trainer? Wendy joins us with a candid look at what actually moved the needle: interning in a PT clinic, shadowing great coaches, training as a client to learn the buyer’s side, and choosing education that works in the real world. Her path across small-town Arizona gyms and a high-volume facility selling five-year packages reveals how marketing, culture, and leadership shape a trainer’s growth, pay, and staying power.

We get specific about money and momentum. Wendy breaks down the grind of long days and 20 percent take-home pay, the decision to set her own rates, and how paid assessments filter price shoppers while signaling value. We share practical scripts for “it depends” pricing, when to state a range, and how to frame an assessment so clients feel invested from day one. If you’re stuck between charging more and losing leads, this conversation gives you tools to nudge rates up with confidence and clarity.

Education becomes a competitive edge when it’s hands-on. We dig into seminars, Show Up Fitness programming, and why anatomy mastery silences imposter syndrome in elite rooms. Wendy talks about building systems—Stripe, clean paperwork, and consistent discovery calls—to keep a solo business sane. We also cover choosing the right independent gym: seek sharp peers, growth mindsets, and rooms where you’re proud to introduce your mom to most coaches. The takeaway is simple: stack real reps, join strong communities, and let outcomes justify your price.

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Transcript

Welcome & Mission Of The Show

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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 showofffitness.com. 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. Hi all. Welcome back to the Show Up Fitness podcast. Today we have Miss Wendy from Tucson, Arizona. Or is it Tucson? How do you say that, Wendy? Whatever you want, Chris. And you have a really neat story from going and living in Arizona and also being adopted to training at a physical therapy place. And now you are independent. Love your story. So let's let's start peeling back those onion layers. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

From Japan Teaching To Personal Training

SPEAKER_01 0:54

All right, sounds good. Well, I was adopted um from the age of one from China, Nanjing. And it was the one child policy back then in the 90s. So my sister and I were adopted from China. My parents um were living in Bisbee, Arizona, which is about 15 minutes from the border of Mexico. And from China, they flew us all the way to Bisbee, and we were raised in a really tight-knit community. Everybody knew everyone. But my parents were a lot older when they adopted us. They were over both over 40. They've always been active. My mom owned a um uh an aerobics studio before I was born. And so I would hang out in the back after they first adopted me. I would just be sleeping while she would instruct um aerobics classes. And then my dad was a PE teacher. He taught English lit and PT or PE. And so fitness is always something that I've been exposed to. Parents are always trying to stay fit and healthy so they can be around for as long as possible. Um, right now I'm training my mom virtually every week, so that's been really fun helping her get strong through her 70s. And yeah, that's a bit about my background. I'm back in Arizona. I did a little time in Japan teaching English, and um, I didn't want to teach English or big classes when I came back to the US. I knew that was just not for me. But the one-on-one aspect of personal training um was kind of calling to me, and it's always been something that I've been interested in for my own personal gains and understanding um how to help myself and then in turn help other people as well.

PT Clinic Tech And First Certifications

SPEAKER_00 2:38

You can tell you're a smart cookie because your thought process did something like this, where you know, I may not want to do speech anymore. I want to explore some other avenues. So I'm going to go and work as a technician at a physical therapy unit. And so your brain was going, if I want to work with people, I should probably be in that environment. And so, you know, I give you kudos for that because most people will just very simply type in, I want to become a trainer, and they click on a couple things, but you had the critical thinking to learn by doing. And so you're in that environment, and then you decided that you wanted to get certified, and then talk to us about the process and and where you're at now.

Internships, Mentorships, And Early Clients

SPEAKER_01 3:17

Yes, yeah. So that was a really good foot in the door to be exposed to the health and fitness um world for the first time. I've been working out and very active myself for a long time, but I never um I never took any classes that aligned with physical therapy or personal training. Um, so that was kind of my first time being in that environment. And then I decided to, I did some half-ass research and ran across an ASM, unfortunately, like a lot of people do. Their marketing's really strong, so I'll give them that. But I knew that it wasn't going to be enough. So with the certification process, going through a textbook, I was more confused with what to do and how to get started in my career than I than I was before I even opened the book, which is kind of crazy to believe. But that was the case. I knew I needed more. Um, luckily, I was uh connected to Anytime Fitness, where I was able to do an internship for a little over two months. Um, and I I actually was able to work with a client under supervision. So that was that helped me gain a little bit of confidence to start my first job.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

I love that. Just be the fact that you're able to be there seeing other trainers do it, and then you can ask questions. And it's not like, you know, unfortunately, some people do they get certified and they'll go to somewhere like an Anytime Fitness and they'll get hired, and then they're just gonna say, start training. At least you had some reps and reserve almost where you can observe, see, and then do, and then have a good conversation that just really builds your confidence, and then you were able to so from there, you went to a gym. And was there a specific time frame that you used? Like I wanted an intern for three months and then I wanted to apply to some gyms. What were some of the gyms that you were hoping to go to? Did you have like a in your area was like, oh, I wanted to go to this gym or that gym, or was it just apply anywhere?

Choosing Gyms And Marketing Models

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Well, the other thing that I did because I was just feeling so unprepared for my first training career, was I looked out for a trainer for myself because I was thinking, how the hell am I going to be a good trainer if I've never had training myself? And to have that client perspective is powerful. So that's what I did. I I ended up finding a trainer at the gym that I first started working with, working at. And from there, I was offered another internship. So I did two internships at one time for almost three months. Um, during that time, I was comparing those two and also looking at other gyms in my area. And because I was able to get the support um at both gyms, um, I was thinking those would be the best to one of the best places to start. But I ended up going um with Prestige Fitness with the other gym where I found my first trainer for myself because they I I saw that there were a lot more people coming in the door. Whereas at any time, that location, there's just hardly anybody coming in. The trainers, it was pretty slow day, to be honest. And I just felt like I could grow at the other gym and get in front of more people.

Five-Year Training Packages Explained

SPEAKER_00 6:31

And I love the the differences in pricing and just the the business models out there because there's no one right way. It's like saying there's only one car, there's a lot of different cars and trucks, and you can look at them and appreciate this style, but that's what you got to do as a trainer is kind of dance around to see what's out there so then you can formulate your own success. And you were telling me before this that they have five-year packaging, and that was the first I've ever heard of it. So tell us a little bit more about that. I thought that was fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Yeah, the gym that I landed at was they they're really good at marketing, I can tell you that. Um, the people side, or at least the the team building side and the leadership I felt was lacking, um, which is why they have a lot of turnover, but I'll give it to them. They are really good at marketing and understanding people and their reasons for committing to fitness journeys. So I think that's where they are able to hook people. Um, oh, you want to live, you want to live for your grandchildren. Um, you want to be able to move and travel and be with your family over the holidays. They're they were very strong in that area. And I unfortunately wasn't able to learn from their sales tactics, which was unfortunate. I think they they really wanted to be in charge of of that because they were good at it, but they also didn't want to pay trainers to help with that either, um, which I felt like was a lost opportunity um in terms of how trainers can expand their skills. Um, so they would sell crazy packages of up to, from my understanding, up to five years, or people would drop tens of thousands of dollars.

Burnout, Pay Splits, And Going Independent

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Yeah, that's smart. If you're okay, so Mrs. Jones, if you you know you're 73, you want to live with your kids, and you got four grandkids, if you invest now, we'll get we'll lock you into seven dollar pricing for the next five years, which is gonna be a you know 390 sessions, where next year it's gonna be$80, and next year it's gonna be$90. And they're just like, yeah, why not? This is uh it's an investment into my long term. And I think that's just an interesting model. It's not right nor wrong. It's just it's cool to hear how different people are able to do that. If you look at the community, which is definitely more retirement-based, that's something that you know you could consider. And so then you were there for how long before you decided to to move along and do your own thing. How many sessions a week were you doing there?

SPEAKER_01 8:46

I excuse me, I was doing, let's see, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I had 10 people, and then Tuesday, Thursdays, I had four or five. Um, and then I supplemented that with my other job, pet sitting. And so I was doing a lot of hours. Um it was not super sustainable, to be honest, with everything else that I was trying to accomplish. And just the I I felt like my energy um towards planning for my week was a little limited because I was just so I was so gassed by those long, long days. Um, that being said, it was a great experience, especially as my first year. I was there for over a year. Um, and then I decided, well, some of my clients are running, running out their sessions, they're down to the last few. Um a lot of them were lukewarm on buying sessions with that gym again. And they're kind of coming to me, like, what are what all their options are there? Because I still want to train with you. And that gave me confidence in um the value that I was providing them. And I thought, well, I'm gonna look for locations and just maybe maybe make the leap. It seems like it's a little bit soon for me since I only have a year of experience under my belt. But with the um with the time, the effort and knowledge that I'm pouring in or um the continuing education that I'm investing in, I feel like if I keep going with that, then I'll I'll keep building up those reps and feeling more competent and able to provide to my clients.

Rates, Value, And Raising Prices

SPEAKER_00 10:24

I did a podcast the other day talking about those first 10 years of your career, if you really focus on learning and gaining that career capital. So if you're doing 40 sessions a week, times up by four, times up by 12, almost 2,000 sessions. For trainers that are doing 10 to 15 per week, they would have to be at a gym like at any time for sometimes two or three years to have that confidence. But because of that experience, so you're really lucky. Everything that you've talked about, like you're a unicorn in the sense, you got some experience with doing the PT, and then you got some experience in a gym and another gym, and that's what trainers need to do more of. And I talked about the other day why trainers aren't hitting you know, six figures, and one of those things being that they don't have any type of internship, mentorship, or continue education. They just get kind of stuck in that. I'm doing 40 hours a week, and if they're charging 60 bucks, are you making maybe 50% of that, 40%? What were you bringing home?

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Not even 20% of that.

Learning Beyond Textbooks And SUF

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Ah, so that's that's what gets tough, is you know, that's where people will definitely be like, oh, well, that's a kind of a shitty end of the deal, right there. And I get it, you're a business, you're trying to make as much money as you can, you're giving the clients, but at the same time, you want your team to be proud of repping that brand. And it's crazy because I'm sure that your perspective would be completely different. It's always your experience in your past. But if you were to go to like an equinox for lifetime and you're starting out at 50%, you're like, holy moly, 50%, that's insane. But if you start at an equinox for lifetime, you kind of have this, you have these shades on that are saying, oh, this is this is normal. So you know, screw the gym, they're taking half my money. But there's a lot of gyms out there that will pay you 15, 20, 25 bucks an hour, and you're doing all that work, and it can definitely burn the candle both ends because at the end of the month, you're only making a couple grand and you got to pay rent and you have debt maybe or you know, bills, and so it's not sustainable. So you were able to pivot, go to independent. And then how did you come across show up in the in the midst of it all?

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yeah, I'll answer that question in a second. I just wanted to piggyback off of what you were saying, and you know, I hate I hate to go into that victim mindset of like, oh, the gym's taking all of my money, and you know, I definitely was there for part of my time at that gym, which you know didn't do any anybody any favors going into that um lack mindset. But I do agree, I I forget who you were talking to the other day on another episode. Um, there's something to be said about being a gym owner and taking care of your team. You know, if people feel cared for, they're gonna want to stay. And I didn't find that that was the case um at my previous gym. And uh I think the the people skills were lacking and the clients felt that overall. So it wasn't just the trainers, it was the the clients, the the entire facility.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

So um that's the beautiful thing about life is learning because you know I've had numerous gyms and I've learned from my mistakes, and that's why our new requirements you have to go to an equinox or lifetime or a similar gym to experience it. So you're not taking the environment for granted because you could just come into an environment and you're getting 50 to 60 percent and you're getting this continued education, and so your bar is really high, and you think that's normal, but now you can feel on both sides where it's like, you know, I was at this place for a year getting 20%. Now I really, you know, feel welcomed here because they are providing a ton. Where I was at the last spot, you know, I was doing 40-50 hours a week and I was barely meeting meat, but now it's nice making a lot more. So when you went independent, you started charging what rates?

Accountability, Systems, And Coaching Hard Talks

SPEAKER_01 13:57

So I started at 50. Um, and to be honest, I've given some personal connections some discounts, which I'm trying to be, I'm trying to be more strict on for the new year because I don't want to devalue myself. Um, but with certain connections, I have given them a discount. Um, going into the new year, um, so I've charged 50 to 60 bucks per hour um this past year, but going into the new year, I'm going to charge 65.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

And then you were gonna talk about how you came across Show Up.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Yes, sir. So um supplementing my coursework with NASM, I didn't understand what the hell was going on. I I felt dumb. I felt triggered because growing up I had undiagnosed ADHD. So very hard for me to learn and retain um information, especially with that level of dense information. It's it can be tough learning on your own and not to play victim to ADHD at all. It's just it's hard for anyone to learn um textbook style and not be able to apply that knowledge. And so I thought, wow, this is just not making sense. I don't know what to do with this information. And so I went to YouTube and like a lot of people ran across the belt buckle trainer, and I really liked your persona because you made it interesting, you made it approachable, but there was a plethora of knowledge that just made sense compared to what I was learning in the textbook. It's just I I've done the CCA programming before I even got certified with Show Up because I didn't know how to program after reading the NASM textbook. I didn't know what to do with that. And so luckily I came across your YouTube videos and your podcast, which is why I feel part of the reason why I made it past that first year, because 90% of trainers don't even make it past that first year in the US. And so trying to apply the knowledge that I was getting through to show up really helped me figure out a foundation for how to train people.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Did you see a lot of trainers quitting?

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yes. Um, I think I well, there were a couple of new trainers. Um, I saw a lot of trainers struggling and move on. So yes.

Consults, Assessments, And Pricing Strategy

SPEAKER_00 16:23

But the skills aren't there. When whether if I need to find a client, how to how much do I charge? And the sales, what happens when someone says no? And you know, I give you a ton of credit because that's the beauty, and I'm not just saying our program is the best out there, even though it is, but we talk about here's some things that you can do, and I'll challenge people. And then you took that challenge and you went out there to a coffee shop and you said, Hey, you know, here's a couple hundred bucks, I'm gonna pay you for coffee, and opportunities presented themselves, and then we were having conversations about the work that was done. And so it's really neat to see a question or a challenge, and then you do it, and then you get an opportunity from that. You're like, Oh wow, this could actually I see how I need to invest into potentially getting clients because now you can't depend on the gym providing them for you. You are your brand, you have to learn the people side of better establishing yourself as the expert to your clients for those referrals. You got to get them the results, you got to get them out of pain if they have it, so then they can tell their friends in their community, so you become that face within your community, and that's ultimately how you're gonna grow your brand independently. And you know, a year from now, you're gonna be charging more than you're charging right now. It's not just about how much you can charge, but go back to what you were doing earlier, 40 hours a week at say 20 bucks, or what if you could be doing 20 hours at 100 bucks? You're making literally five, 10 times that, but you're able to have your own sanity as well. And if you, you know, you're a young hunkette, so if you want to, you know, push it to the limit and now I want to do 50 hours a week, you can do that. That choice is yours, but you can now own your schedule versus someone saying the only way you can make more is by training more and you're getting pennies on the dollar. And so, what are some of the struggles that you've come across as an independent contractor? Because it's not all sunshine and rainbows, there's a lot of challenges with it.

BHAGs, Seminars, And Career Capital

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Ooh, that's so true. I think the accountability piece, because I have all this energy and I love showcasing that energy when I'm on the floor. When I'm working one-on-one with people, that's where I feel like I can shine. But getting the self-discipline can be really challenging for me, um, which is why I think starting your day off with your workout before you start training others is essential because that's for me, that's like my alarm clock. Like turn on my brain, get my body going, and then I'm able to provide more value to my clients. My uh sessions go so much better whenever I pour into my cup before I pour into everybody else's. Um, and so I think there's been challenges with the business side of just staying on top of my systems. Creating systems for myself has been challenging throughout my life. Um, and it's something that I'm really learning how to do um with this business. It's challenging me to do that and to become more organized. Um, also the coaching side of it, being able to have hard conversations with people and finding that balance between empathy but holding people accountable. Um that that's where I feel like I can get a little bit lean more towards the empathetic side, but then I feel like I'm cutting too much peop too much slack for people. And so I'm trying to figure out how to be to be that compassionate leader, but also hold people to their to their goals and what they what they say they want to accomplish. So I think that's been a challenge for me.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

How are you? Going to implement some new strategies and systems in 2026 that will help you with that.

Fighting Imposter Syndrome With Anatomy Mastery

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Um, so I'm using, I'm uh, what is it? Stripe. I'm using Stripe um for payments. So I've been just relying on Zell. Um Bluevine is my other bank account. So I send invoices through my bank account and then um I take check cash card. Um, but I want to provide that, I want to have a system where I can see everything. Um, so I can keep track of um the numbers in one place rather than having a spreadsheet here and then using my invoicing through the bank account. It's it's gonna be good for me to have that consolidated. So that's one of the systems that I am working on. Um, another thing that I've worked on is my paperwork. So um for prospective clients, just refining my system um from the first point of contact when I talk to them on the phone through the discovery call, and then getting them in the door for their assessment. So I've I've learned from trainers that I work with who have been doing this for 10, 20 years at my current gym. And there's one person who has their clients come in for a free um discovery talk. I guess he talks to them on the phone and then he come, they come in and they discuss goals and what have you. And he doesn't charge for that. And that's something that you and I that I brought to one of the classes is is you is whether you should charge for your initial consult. And my my thinking on that is yes, because you can provide so much value within just that session. And even if you don't do a full CCA um, full workout, you can still give them a lot of gold nuggets and information that can kind of plant the seeds to set them up for a success.

Independent Gym Choice And Culture Fit

Chris’s Biggest Mistake And Leadership Lessons

SPEAKER_00 21:59

And that's again just a conversation to have where people are gonna price shop. And I was reading on Reddit or Facebook the other day, someone was saying trainers should disclose how much money they make or how much money they're charging, and that's why we aren't respected. And in my brain, I didn't want to start a fight or anything, so I just said my brain, I disagree with that because if you were to go to you know a plastic surgeon, they don't list out their prices on there. It depends because how many times a week are you gonna train? Do you need nutrition coaching? Do you want me to send you to my physical therapist? Maybe you need more specifics and need to work with an RD. I can't give you just a sticker price. So if you do a quick little discovery call, I can learn more about what you're trying to do. Let's schedule a time. That first time when you come in is 75 bucks and 100 bucks, whatever you want to charge. I typically make it similar to my pricing. And if you wanted to go above, some people will do that and make it longer. So, for example, a common physical therapy approach is maybe 300, 350 for the assessment, but it's a 90-minute assessment. So you have to look at what you are implementing and what you're doing in that assessment. So let's just say if you're charging 65 and you say your assessment's 50 or 75, you choose. At least they have an idea of kind of your ballpark. Obviously, if the assessment was 50 and you're like, okay, it's gonna be$400 per hour, that may be a little misleading, but at least you can have that initial discovery call and let them know it's$50. And then what we're gonna do is I'm gonna learn about your goals. I'll take you through a little demo, what training is like, and then we'll go over a pricing structure that works best for you. And then people can say, so well, how much do you cost? And I say, it depends. And the reason I'm not gonna give you a number is because what you're gonna do is you're gonna go out and price shop that, just like you would with a TV. If you go to Best Buy and you see a Sony that's 50 inches for$1,000 and you go to Amazon, it's for$900, it's the same TV, so you're gonna get the cheaper one. But trainers are not the same. Did you know that the average trainer reads a textbook and they haven't done internships and they don't work with physical therapists? So if you're price shopping, you can go to Anytime Fitness and the trainers there are 40 or 50 bucks. So if you're just looking for low quality, you just want someone to kind of hold your hand, you can go over there. You're not coming to an Anytime trainer with me. You're working with the best in Tucson. And so I want to give you kind of an you have an idea from me saying that. And if I give you a number, then you're gonna go and you're gonna call 10 other people and you're gonna find the cheapest one. And again, if you want cheap, go to Orange Theory. And if again, you may, I get a lot of people who call and they'll just keep on pushing and say, you know what? I don't want to waste anyone's time, just tell me how much it costs. Like and they're almost upset about it. So, okay, well, you know, my range is anywhere from 150 to 350. And they're like, What? That's such a big range. How is that? Because if you want to train with me, do you want to train once a week? Do you want to train five times a week? Or do you want me to pair you up with one of my trainers who doesn't have the experience that I have of 20 years? So that's why it depends. So that's yeah, it's a range. So I think that in that I still don't say that a specific number, and you just have to do what you feel comfortable with. But as you grow and your book of business is a lot more concrete, you may be more like, you know, this is what I am. I don't I don't want to, you know, wheel and deal with people that this is my rate, that's it. But I'm a big advocate of the assessment costing something because then people understand they have some skin in the game. You know, there's so many gyms that I'll walk by here in Santa Monica and they'll say free assessment. They'll say literally free assessment. If you're gonna use that terminology, at least go with complimentary and let them know that normally the assessment is$200, it's gonna be$50. So you can use those, the the Ps of marketing, right? Product place, price, promotion, promotion, and parking, because that's always important. But there's so many different fun things that you can play around with. What are some of those B Hags that you have for 2026?

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Showing up to a certification show up finally. I'm really excited for that. I think that's gonna increase my competence and confidence in this industry tremendously. I've done a live weekend seminar before, and it was a game changer. And I'm just so looking for that. Um a pain-free performance specialist.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Good job, that one.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Um, that was that was Dr. David Um Slovic. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Had him on the podcast, and he was actually my he was he was my second coach, but my only online coach. So I I wanted to try online because I I wanted to see what his system was like for training online clients, and he was fantastic during the seminar. I learned so much from him, networked with a lot of great um out-of-town and in-town um trainers, and that was just it was it was uh invaluable, I would say. So much more information gained from that compared to reading a book.

Scaling Seminars And Fast-Tracking Trainers

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Wendy the unicorn, I'm gonna call you because you're doing everything that trainers should be doing. When you're thinking about becoming a trainer, it shouldn't just be only a textbook. It should be, okay, I'm gonna get certified. I'm confident now. Now I'm gonna work with a trainer online, I'm gonna work with a trainer in person, I'm gonna go to this seminar, I'm gonna link up with he's a professor at a school where he teaches anatomy. Like, who better could you learn from? Whereas maybe at any time and no knock to any time, your continued education is gonna be around other trainers. I call them C level trainers because they all write a textbook. So are you really leveling up your knowledge? But when you go to a weekend seminar like that, and we're gonna be in Phoenix the 23rd and 24th, and that's when we'll probably meet you. And it's just you're you're gonna really level up your thinking and plant those seeds with your clients. Let them know I'm going to the seminar, I'm really excited to learn these soft tissue techniques and then and to optimize my assessment process, which is gonna allow for me to charge 65, 70, 75 in the future, because me investing into my education allows for me to provide a better product for you. So when I go out there and learn, I come back, and whereas before, it took you, think about I use like a driving analogy. So from let's go with Tucson to Phoenix, how long would that take?

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Um, depending on where you're going, two hours.

Closing Kudos And Upcoming Events

SPEAKER_00 28:02

So I've been going from Tucson to Phoenix, taking this route that I thought was the best, and it was taking me two and a half hours. Now I'm working with you know a ways specialist who's given me more specific details to get there in two hours. So I'm doing it more efficiently. Whereas before, when I was training you, I'm not saying I was bad before, but as we continue to learn, we're gonna expedite that process. You know, any professor will tell you that the first year that they taught, they were probably shitty at it. And five years later, they're significantly better. And you can reflect back that and learn, but the growth is what made you better for where you're at at that moment. So the growth that I'm going through is allowing for me to provide that better service for you. And if you want to stick to this$65 session, that's where you can, that's the beauty of it. You use your past experiences. If you want to stick at the$65 rate, that's perfectly fine, but you need to invest in the year. And so you need to buy 100 sessions right now, and it's gonna be you know significantly more, but then you're getting more from it. Your clients are still getting that old rate, but they understand the process now and have fun with it. The business is fun, and if you look at it business as scary and sales as scary, that's one of the hangups. So it's just like it's fun to use the stuff, and when you link up with other trainers in different markets, it's just gonna get these ideas going through the roof. And you could have your own gym and have a bunch of trainers working for you. The sky's the limit. That's the beautiful thing about this industry.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

It is, it is, and one of the best things about the show up fitness certification is being able to talk things through with other professionals, and it's easy to compare yourself. You know, I compare myself to you, and then I think, wait, Chris has been doing this for over 20 years, and you you have all these streams of income. I'm like, shit, I need to, I need to think of a second stream of income that's training related for this year. So that's another uh BHAG for 2026. But it's just it's inspiring, you know, you can kind of go into your shell and think like I'm not good enough, you know, I suck at this, I don't know enough, or you can use that as energy to propel you forward into the goals um and ways that you can expand your knowledge and help people further.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

And I think that's really important to reflect on because if Wendy, when she was at any time just interning, if her mind would have been filled with I gotta have all these streams of revenue in the beginning, that's when you get the analysis by paralysis, where you earned your stripes, you have a full book of business. Now's the time to start thinking, you know, if I'm making 100% right now, how can I make 80% doing working less, but then have another stream that's bringing in 20 to 30%? So I'm making more by doing less. That's the fun. Those are the fun little, I guess you could call them even forks that you have to, you know, learn a new skill and implement some new strategies and get out of your comfort zone. Maybe it's social media, maybe it's networking with more therapists, and that's something that you're doing right now. You're interning under another therapist. So it's like you're growing, and the more people you get in front of, they're gonna be like, Wow, you are sharp. I'm really impressed by everything that you've done. And would you accredit your success to that textbook that you initially got?

SPEAKER_01 31:07

Oh, no, no, that just left me more confused. Dear headlights, yeah, that was the aftermath of that. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

And that's the thing that just perplexes me as uh field that isn't very respected. It's like we suggest the same thing over and over again. So it's like, oh, you want to become a trainer? Just go get your textbook certification. Go get NASA and get ASIC because it's that's what you're supposed to do. Whereas why are we supposed to do that? Did you really now that you know you can have someone almost like skip levels, as I've said. So it's you want to help other people, but if it took you, and again, you've done significantly well, where in my career it took me three years to do what you did in one. So if someone were to ask for you or advice, you could help them accomplish what you did in a year in six months. And there's something rewarding about that, where now they're at a gym that's paying them an amount that is respectable, not 20%. And so there's just so much cool things that we can do when you keep on showing up. And do you have any questions for me before we call our day?

SPEAKER_01 32:09

I do. I have a few. Um, I'll make them quick. So when you are going independent as a trainer, what are the things that you recommend looking for in a gym?

SPEAKER_00 32:18

I like to find the community because some trainers will just take it as like you're renting a spot in the sense that you go in there, you check in, check out, and it's just your own business. But I want to be around trainers who are pretty sharp and I want to see trainers doing stuff like, hey, that's interesting. I want to go talk to that person. Oh, you did PRI, I've never heard of that before. I want to learn some of those techniques, or maybe you did some Z Health. And it's like the gyms that I've been around that are independent, I've learned so much from because I'm thinking Santa Monica when I first came down here when I was teaching at MPTI. There was a trainer named Brandon, and he he went through Z Health, and I've never heard of it. And it just allowed for me to have a great conversation with him, and we were just bouncing ideas off one another. So I want to be in an environment where I'm proud of, whereas I've asked trainers at some of these top end gyms, and I'll say, How many of your coworkers would you allow to train your mom or dad? And they go, Maybe one, maybe two. I'm like, there's 40 trainers there. That's crazy. So I want to be in an environment where I'm proud to say, like, you know what, this these are sharp trainers, even though we may not have the same brand on our back, but I want to be almost out of my comfort zone where I see someone like, you know, they're sharp. Damn it. It'd be so easy for me just to sit on the wall and get my phone out and have my client do a one-minute plank. But that trainer over there, they have their clipboard and they're walking around and they're having fun. So I need to be on stage because if I don't, I'm gonna be slipping and that my client's not gonna go over to them. So I'd want to be in an environment that you know has opportunities and just somewhere where I don't feel, you know, like almost like that toxic behavior. I don't want that. I want to be like growth mindset, people are sharp, people look the part, they talk the part, they know the part, and we you know we can have fun.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

That's great advice. I I feel like I kind of self-sabotage, to be honest, um, because I I met someone who is working at my dream facility, which I did not end up choosing um for a lot of a few reasons. Um, one of which uh I didn't feel like I was good enough for that team. And had I been more mentally prepared, um, giving myself more of that positive self-talk, I think I could have just made that transition with more confidence and with the mindset of I'm gonna learn from all these trainers who've who have more skin in the game, who have, who can teach me a lot, rather than thinking, oh, I'm not good enough to be in this environment. So that's part of the I I wish I would have asked you this question a long time ago. And it's not that I'm not learning a lot where I currently train at. Um, it works, the location itself works really well for the clients that I'm trying to attract and like my current clients. So for that, I'm grateful and I have learned a lot from trainers who have been doing this for as long as you have, um, and even longer. But I feel like I could have taken a little bit more time to make that decision whenever I did go.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

The one thing that you will always have to your advantage is the mastery of anatomy because trainers don't go through that process. And the fact that you learn from an MPTI instructor who teaches anatomy at as a physical therapist, and just learning from those types of individuals, when you know the 17 muscles, you know the rotator cuff. When you're in a room with really sharp trainers, your mind will have those ants. It's very common. You could see some guy who's absolutely jacked or he's doing some grass-on techniques, you're like, What the hell? I don't know this stuff. I'm not good enough. But then when you have a conversation and you start talking about anatomy, then you you get the leverage right away because they're like, Oh, I didn't, I didn't know that there were 17 muscles around the show. I didn't know there was 14 around the knee. Holy crap. I thought the calf was just one muscle. I didn't know there was anterior muscles and posterior ones, and so then it's just a different type of credibility where you're kind of you're moving up on their list in their mind, they're thinking, oh man, this this girl's really good. She's really sharp. And they have those hands. And that's the whole thing that you have to realize the self-doubt that you have as an individual, other people are thinking it as well. And I think there's a great um conversation about the number one fear that Americans have. What is it?

SPEAKER_01 36:15

The number one fear of um not spending enough time with their families and working all their lives.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Public speaking. Public speaking. Public speaking. It's not rattlesnakes, it's not bees, it's not Bigfoot, it's public speaking. But the interesting thing, when you're on stage, people are thinking, oh my God, this is so challenging. You don't realize that everyone in the audience is happy that they're not up there. Yeah. So they're gonna be just listening to what you're doing and they're not noticing stuff. And you know, I've been doing this for a while. And I talk about the little anxiety attack a couple months ago when I was at a seminar because I had some heart palpitations. And when I was on stage inside, I'm freaking out, but I knew that I just need to breathe and get some carbs in my system, I'll be fine. But then when I talk to trainers afterwards, they had no idea. And so because I've taken so many classes and I've done so many talks internally, and that's one of the like a fear, but I know that externally, if you just remain composed, that it's you know, they're not thinking the way that I'm thinking, and that's always a challenge.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

I used to have a podcast, by the way, and I I was super nervous to show up today and talk with you. Part of it is because you're Chris and you're the CEO and you have this wealth of knowledge, and I just felt like I'm inferior and I don't have as much to offer, but I was like, no, no, change that mindset. It's like everybody has a different story and something to offer. Um, the other question that I had, so I'm really glad that I'm I'm doing this, um, getting out of my comfort zone again. The other question I had was uh more about your journey as a trainer. And can you share with with us one of the biggest mistakes that you've made in your 20 years of training and maybe one of the the best things that you've learned or gained from it?

SPEAKER_00 38:06

Are you looking at it from a training perspective, a business perspective? What do you want?

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Because let's go with let's go with business.

SPEAKER_00 38:15

Um the biggest mistake that I had was when I was scaling our gyms. We were opening them, but I had a a clever way of doing it where the prior gym would have enough revenue coming in so the next gym would be supported. So when we started Santa Monica, we've had this one now for over 10 years, we had a gym inside of a gym. So it was a gym within the gym, Fitness 2000 in Dublin. So I had trainers up there, that's where I taught at NPTI for 10 years. And so when I moved down here, we were generating a good amount of revenue so that revenue could pay for this gym. And my my big goal was I wanted to have a gym around every single equinox. And so we started opening up more. We did West Hollywood, we did San Diego, and as I was growing, and then COVID hit, and that's a victim story in itself. But what I learned is I really like teaching new trainers, but I don't like teaching trainers how to train after they're new. And what I mean by that is I it's like you I want you to go out and gain experience and then come back. And so what I found was with trainers who would go through our program, then we would bring them on the team immediately. And then I wasn't doing them a service because I wasn't able to coach them. I had these expectations because my mind is always in business, that you need to be able to figure it out. And that's not fair to put that responsibility on someone who is brand new to the industry. So I had to learn that hard lesson that there was a lot of trainers who train for show up, and I wasn't a good leader because I was like, you have a gym, go out there and fucking get clients. That was pretty much my mentality. And so then I was just like, you know what? I need to change this up, I need to make it better. And so the system that we have now is a pivot, but it's I like it so much more because I'm still gonna provide continued education, but I don't want to help you through that initial fear with that. First client. I want you to learn that at a gym, like you did when you experienced that. Prestige, what was the name of it?

SPEAKER_01 40:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 40:07

Prestige. You're a perfect example. You gained a lot of reps a year. You would be a great candidate to say, okay, you want to train to show up? All right. So you have your three certs to show up, your SUF, you have your STM, you have your nutrition, you have an RD, you have a physical therapist. Okay, now you've met the requirements. Can you train to my expectations with the clientele that we work with, which is 150, 200 plus per hour? And before it was like the mindset was still that scarcity mindset where they they have the certification. I'm telling them that they're the best trainers out there, but they haven't been doing it. And so it's like I believed in them, but they didn't believe in themselves. And so I had to kind of hold hands a lot more. And how I fix that now is I learned a hard lesson, but you know, we shut down that gym. And now moving forward, these are going to be the expectations. So from a training/slash business side, that would be probably one of my biggest mistakes.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

What would you say one of the biggest wins that you've had this past year in terms of training or business?

SPEAKER_00 41:05

The biggest win in this last year would definitely be the scaling of the seminars. So we did one per month with our partnership with Lifetime, and now we're doing two per month in 2026, bringing on instructors who are competent in teaching upper body and then lower body, so then we can scale it even more. Ideally, we'd like to have one a week at Equinoxes and Lifetimes and gyms all throughout the world. So we have a team now that are going out there and networking in in certain markets. And I we've done an amazing job of getting into these gyms, but now we've adapted and improved the seminar so then we can get to that market twice. And so definitely having two seminar options. So then we can before it was everything with you're getting about 80% of it, but it was the hands-on learning from the soft tissue. Now it's focusing on one upper body or lower body, and then now you can go online, you can go through the course, demonstrate your competency in those soft tissues, and then get to another seminar because the more that you do, and obviously from a business perspective, it's not that I'm being greedy, but you know, Wendy, if you have a client and funds are not not relevant, and they would just ask you, should I train with you six times per week or three times per week? You're not gonna be like, oh, you need only three. If someone can do it and they want to do six times, they're going to get the results so much faster. If a trainer can get to the in-person in Santa Monica or in Atlanta with Josh, in those two months, you're gonna be significantly further ahead than everyone else out there. And we've seen it time and time again. But maybe you can't commit to those two months. Get to a seminar. And when you get to a seminar, you will learn so much in those two days. But guess what happens when you go to another seminar and you go to another seminar and you look at someone like Joe, who's one of our rock stars, and he's been to, I think, four or five seminars now. Each time he levels up so much, where now he's running a gym inside a lifetime, and management will say it usually takes anywhere from like five, eight, sometimes 10 years. He did that less than three. And so it's just really neat to see the progression when you're in these environments and you're thinking bigger, because as you were saying and you're alluding to, it's so easy to sit in your environment, your comfort zone, you go train your clients, you go home, and that's all you do. No one's pushing you, no one's holding you accountable, no one's saying, you know, Wendy, you did 30 sessions this week. That's pretty good. Why don't you bump your prices up 20, 30 percent? What's holding you back from doing that? To get that push, to get that, you know, that's a the competitiveness, it's fun. So that would be something that I would definitely suggest is uh a big one for the last year.

SPEAKER_01 43:30

Yeah, that's awesome. Congrats on that. I'm really looking forward to meeting you in person at our seminar coming coming up soon.

SPEAKER_00 43:37

Less than a month away. We'll be we'll be in Atlanta, 9th and 10th, and then Phoenix, we're gonna be focusing on upper body there. So we'll get into the upper traps, the pec minor releases, and the adductor policy, and then just getting that hands-on stuff is uh is a fun one to compliment. I gotta say, I'm really proud of you and I I love your story because it's just not what the average trainer does. And your success showcases why you're at where you're at, and you're gonna be able to take giant leaps this year and looking forward to getting you on the podcast again because people are listening and oh my gosh, she did such a great, great job. She talked so confidently, and you did amazing. So I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 44:13

Thank you. I appreciate all you do, Chris. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 44:16

And remember big biceps are better than small ones and keep showing up. Love it.