Life of a Personal Trainer at Life Time w/ PTL1 Manager Caleb in Colorado

You can spot the difference between a trainer who memorized a manual and a coach who can change someone’s life, and it usually shows up in the messy middle: the first gym job, the first hard “no,” the first client who trusts you with a real goal. We’re joined by Caleb Kinney Woods (PTL1 at Lifetime Westminster) to talk about what it takes to grow from frontline trainer to leading a team of 30+ coaches, without losing the craft of training on the floor.

We get into the hiring signals that actually matter in the fitness industry: resilience, professionalism, and a track record of learning. Caleb shares why multiple personal training certifications across different systems can be a green flag, not just letters on a resume. We also talk about why trainer turnover is so brutal at many gyms, how that churn affects client trust, and what a development-focused culture does differently to improve client retention and trainer retention.

If sales makes you cringe, you’ll like the framework here. We break down “value prop” selling, program prescription, and the skill of painting a clear vision from point A to point Z so clients understand what they’re paying for and why it works. Along the way we touch on continuing education, nutrition coaching, referring out when needed, and the practical reality of being present, engaged, and dynamic instead of hiding behind a screen.

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Transcript

What Certifications Say About Coaches

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I do look at their certifications. I do want to see not a shot at NASM, but like when you have only NASM certifications, it's only their ideologies. I like seeing people who come in, maybe they've got to show up fitness, maybe they have an FKT, a TRX, like precision nutrition. Like now you're starting to play around with someone that's willing to learn and willing to mold their strategies in different ways to become better coaches. I'll tell you right now, if I see someone with a handful of different certs from different companies, I'm instantly interested because I know that they're willing to try different things along the way.

Show Up Fitness Podcast Welcome

SPEAKER_01 0:35

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.

Caleb’s Path From Sports To Training

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Howdy, y'all. Welcome back to the Show Fitness Podcast. Today we have PTL1, Mr. Caleb out of Colorado. How are we doing today, sir?

SPEAKER_00 1:09

We are doing great. It's another beautiful day here in the Rockies. Can't complain.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

People all throughout the world hate us because in California, Colorado, you got the great weather year-round. You guys have better mountains, but I love Colorado. We were there last year at Parker, and you just missed us, but it was really cool because you reached out to me and I go through the comments and you made a comment on one of the podcasts. And now look at us having a conversation.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Yeah, it's uh it's a full circle moment. I actually had three of my DPT team members down there in Parker. They all spoke just so highly of just their experience with you. And uh so I just couldn't resist.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah, appreciate that. And we were having a good conversation prior to this about you know the day-to-day of a trainer, and I want to talk a little bit about that, but also the transition into what it's like being a leader. And so can you just give us a little background of how you got into this? You know, maybe you have a background in kinesiology or you know, what certifications you have, and then what you did, and then we'll get up to where we're at today.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Yeah, I'll keep it pretty brief. So sports was my main background. Um, you know, so the fitness component always kind of came with that, right? Like that's how you got better in sports is you did the fitness side. But it really wasn't until I was a walk-on in college football. I played at a very small school, Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa. And that's where I truly understood the power of what committing yourself to fitness, showing up every single day, um, and really understanding that process is where I first got, you know, super motivated by it and watched what it did to my body. Um, and then I transferred to Iowa State University. I pursued my kinesiology degree to be very transparent. It was to uh it was because I couldn't actually major in coaching. Um, I wanted to be on the football side of things, and I was like, well, I gotta pick a major. So I picked kinesiology and health. Um, and I think the one of the big classes that really changed things for me was my exercise sociology class, where you started to realize just the all the effects that exercise has on people. And then I started to kind of like get into it. Um, I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico right after I graduated, got a personal training job. Uh, I think I started working three days after I graduated officially, and everything from there is is history. I might I remember my very first client, um Jean Dowsett. It was a 24-pack, 1440. Um, but the first thing that changed my life in personal training was uh a client, her name was Jolene. She called me crying on the phone, and you know, my new personal trainer brain was like, holy cow, I probably hurt this person. We went too hard. Nope. She was calling me, just absolutely crying on the phone, saying that she was able to carry the wood from her garage into her house for the first time since her husband had passed three years prior. And I tell you what, there was no going into coaching after that. That was a pure transition into holy cow, that feels absolutely incredible. I'm I'm going all in on this personal training thing. Um, so I was down in uh uh New Mexico for three years, had a lot of success there, got a job opportunity up in Denver, Colorado in 2016. Um, worked in downtown Denver for a Wellbridge company for three years there. That was great, super busy. But I didn't really get better as a trainer, and I was really craving more. Um, and lucky for me, uh in 2019, uh Lifetime Westminster reached out. I went in, I did an interview, and the reason I took this job is that I will never ever forget this quote. She is my current GM, Jill Schusterman. She said, Caleb, if you take this job, even if you leave Lifetime in one year, it will be the best decision you ever make. And here we are, almost seven years later, started as a frontline trainer, did that, survived COVID, the restart, got a got promoted to an assistant. Um, and then I did the assistant thing for about two years and then promoted to PTL1 um back in January of 2023. And uh we've just been kicking back, having a good time. I have a team of 32 trainers on staff, and it's just been an incredible ride.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

That's just so cool

The Client Call That Changed Everything

SPEAKER_01 5:40

to look at that evolution because there's a lot to unpack with all of that from being at the other gyms and nine, not nine to five, but as you know, the trainer, you're just getting the reps in and building your brand, and then you know, getting to work at lifetime and just really absorbing everything. I was laughing when you were saying, like what your manager was saying, it's just like you go into a lifetime, you're just like, wow, this is a different monster. And in you know, prior to this, we were talking about how like a textbook kind of teaches you to be a textbook trainer. That's the nice thing about lifetime is that dynamic aspect. And you know, can you talk a little bit about the differences? And we don't have to like say the names, but from your first gym to the second gym to lifetime, and you know, the differences and how you've grown as a better coach to where you're at now at Lifetime.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Yeah, there's a I mean, there's a really simple story from my very first gym was I showed up on my first day, you know, we were uh I think I ended up getting that onboarding session because a trainer didn't show up for it. And just remember being like, what am I doing here? And the the person was like, go get it, you'll figure it out. And being like, Okay, that's the kind of instruction that I'm gonna get here. Um and then also on that same first day, they go, Don't worry, this job's super easy. If you can't sell, we'll fire you. Now, granted, it was a joke, but I took it personally and I was like, Okay, I'm gonna have to figure this out. I just moved 18 hours away from where I'm from. I can't fail my first job. And there was no instruction after that. I mean, I was selling training and just going for it. Like, thankfully, I had a degree, but there was no sales training, there was no package strategy, anything like that. It was it was just kind of flying by the seat of my pants, and you know, thankfully I had some good experiences early on to really help. In my second gym up in the Denver, Colorado area, that was just a session machine. Like it was like I think twenty some dollars a session, and I was just pumping sessions and left and right, like it was a great demographic. But like at the end of the day, I think I was doing all those sessions and I was like, man, I feel like I'm working a lot of hours for it was good pay, like I could live, but like I was like, man, I don't feel like I'm truly living, like I don't feel like I have time to myself. I'm I'm just crushing sessions and I'm not becoming better as a trainer. And there was never development time. You know, I think in my three years at that place I had like one in-house development. I think it was TRX. Um I think that's it. Like so there just wasn't I wasn't growing, right? And then since I've been to Lifetime, I've averaged almost one new certification a year since I've got there, including I've gotten into nutrition, into metabolics, you know, kettlebells. I mean, like the growth is unlimited. It's it they always say there's so many ways to win, it's really up to you to choose which way. And that's what I love. You gotta have that development aspect.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

And that's you know, I I love the background because it's like almost you and I have uh a filter on because I would be really curious to see if there are any studies out there looking at people with a background in kinesiology and their success in this industry versus those that just read a book. And I remember when I came out, you know, with background for me, it was NSTA, ACSM, and that's what we use a lot in college. And then it's like, okay, now you have to get another certification. And you're like, what? I have a degree. I thought that's what you did. And then you start learning more about these certifications. And it's almost like you get not, I wouldn't say bitter, but you're just kind of confused because you think that's the standard. Like you have a solid fundamental of the technical portion where yeah, you don't have any business stuff, you don't have people development in in college, but then you go out there and you're confident because of your background. But then I just feel for these trainers that they get a book, it's 800 pages and they start reading it, like, what the fuck? I have no idea what I just read.

Why Some Gyms Stall Trainer Growth

SPEAKER_01 9:55

And then you get into like you were saying, you go to a job and they hire you and they say, Okay, have fun. Like, I'm gonna go gain experience. And how crazy is that? Because you have that foundation, so you know not to do harm and you know, you know, what the fundamentals of movement are. But these new trainers who are all anecdotal, they're out there gaining experience and they don't have any supervision. And so with your experience at lifetime, it's way different. But have you experienced about 90% of trainers quitting within the first year?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

I would tell you, in my first two fitness jobs, both of which I went three years each, it got so bad that I like almost didn't want to become friends with those people because I got worn down by the fact that these people who I liked and I respected were were in and out in a year almost every time. I mean, it was exhausting. You know, in that lifetime, I I've I've been able to maintain, I have I still have trainers that are on staff right now that were there prior to me getting there in 2019. So, you know, that's been such a total changeup. But it is unfortunate that so many people leave the field before they ever even reach that small bit of success that they need to really kick it in gear.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

I think it's important for newer trainers to understand it's not that the trainers in your gym are against you, but they just realize, statistically speaking, you probably don't have the grit to get through this. And they don't, it's not a knock to that trainer, but they're training 30-40. They're trying to make ends meet. And for them to take time, a part of their job to help you and give you the pointers, it's just not realistic. So it's almost like they look at you and they're like, okay, maybe three months, maybe six months. And the inverse to that is imagine how the clients feel, the members of the gym, because they absolutely see it as well. Where trainer comes in and that trainer's hungry, they go out there and they start pitching, oh, have you had your freeze touch and whatever? And they're like, How many times has a trainer come up to me and been transactional like that? Where when you look at it from a different perspective, I think that's what I really respect um lifetime, is because it's more of a relationship building. And if you just kind of let your personality show and you have good intent or just be be who you are, be friendly, ask people how they do. Oh, it's a great hat, oh, that's a cool shirt, we've benching today. You let your personality show, then they see that okay, this is someone I could work with. And then you slowly build your book. And then, like you as a manager, which is pretty crazy, you're doing 100 sessions a month and you're still taking care of your 30 plus trainers.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Yeah, yeah, it's it's a fun ride. I mean, the the switch in the model where they went with more of this leadership lead from the front type model, it allows me to stay stay very much in the trenches with my team. Um, I'm very lucky. Like my retention, I think my average client lasts about two to three years. So, like, I do like that's a lot of my focus. So, like my business hasn't changed a whole lot from when I was a frontline trainer to an assistant to where I am currently. So, I gotta really focus on really bridging the gap between our members and our trainers and really prioritizing how do they fit with my team. And my team just last month led the nation in retention, 90% retention with over 500 unique participants that train inside of our club. And it's because we have a model and a system in place that allows us to really build the trainers up the right way, not just making them take everything that they can get, right? But really placing them with great fits so they can shine early on.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

I got a question for you. And like you're gonna have to wear two different hats here because the advice you give to a lifetime trainer is gonna be significantly different than those starting out, say, like a lower end gym, like an Anytime Fitness or EOS. What would be the advice for those trainers at the smaller box gym for them to succeed and get through that dreadful first year? What would that advice be for them?

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Go all out. Experience everything. Never be afraid to just be told no. You will never regret the free workout that you give to somebody that wows them on the floor, that wows the member next to them, the member 30 feet away, the person watching you from the treadmills above, right? Like those are the things that's the most powerful asset we have is to be on the floor, right? To be doing the thing that makes us happy. Nobody's inspired by the trainer sitting behind a computer. Everybody's inspired by the trainer that is getting their hands dirty, they're working with their client, they're maybe sweating a little bit, right?

Turnover, Trust, And Relationship Selling

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Like that, and I think that's what your certification is all about, right? It's it's being more dynamic, using the bands, putting your hands on. Like that, that is the value right there. Is you're not crossing your arms, you're not on an iPad, you are doing the thing with them. Man, you can't get, you can't, you can't beat it. And I'm getting all revved up thinking about it.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

I love it. That's great. And just, I mean, I'm sure you've seen it a lot, not a lifetime, maybe sometimes a lifetime, but I'll just see trainers and they just don't look engaged. They just they look like they don't even want to be there. Like I go to this equinox in Santa Monica, and I've been here for 10 years going here, and I've only had three trainers in those 10 years come up and talk to me. And so that's just crazy to me. Like, that could be an opportunity. I may not want to train, but what about my significant other or a kid or something? It's like that closed mindset where you got a dude and you just automatically assume that, oh, he doesn't want training. And so, like when you're just being who you are and then make it fun. And I I love that perspective. That's just such a growth mindset because so many trainers have that scarcity mindset where they say, I don't want to give away stuff for free, but it's like you got to earn your stripes. And I mean, you're coming out of the gates as well, out of college. You got you got that experience where imagine that the angst a new trainer has where they read an ass and an ace, which I call the you know, the fast food textbooks, and and they're like, okay, now I'm I'm ready to go do it. And then they try to apply it a spot like yours, and you're like, okay, well, take this client through a workout, this is what she has going on, and then you you watch them and you're like, whoa, they're not ready. They need to go gain some experience for a couple of years. And so if someone were to come in and work for you, you have a great team already. But what are some of the things that you like to ask during the interview process, things that you look for? Because you hear a lot of stuff online, social media is bullshit. Well, you got to be in an amazing shape to be a trainer and you gotta have a six-pack and giant biceps and you know big glutes. You know, looks do play a part, but are there certain things that you expect, professionalism and so forth when it comes to hiring good candidates?

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah, I mean, professionalism is always important, especially at a lifetime, because that is our demographic, right? We can't we can't beat around the bush on that. Like that is the demographic that you're gonna get. And those people smell it, right? They are sharks in the water, and if they smell that unprofessionalism, like they're gonna call it as they see it and they're not afraid to. Um, but really it's for me, like one of the biggest things that I look for, are you resilient? Right. I always love asking, like, when's the time that you failed? And what did you learn from it? We are all going to fail. I can I can't tell you the amount of times I stand in front of my team and I tell them, I failed you on this, or I missed something on here. Here's what I learned from it, here's how we move forward. Like, the more resilient you are, right? You're never gonna stop showing up. You're just gonna keep going. Like, that is so incredibly important in our field is we are going to get batted down. It's a matter of how many times are we willing to get back up and still deliver that amazing service. But resiliency and failure are the two big questions I ask every single time.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

You have expectations for a certain amount of experience that you like to see before they they come in because I was talking to when I was in, or was it last, OC and that manager there? They're one of the top performing ones, but he'll interview 20 trainers a week because you guys always have, you know, it's it's corporate and it's a good corporate because it gives you the systems for success. But you want to constantly try to be bringing on good talent just in case maybe someone leaves or someone's out of town or injuries or whatever it may be. That's 80 hours essentially of interviewing, trying to get a couple good candidates. And he was just saying the the pool quality out there is pretty low.

Leading From The Front With Retention

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Have you experienced that as well when it comes to good coaches?

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah, especially, you know, now that post-COVID world where so many people have been like online personal trainers for a period of time. Um, but I I will argue that I always feel like there's there's always a conversation worth having with those types of people because you never know when you're gonna find a diamond in the rough. You know, I've been very lucky. I've I've had a couple of people where, you know, their only job was like a planet fitness or a low-level cert, but they came in and they were crazy ambitious, right? And you know, you gotta take on that diamond every once in a while and see if you can add a little bit more pressure. But it's I'm always gonna give a conversation, but I do look at their certifications. I do want to see not a shot at NASM, but like when you have only NASM certifications, it's only their ideologies, right? Like I like seeing people who come in, maybe they've got to show up fitness, maybe they have an FKT, a TRX, like a precision nutrition. Like now you're starting to play around with someone that's willing to learn and willing to mold their strategies in different ways to become better coaches. And that I'll tell you right now, if I see someone with a handful of different certs from different companies, I'm instantly interested because I know that they're willing to try different things along the way.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

That's that's very powerful. I respect that a lot. Now, me, I'm more of a dick. When I was a manager, I would have I had a NASAM cert, whoop, that one's that went into garbage. It's just because I was, you know, I was essentially blackmailed by them at my, I had my ECSM, I worked at a gym, and I don't know what the hell NASA did, if they bought the gym or what, but they required all the trainers who were already certified to get their NASAM. And you know, the green kinesiology, I'm looking at this stuff and I'm like, what the hell? This is not what I was taught in school. And so I definitely had a bias that I wanted people with more strength backgrounds and so forth. I just love how you have that respect for diversity because it's 100%. And again, I feel for the individuals who get, you know, a BOGO or they get their NASA, and then they get their CES and PES and then all this NASA stuff or ISSA and you waste maybe like a year trying to study it, but like we are personal trainers, we are not textbook trainers. And so I think that's great advice for trainers out there where understand that you may not get a call back from a gym and they don't have the resources or time to let you know why. So look at your resume. And if you only have one background and you want to work at the best gyms, diversify yourself because then that manager, just like Caleb was saying, that they know that you are open

Advice To Survive The First Year

SPEAKER_01 20:40

to continue your education. And so many trainers are not. So I like that piece of advice a lot. And what would you kind of take me through maybe the practical portion or some areas where you see trainers not fully? I liked your diamond analogy earlier where they're not fully prepared, they're really close, but they're just missing some pieces. What are some things that you see where trainers could level up on?

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Yeah, I mean, I think I think we, you and I both probably would agree that sales is probably one of the biggest things. And I try not to get too crazy lost in sales. It's more about can they give a true program prescription, right? That shows that they believe in the product that they're giving to the person across from them. I personally, when I do a practical, I am I'm me. If they can have if they can make me have a great time and I can enjoy that session and I can really, I can see the vision. Oh my gosh, like that, that is a that's a win in my book because that is it, right? We we kind of have to be the Bob Ross, right? We gotta paint that, we gotta paint that vision for our clients, you know, little tree here, little water there. Like that is it. Like you Google fitness workouts, you're gonna get 18 billion results in half a second. So it comes down to like, can you paint the vision? To anyone. And that's, I mean, that's magic. Like, certs are great. We all have them. But like, if you can paint a vision of how you're going to get me from A to Z, I mean, like, that's hard to beat.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

I love that a lot because it just shows you the difference between what I call a qualified trainer. You can train the human body or the average trainer can barely train themselves. And so when you are you and say, okay, take me through a workout, they're going to be like, oh, uh, I thought it was going to be like a full body. Um, uh, and then you can kind of see if they're freaking out, like, well, that's what you're going to experience. You're going to be on the floor and you and I are going to be having a conversation. The client's going to overhear, like, oh, I heard you say bench press, my shoulders are a little jacked up. Can you help me? And if you can't pivot and think on the fly like that, you're going to have a really hard time. So that's a that's a great perspective I really like right there. And what about trainers who are struggling with the sales? What are some you know things that you suggest for them to level themselves up?

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Uh, personally, it's the value prop. Like,

Hiring Signals: Resilience And Coachability

SPEAKER_00 22:55

can you build value behind your programs, right? We are at the we are at the the challenge of there are more programs out there, there are more people offering things, undercutting things, because you know, whether it's AI or they've built a system for themselves or whatever it may be, is can you build value? Can you truly associate that value of your training with the goals that they have? Because that's what people are looking for. I read a uh kind of like a ABC Fitness uh kind of the state of the state recently. And right now, it's not about client acquisition, it's still happening. People are still spending crazy amounts of money on health and fitness. What matters more is the delivery of the services that you offer. People want high quality, comprehensive things that are actually aligned to their goal. So to me, it's the value prop system.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

You want to listen to a good report, you go and hear Q1 from Lifetime, and they talk about their, you know, how they're improving their cross-penetration with the clients and how much they're spending. And that's a perfect example of what you're talking about right there.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, what we've done, you know, we've recently relaunched our metabolic certifications, our nutrition coaching is coming back for the really the first time from a branded standpoint since I think like 2020. So that's super cool. Um, you know, but it is, it's building that comprehensive solution package, man. And also as a trainer, being willing to refer out, you say that a lot when you're talking about your rehab stuff, like when you notice

Value Props, Referrals, And Closing Notes

SPEAKER_00 24:35

things in in like consults, is the fact that you have a team of trainers that are willing to give our members high-end information so that they can get results in a timely manner. I mean, that's a powerful thing. You're building a hell of a brand at that point.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

This has been great, my man. It's all from a comment on a YouTube or uh podcast. So if you're a lifetime trainer or you're thinking about getting hired, comment on there, reach out to me. Love to have you on the call. We got to get you, we got to get ourselves back out to to Denver and meet you in person and enjoy some of that good brew that you guys have over there. Where can people find you on social media?

SPEAKER_00 25:11

You can find me at Caleb Kinney Woods. Um, you'll usually find my page. I'll be flipping some kettlebells or running on trails right now. Um, that's kind of my big focus at the moment. But yeah, come on out to Westminster. I'll send a guest pass to whoever wants to come out and try it. You'll never regret coming to a lifetime and getting a good workout in.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

Awesome time speaking to you, my man. I'm proud of you. You're doing awesome things and looking forward to meeting you in person. Have a good one.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Yeah. Thanks, Chris.