It is no secret that without quality coaches and personal trainers, there wouldn’t be much of a fitness industry. And yet, if you are an aspiring coach or trainer, there are some common pitfalls that you might fall into. If you are trying to impact others in the world of fitness coaching and personal training, this episode is filled with the most important messages you need to know.
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Key Takeaways
If You Want to Improve Your Skills as a Fitness Coach, You Should:
- Focus on improving your understanding of how people operate and communication skills to create strong bonds with your clients
- Set boundaries and do not engage with a topic you are not educated in or comfortable with
- Make an investment in yourself by seeking out help to start your career with your best foot forward
Get Your Career Toolbox with Jasmine Braxton
Jasmine Braxton helps personal trainers implement their knowledge and overcome their imposter syndrome as a coach. She is on a mission to not only help other people become coaches but to bring high-quality coaching and personal training to the world. She knows the pitfalls that brand new coaches or personal trainers often unknowingly fall into and is here today to provide you with the most important steps that you can take to become the most impactful coach you can be.
You Deserve to Know What You Are Doing
Getting your certification to be a personal trainer is the first step on a long journey to becoming the best coach you can be. Applying exercise-related science to a personal field can be difficult, especially when you do not have the skills necessary to program in a way that will be impactful for your clients.
Understanding how people function and communication are two of the biggest struggles Jasmine sees in coaches and trainers. She has dedicated herself to helping others navigate these spaces and improving the quality of training available.
The Importance of a Good Foundation
If you have watched any home renovation show, you know that you can’t build a house on a bad foundation. Despite this, many trainers are entering the field without the foundational knowledge necessary to take the ‘stumbling stage’ out of the equation. There are a lot of lessons in failing, asking for help, and admitting when you do not know something. It is only by observing what you are doing and learning how to improve that you can remove as many barriers as possible in order to gain the success, results, and career that you want.
Are you ready to improve the quality, knowledge, and relationships in your personal training or coaching journey? Share your thoughts with me below.
In This Episode
- What sets Jasmine’s approach apart from what is regularly seen in the fitness industry (11:44)
- The biggest challenges when it comes to relationship building in the coach to client sphere (17:13)
- How the pandemic impacted the in-person and online fitness spaces and why it has created a problem (24:18)
- Why you need to give yourself grace when navigating the coaching landscape and progression of information (30:36)
- What skills do you need to cultivate in order to have the most successful clients and career (33:14)
Quotes
“For trainers, whether we are in Year 1 or Year 12, we still struggle with a lot of the same things. A lot of them is confidence in ourselves, and our ability to program, our ability to help our clients change behaviors, and just overall feeling prepared to do our jobs well.” (9:23)
“Getting a certification to be a personal trainer is just like stage 1. It is not everything y’all, it is just your start.” (12:31)
“Coaching is not just about prescribing sets and reps and progressing someone. It’s about helping them achieve a version of themselves that they cannot see yet, but it is there if they have someone supporting them.” (22:18)
“There are lots of lessons in not getting things perfectly, and I think that is an opportunity for growth. When you are just okay with putting yourself out there and doing it and knowing it is not perfect, but learning what you can do to improve it.” (31:26)
“I’m doing this because I can so empathize with what it feels like to want to do this so bad… wanting to be in this industry, but feeling like you have all these little stumbling stones in your way that make it so difficult.” (38:19)
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The Fitness Industry Needs Quality Coaches: How to Improve Your Skills w/ Jasmine Braxton
Steph Gaudreau
I often think back to when I first started lifting weights. In 2010, I walked into a CrossFit gym, and I had no idea what I was doing. And without the coaches that helped me out in those formative years of lifting, I don’t know where I would be today. Not only did they provide the technical knowledge in order to lift, but they really helped to help me overcome my fears and believe that strength was possible. They really nurtured me. And it is one of the reasons why I’m here doing what I’m doing today. Those coaches and other coaches in my life have made such an impact on me. It’s no secret that without quality coaches and personal trainers, there wouldn’t be much of the fitness industry. And yet at the same time, if you are an aspiring coach or an aspiring trainer, there are some really common pitfalls that you might fall into including self-doubt and overwhelm. My special guest today is here to help you on your journey if you are trying to impact others in the world of fitness, coaching, and personal training, and she’s sharing with you some of the most important lessons that you need to know.
Steph Gaudreau
If you’re an athletic 40, something woman who loves lifting weights, challenging yourself, and doing hard shit, the Fuel your Strength podcast is for you. You’ll learn how to eat, train, and recover smarter, so you build strength and muscle, have more energy, and perform better in and out of the gym. I’m strength nutrition strategist and weightlifting coach Steph Gaudreau. The Fuel Your Strength podcast dives into evidence-based strategies for nutrition training and recovery, and why once you’re approaching your 40s and beyond, you need to do things a little differently than you did in your 20s. We’re here to challenge the limiting industry narratives about what women can and should do in training and beyond. If that sounds good, hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app. And let’s go!
Steph Gaudreau
Welcome back to the podcast. Thank you so much for being with me today. And if you’re just joining me for the first time in a long time, welcome to the newly rebranded Fuel Your Strength podcast where we’re really diving into so much of the world of fueling, lifting, of course, other athletic pursuits and recovery and so much more. And I’m really excited to bring you a very special guest today. This is for anyone out there who is a personal trainer or a fitness coach or has aspirations of doing that in your life. You’ve been impacted by a coach yourself and so inspired to get out there and help others. Whether it’s a new thing for you or something you wanted to do for a long time.
Steph Gaudreau
My special guest is Jasmine Braxton. Jasmine helps personal trainers implement their knowledge and overcome their imposter syndrome. As a coach. She is on a mission to not only help other people become coaches but to bring high-quality coaching and personal training to the world because that’s where we can really have an impact. She’s sharing with you on this episode. Some of the biggest pitfalls that brand new or aspiring coaches and personal trainers often unknowingly fall into and what she believes are some of the most important steps that you can take to become the best coach and the most impactful coach that you possibly can be. Because getting that initial certification is only the first step she’s sharing with you some of the most important skills that she believes that personal trainers and coaches need to have in order to have successful clients and ultimately, a successful career.
Steph Gaudreau
Now before we hop into this episode, just wanted to remind you about Strength Nutrition Unlocked. If you’re an athletic 40 Something woman who just is multi-passionate and loves all the things you love lifting and your peloton and hiking, and yoga and walking and all of this stuff and you’ll love being active, but something just is off. And it’s with your nutrition and your recovery and the way that you’re training. You know, you can’t keep doing this stuff you did in your 20s and even in your 30s but you’re not quite sure where to go from here. Just that something needs to change. Then this is the program that I designed for you to help you have a strategy and know what to do and a step-by-step fashion so that you start to have more energy you start to build muscle We’ll build strength, and ultimately perform better in and out of the gym. Go ahead and check out the application over at StephGaudreau.com/strong. I want to see you there so that we can get you on the road to success. All right, let’s go ahead and jump into this episode with Jasmine Braxton. Jasmine, welcome to the podcast.
Jasmine Braxton
Thanks, Steph, for having me. This is gonna be fun.
Steph Gaudreau
It is gonna be fun. You know, it’s I was we were talking off-air. And I have two recordings I’m doing today with you and Jen Hosler. And so that means that the both of you are the official first guests.
Jasmine Braxton
Anyway, I’m excited about this. This is a legacy podcast. In my opinion, this thing’s been going strong for a minute.
Steph Gaudreau
Oh, it’s been a long time. Yeah, it’s been a long time since the previous episode. And I’ll just let the listeners know, I talked about why I shifted the name of the podcast and why you know rebranded and all about that trying to be as transparent as possible, and kind of give a peek behind the curtain, or at least a peek behind the curtain into my brain. What made that happen, but I’m really excited because that means that going forward here, my guests are really speaking specifically to different aspects of strength or the fitness industry. And I really am glad that you reached out and we started talking about having you come on the show because there are a lot of coaches who listen to this podcast or other, you know, practitioners, PTs, nutritionists, and so on and so forth. And I think that what you’re doing is so, so, so important, and actually very much along the vein of what this show is really all about and believes in. So I’m glad that you’re out there doing what you’re doing and that we connected.
Jasmine Braxton
I am. Thank you for that. I appreciate that a lot, for sure.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah. And it’s important stuff. So let’s, let’s start by having you talk a little bit about your background, like how did you get to do what you’re doing today? Because I think so many times we see people on social media, and we’re like, oh, they just like popped out this way.
Jasmine Braxton
Yes. Let me let the crowd know, I didn’t pop out this way. This is 11 years in the making. So I got into fitness straight out of undergrad I went to the University of Virginia and I got a bachelor’s in kinesiology with a sports medicine focus. And I’ve talked about this for a while, but I was beelining for most of my time at UVA for the DPT track like you know, physical therapy. And thankfully, I had an internship that showed me that is not the move, that is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. And so I had already had a part-time gig as a personal trainer. And the one thing that I remember being like the deciding factor was I felt fulfilled, I felt fulfilled helping someone move in a way that made them feel good to get out of pain that things made things click in their head when it came to their overall health and well being and I kind of fantasize about how that could evolve for, for a single individual, like how fitness can help be a vehicle for positive change and progress and every other portion of the person’s life.
Jasmine Braxton
And to multiply that by multiple clients that that felt good to me, I wanted to do that. So I started out as a personal trainer did the usual work in the gyms and work for myself that worked in the gyms or work for myself, and we make it all the way down to like 2019 where I’m like, do I just want to write programs for the rest of my life. And that helped me to start looking around and recognizing that. For trainers, whether they’re in year one or year 12 We still struggle with a lot of the same things. A lot of them being confidence around ourselves and our ability to program our ability to help our clients change behaviors and just feeling overall prepared to do our jobs well, and that is what made me then pivot to go into working with other personal trainers. So essentially, I want to help personal trainers coaches, however, you label yourself to feel adequate to do every part of their job and not feel like they’re just throwing things together and hoping that it works while hiding that fact from the people that they’re trying to change the lives over help along their own paths.
Steph Gaudreau
I love that. When you can also have my job. If you’re listening to this you can see that Jasmine just did the mic drop I love it. You know, it’s really interesting. Also, this is just a side note that I started off on a PT track in college as well. And then I did. And, and that wasn’t necessarily an internship, we just had to go out and observe. And they went out into an outpatient setting. And I was like, There’s no way I want to do this. So I changed my major, which is fine. We need those PTs, you all are amazing. But there was just something I guess I had something different in my mind. And now I also see people out there doing it their way which is…
Jasmine Braxton
Which was not presented to us ten years ago, if I had seen then what I see now what PTs are doing, I’d be like, Heck, yeah, I would have stayed there. Because it’s not it doesn’t feel like a prison. Now, like for me, if you’re gonna put me in a building under fluorescent lights for 40 hours of my work week that feels like a prison to me. And that’s what literally scared me away from it. And that is looking at the same tin industry with 10 injuries for 40 years, like in my mind, that was it. And I know that’s not true now, but to your point, back then that’s not the vision, we want it for ourselves.
Steph Gaudreau
Totally. Yeah, that’s, that’s one of the nice parts of the thing about seeing people on social media doing the things you want to do. And the way that you feel like you want to do it. So maybe let’s talk about that a little bit. Like, as you were a trainer and sort of developing your skills. What stood out to you is sort of like, this is Jasmine’s way of doing things that are a little bit different from what you’ve seen, or what sort of, did you do? Or were you called to do that you felt were different from what you saw in the industry?
Jasmine Braxton
That’s a very simple answer. I really thought that people were doing half-big jobs with their clients. I am a person. I’m a realist, I’m logical. And so I’m like, There’s no system here. There’s no process here. People are just tickling ears, making people feel happy entertaining them for a bit. And this burns out pretty quickly. And then those clients are gone and they’re having to start from the top with a new person. That doesn’t make sense that, that I don’t want to do that, that doesn’t feel fulfilling. And so what I recognize is that getting a certification to be a personal trainer is like stage one. It is not everything, y’all it is just your start. You know, it’s like someone says you now have a dry driver’s license, you get how to not wreck the car, make sure you get all this together, don’t even go to a city where there’s parallel parking, because you’re probably just not going to do it. Right. Like that sort of thing. Apply that to personal training. I was like, okay, so unfortunately, through no fault of their own, when they got certified, the certifying body did not really teach them how to coach did not really teach them how to implement this science.
Jasmine Braxton
They did not teach them how to write a program like a proper program. You I literally went and pulled out my old a textbook from my certifying body. It was like, it’s really not in here. This is like hogwash, you should be ashamed. Like I don’t know what the latest versions are. But that was it. Apparently, they’re still not that great, because I’m still having people come from that particular company. They don’t like you don’t know how to program and say it with a whisper. Like, think about if your physician didn’t really know how to do their job. And they’re writing prescriptions, you really don’t know what they saw. Like, they’re like, oh, yeah, that could help. It may not know, we don’t know. That’s how personal trainers approach their craft. And it said, and I don’t like that.
Jasmine Braxton
I don’t like that for them. I don’t like that for the people they’re serving. It should not have to feel icky to like, oh my goodness, like when am I going to learn all the tools that I need for my trade so that I can feel good about what I’m doing? And why is it such a struggle to figure out what’s right? And you know, when you think about it, personal trainers are tasked with the job of trying to apply, like exercise science in a relationship-related field. This is difficult because, you know, first you got to know the person in front of you. So if you’re not doing things to evaluate what type of person is this, what are their motivators? What are their tendencies and all that stuff? It’s going to be hard to apply this very science-driven, logical step-by-step process to them.
Steph Gaudreau
Hmm, yes, you know, you said something here and it makes me think of something I think about a lot as somebody who’s been in sports and a coach and an athlete for a really long time, and you can maybe tell me your thoughts on this. There are some people who are great technicians at what they do, you know, not only do they personally Like maybe move really well or, like they know the all the textbook stuff. But they are they struggle with the relationship side of it. And then there are people who are great at relationship building, they are those extroverts. They love talking to people, but maybe their technical knowledge, like writing those programs, or you know, all the different assessments that you might do is, it needs development. Who do you think, struggles more when they first come into the business?
Jasmine Braxton
The ones that know the science, but can’t connect with the person. Hands down, always the hardest? Because in their mind, they’re like, Just do it. It’s A + B + C, just do it. Like, why is this so hard? Why can’t you get it? Why don’t you have discipline? Why are you letting your… you have mental weakness problems, like, literally, those are their words, and it’s like, you have no problem making sense of the science because, for them, the science feels safe. They really can’t mess up anything if they follow the science and apply it properly. And I get that I get feeling safe. But they start to feel like oh, I just want to get away from doing it in person. I want to go online and just hide behind the program when they have a hard time with the relationships because that’s sticky, that’s messy. That’s not linear. And that’s always the hardest.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, absolutely. I think I would, I would agree with that. And when you sort of take a look at, at what some of those other skills are, you said it’s this is a relationship-building kind of business. What are some of the things that people you work with feel is challenging, or some of the challenges that you had about that relationship-building aspect? Because it’s almost like well, not only are we supposed to be able to relate to each other may be good communication skills, or whatever it is, but like, things can get pretty deep, also pretty fast. So how, what are some of those biggest challenges that you’ve seen with your clients, you work with the coaches you work with, with yourself in terms of that relationship? Building?
Jasmine Braxton
Yeah, I guess two big things come to mind. First is communication. We kind of take for granted how to communicate with someone. But just you know, saying do this and do that or check in with me here. It’s not necessarily communication. Because what if that person doesn’t process and the way that you communicate? So that’s always first. And the second is just like, a second challenge is lacking kind of a basic understanding of human psychology. And I’m no expert in human psychology. But there are some basic things that we all should know, like, or we should become familiar with, like, I know, some people don’t like personality tests things but understand the kind of an overall personality of the person you are training, I always have my clients do some sort of personality assessment, because it helps me serve them better.
Jasmine Braxton
Now, I’m not trying to categorize you, I’m just trying to make sure that I’m meeting you where you’re at, I’m trying to facilitate getting you what you need in a way that you can process it or are accepted, not trying to categorize you. I’m just trying to know you. And so those two things, understanding how people function and communication are always two big struggles, huge struggles.
Steph Gaudreau
Absolutely. When you get one of those, sometimes you get clients who are maybe a little bit less volunteering maybe their personal life. And then sometimes you get people who want to share everything, because they’re real, whole people. And they poured themselves out and you’re sort of books, yeah, totally heart on the sleeve, open book. And like, to your point, we’re all very, very different. And we all have a different level of comfort with sharing things. And some people are more open than others. What do you think is sort of the challenge when somebody is really sharing stuff that is maybe outside of your scope of dealing with like, how do you integrate that stuff without actually stepping outside of your lane as a coach, or as a personal trainer? Like how do you? How would you suggest or how have you done it in the past to navigate those spaces?
Jasmine Braxton
Well, I would say, maybe the way I do, it isn’t always the most pleasing, but I’m thinking about boundaries. So in a kind way, in a receiving or a loving way, you’re like, you hold space for them to be like this, but you also let them know, that’s outside of my wheelhouse. I’m actually not going to be doing a great job trying to advise you here because that’s not my lane. And it would be a disservice to you if I even tried to step into it. So just taking the burden off yourself by saying, I’m sorry, I’m here for you. I understand maybe I can help you find the right resources for people, but I’m not going to speak on the subject. That’s also covering your tail. Because you don’t want to do or say something that comes back to bite you later. And all of us should be aware of that. Do not let someone scope creep you. If you don’t have any experience there, girl. Don’t touch it. Don’t touch it.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, for sure. And I think to your point, like honesty can feel it can feel hard sometimes to say like, I have to admit that either I don’t know this thing. Or I have to be firm in those boundaries, which can be like, Oh, is this gonna mess up the relationship? But to your point is so important?
Jasmine Braxton
Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. So I have this, like this free resource on my website on my Instagram is called “The Five industry Secrets To Keep Programming Simple” and in that part, I talked about the communication, like do not touch list, and the things you just made me think of our one hopping into expert mode, and to that ego flex. So the expert mode is when we feel like we have to fix all of our client’s problems, we have to show them everything we know, we need to just shove education down their throats. But specifically, we feel like we have to fix their problems. And by telling them, I don’t know, or I’m technically not allowed to go down this path with you here is a part of feeling like we have to be an expert mode. A person will respect you more when you tell them, I don’t know. Or I cannot speak on this subject with intelligence. Because then they know, okay, this person has integrity.
Jasmine Braxton
And integrity is a huge trust builder, between you and a client, especially when you are looking to stay with that client for a while because you recognize that they are going to benefit better from having a coach in their corner. Because coaching is not just about prescribing sets of reps and progressing someone, it’s about helping them achieve a version of themselves that they cannot see yet. But is there if they have someone supporting them? And so the other thing that you made me think about was the whole ego flex, like, I have to withhold my standard in their mind, I have to hold my position. And so if I tell them, like, if they feel like, I am not an expert in this thing, then I lose rank and I’m not as important to them. If I’m not as important to them, they’ll fire me eventually. Or they’ll just leave.
Steph Gaudreau
Oh, yeah. Those are so key. What is the name of this resource, by the way? So if people are like, I sent me this, and we’ll make sure we put it in the show notes. So but what is the call?
Jasmine Braxton
For sure, it’s called 5 Industry Secrets to Make Program Design Simple.
Steph Gaudreau
Oh, okay. Perfect. We will definitely link that up. So if you just liked what Jasmine was saying there, definitely go pick up that resource. I want to shift gears maybe a little bit and ask you about, you know, the last couple years, I suppose especially with anybody that really works in person, but gyms, you know, trainers, etc. pandemic and all of a sudden, things got really stressful, things were shut down, right? We saw this sort of migration to the online space. And since then, let me tell you what I mean, I’m like everybody else, I get served all my ads on YouTube and on Facebook and stuff. And I’m just like, wow, this is wild. Because now not only is there a lot of educating, you know, hey, like, do this personal trainer certification and things like that. But now, it’s definitely got the flavor of getting in here and make this money fast. Huh? My problem? One of my biggest problems, yes. So, talk to me a little bit about why this is such a problem.
Jasmine Braxton
This is such a problem because it lacks quality control. That is like I wish that personal training had like a board exam to pass to be in the industry because there is you know, so many different avenues and fitness that you can go into performance and performing athletics. You can do healthcare-related stuff, you can just do your average Jane and Joe. You can there are so many different avenues and when people recognize that, oh, there’s just a low barrier to entry to get into fitness and you can make a decent amount of cash. If you just kind of get it and checkups and things, you have a fair amount of people who are in it for the wrong reasons, which leads to a quality control problem. Because as I mentioned before we started recording when you take into a client who has signed on with you, and they have been struggling with whatever, health, physical emotional around their physical problem for years, maybe even a decade, maybe even longer, and you don’t give them a quality service, you’re playing with their emotions, and you’re disrespecting them.
Jasmine Braxton
Because they came to you for help. And they hoped that you would get them to the point B that you promised, and you dropped the ball. That’s a lack of integrity. And sorry, maybe it’s because integrity is a core value of mine. But how do you sleep at night, when you do that, you know, like, and if someone feels convicted or seen, I’m sorry, you should, you know, like, like, because think about it, put yourself in that person’s shoes? If you say, for instance, you were dealing with like, intense acne for like six years straight and you wanted somebody just help you make it stop, and you went to someone and they just kind of played with it, in a sense, you know, made it worse, didn’t really give you a protocol that really helped you, and you walked away in the same position or in a worse position than when you started, you feel like your time was wasted like you weren’t taken seriously. All the negatives. And so when we do that with an individual, when that happens with people, that are our clients, they leave us and they didn’t have a good experience, it puts a cast a bad shadow on all of us, it casts a bad shadow on the whole industry, you’ve put a bad taste this person’s mouth, they now don’t trust us, they look at us like a joke meaning us meaning you know, coaches, personal trainers, people who aren’t sent from your doctor to help you do something,
Jasmine Braxton
This is a choice that they come out of their pocket to fund and you’ve wasted their resources and their time. And time is our most precious resource. And so maybe you even like psychologically change things where they feel like well, I’ll never be able to get out of this. Everyone is smoke and mirrors. This is all a joke. And all of that is my biggest problem with so many people coming in, and not there not being a standard for them becoming coaches, you know, like there’s no, say, trial period, like, prove that you know what you’re supposed to do, or you know what you’re doing. And then we’ll let you out to the wild like, I wish, if my company goes away, I want it to I would love to like have a national like incubator program, where you like, like a massage school, you know, massage therapists, they go to school, they have a period of time where they charge a reduced rate to learn how to do massage properly, while they’re there, and they get good at it. And then they get to go have a job, get paid full price and all that stuff, it would be great if there was something similar for trainers, not because I’m trying to like, hold us down and make us not succeed fast.
Jasmine Braxton
But you deserve to know that you know what you’re doing. And not leave it up to chance that you’ll find a good mentor that you might get a job at a gym that has trainers who know what they’re doing. They know what they’re doing, and will teach you that. And all of those factors, like I unfortunately never got to work at a gym where trainers were ahead of me and knew exactly what they were doing. I could see that they were just putting it together as they went, I could see they were really good at one aspect of the job and kind of lacking in the other aspects. But they had been doing it for so long that there was no shame around saying well, how do I backtrack and get the basics down? Think about it, would you build a house without a foundation or with a cracked foundation? No, I don’t know if any of you who watch hometown when they have a bad foundation, have stopped the whole project, gotten a foundation specialist out there, fix the foundation problem. Then they build the house right? They do up the pretty so that it can be livable. It’s the same thing with personal training. If you are 10 years in and you recognize that you don’t understand how to write, you know, a basic linear progression program. If you don’t know how to onboard someone you don’t know how to assess someone then it’s no shame in going back and learning those things. It’ll only make you better. What’s wrong with that?
Steph Gaudreau
Amen. Gosh, there’s so many gems in what you just said there. And I think, you know, we also we chatted back and forth on Instagram DM’s a little bit and I was sort of talking about like, oh, cringe some of the things I’ve I’ve said and done in the past, and like I didn’t, I just didn’t know. Better. And I think we sort of like shared some of that sentiment. And so I wonder, you know, how do we, how do we sort of like walk that space between, like, we’re going to be at a different point now than we were 10 years ago? And what we know and what we’ve integrated in our practice and things like that, like, how do we hold space for like, the, like, there are probably going to be things that I look back on even 10 years from now and go, you didn’t know anything? Like, how do we sort of navigate that space?
Jasmine Braxton
Grace, if we were all excellent at the thing, the first time we tried it, you would actually be disappointed being 10 years down the road and being like, I grew none at all. There was no change. I was just like, you think you would not be upset about that. But there’s pride that comes with knowing that you’ve gotten better over time. And so, you know, who is it that says just fail, fail often fail fast, like, there are lots of lessons in not getting things perfect. And I think that is an opportunity for growth when you are just okay with it, I put myself out there and I did it. And it’s not perfect, but now I know what I can do to improve if you are observing what you’re doing, you can learn how you can improve, improve, and you can ask for help to improve on that thing.
Jasmine Braxton
So it’s okay if you’re not doing things that you’re proud of what you’ve done things that you’re not proud of, we all have, you do have to start, don’t let me stop it be don’t let my hopping on my soapbox and talking about quality control, stop you from trying. Just know that people like me exist to help. I exist to help your first steps be as good as they can be. Know that I can’t teach you everything, but I can get you started or get you cruising along at a good speed. And your passions and your life experience and where life takes you can help you track the rest of your course.
Steph Gaudreau
I love that I hear a lot of like both and which I think is wonderful, right? Like, you’re probably gonna make mistakes. And if you then are aware of what those are, or you’re like, wow, I could have done that better. Yes, then let’s go make it better. I don’t feel like you’re too far along. And you kind of said that earlier. So just to kind of re amplify what you said there. And going back to what you said a little bit earlier. Yes, like manifest that sort of, you know, that that that program that you want, right that? The idea that you know, we can hold trainers to a higher standard and like you’re going to help people do that. I think that’s wonderful. So along with that line, what are some maybe I know you this is what you do. So this is your job, and what you’re passionate about in the world. But if there were sort of a couple of nuggets that you wish when you were getting started, that somebody shared with you, that would have made a big difference. What might those be?
Jasmine Braxton
Oh, yes. So this is my shameless plug. I would want someone to help me start my career properly by giving me the toolbox. Right? Like how do I legally sign on a client? How am I supposed to onboard them so that they know what’s going on? Do we have expectations set they know how much their investment is going to be? How long this is going to look like? How do I assess them properly? How do I track those assessments and use them in a program? What does the program look like? All of that stuff. That is what I wish someone had put together for me and given it to me versus me taking the first three years to figure it out. Three years, when someone just handed me a file. So that’s what I created. It’s called Career Starter for Personal Trainers. And it is like the little manila folder and I wish someone had slipped out the door for me and be like, here you go. Love and Peace. They’ll still be good, thank me later, right?
Jasmine Braxton
Because they’re the things that are not huge. These forms and these, you know consents and these templates, they’re not necessarily huge, but they help to take the stumbling start out of things. They help you feel like a professional, they help you feel confident they help set the tone for what your clients can expect because people are really smart people are really intuitive. They can pick up real quick when you really don’t know what you’re doing. They know so when you come out, walking like a professional that you’re talking like They’re like, oh, I gotta take this seriously, I’m going to show up, I’m gonna give my best effort, I am going to be a part of this process because this is a teammate who’s guiding me.
Jasmine Braxton
They are my guide, but they know what they’re talking about, and I kinda have to pay attention. There’s this the subtlest things make that happen for you. So career starter is the way to do that. If you’re like, find yourself holding back on even putting yourself out there that you’re taking clients, because you’re like, Well, I don’t have legal stuff, right yet, or, you know, how do I even take assessments properly? Like I get this FMS, but how do I use it? You know, you know, things like that. I’m not, by the way, I’m not teaching you FMS, but I want you to, I want you to understand how to interpret all of your stuff. So all of your assessments to put into a program. And there’s more that comes into that. But that is how I wished things started. For me, someone had given me the basic tools to establish a working relationship with the client.
Steph Gaudreau
Three years, save yourself three or more years of frustration and feeling like an imposter. Maybe a little bit more. I mean, I don’t know. I feel like there’s always some level of feeling like that, especially as women, maybe as women of color, especially in this industry as well. But I mean, save yourself the frustration, I get it. Like there’s a really big element of social media these days about being self-made. And, you know, getting out there and like figuring out yourself, and we were talking about before the show about how even women like sometimes we’re expected to, or we have had to be more independent for different life circumstances. And so there’s also that element of like, well, you should just be able to figure it all out yourself. And you can, you could, yeah, but what if somebody shared with you that dossier? Like I’m about, it’s like a spy movie. It’s like slipping under the door. Right?
Steph Gaudreau
Here are those things that are gonna save you three years of time frustration, maybe you pay for a lot of things that were, you know, not didn’t really work out. So you could be getting those clients, right, that are the ones that are your dream clients that they’re going to stay with you for a long time, like, so I get it. When you’re at the beginning. It’s tough to say like, I’m gonna make this investment in me. But you have someone like Jasmine, who’s said, Hey, I learned these lessons, you know, the hard way to come on time. This is your sign!
Jasmine Braxton
Yeah, I’m literally just putting this out there for every client, for every personal trainer. I’m doing this because I can so empathize with it feels like with what it feels like to want to do this so badly, like wanting to be in this industry, it makes you happy, it’s fulfilling, you can see the positives of it, but you feel like you have all these little stumbling stones in your way that make it so difficult. And like for those of us who like fitness is our bread and butter. And maybe financially, it’s not working really well, I understand like, the stress that comes with, okay, I’m supposed to learn all these things. But I also need to make an income and all the all of those problems. I want to help you remove as many barriers as possible, to help you get to your success to help you have a fulfilling career that supports the lifestyle that you do want. Because I understand that’s a part of this puzzle, having life balance, having balanced air quotes by like, having a life that you want, and being able to engage in a lifestyle that you envision for yourself, while avoiding feeling like you know, after five years of investing into trying to be a trainer, you now have to switch careers, you have to always carry a nine to five, you have to do it after your kids go to school.
Jasmine Braxton
Whatever your circumstance is, that isn’t ideal, my job is to help make that less of a reality as possible. So if you are someone who you know, the other problem is everybody wants to make a course for everything, which is great, but sometimes you still want that one-on-one attention. And I offer that actually, that’s my favorite part. I want to look at your specific situation, but like yes, all these broad things still work, but this is how you can apply it. That coaching aspect because coaches need coaches. That is also something you can expect to get when you work with me and no 1,000% If I don’t know how to do something, I will tell you. If I don’t feel confident in the route that you’re going to go, I will tell you I am so someone who does not beat around the bush, I will be honest. But just for you to know that there is that option, and not everything just has to be like, Oh, that purchasing leader, this came out yesterday, and now they’re successful. How’s that trainer? You know, she’s five years younger than me, and she just has a cute butt. So therefore she’s successful. Like, we don’t have to keep doing that. That time it’s gone. It’s 2022.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, I love that. And to your point about, you know, courses and stuff, are wonderful. And that one-on-one help is priceless, to really have somebody in there. And again, like, it’s okay. It is essential, in my opinion, to have those experts like yourself who are there to help walk you through things. And to say, hey, like, let’s Yeah, let’s look at the principles. And now let’s help you apply it to your situation. I think that that’s so so, so important. And again, like it’s okay to have a coat. It’s okay to hire experts. You don’t have to do everything yourself. And in a lot of cases, you’re going to actually save yourself so much time, heartache, stress, as you said, and it’s just so vital. So I love what you’re doing. And I think it’s really, really important.
Jasmine Braxton
Thanks, Steph I appreciate that.
Steph Gaudreau
Yeah, you’re welcome. All right. So tell everyone, how can they catch up with you? On your website? What like, where are you offering things? How can they get involved in working with you? They’re like, Yes, I need this. Where do they go?
Jasmine Braxton
For sure. Everywhere. I am JasmineBraxton.co, it is a co, no m. All right. We can work together right now in two ways. You can one, if you’re starting out, you’re like, I just need to figure out how to press go. Like put this thing in play Career Starter is your option, it is a very affordable resource that you can just download it. It’s very, very practical, its forms its templates, skeletons. It’s how to set this up, how to say this to a client, how to run the consultations, all that stuff so that you can get the information you need to do your job.
Jasmine Braxton
Once you have that down, you have one on one options with me, which is basically it’s kind of like coach consulting, where we either take one problem that you’re dealing with and troubleshoot it all the way to the end to fix it, or it can be like we can revamp your whole personal training back end, to make sure that you are able to provide a quality service. And just in case, later on, the masses want it I would love to create a membership for people who want to continue their learning in a way that is accessible and fun. And you can create that community of personal trainers. Oh, my goodness, I have always wanted to be in a community of other trainers. When I was I started training in a smaller town. So, everyone, all the trainers were territorial about their clients, and they really didn’t want to be friends with you because they thought that you were using it as an end to get to their people. Crazy, crazy, crazy scarcity mindset stuff, but we won’t talk about that. So I would love to create an active community and not just something like that, but where we have meetups and things of that nature. So that’s the future, we are still in the year, like one, two. But yes, those are the primary two ways Career Starter and 101 until further notice.
Steph Gaudreau
Awesome. All right, everyone, go and check those things out. You heard the links, we’re also going to drop those in the show notes. So if that is useful for you want to go back and look at it later. Maybe you’re out driving, I don’t know, whatever it is, you can check the website, StephGaudreau.com.
Steph Gaudreau
This has been such a pleasure to have you here, Jasmine, you’re making a huge impact on the industry. And this is exactly the kind of thing that the industry needs. We don’t need any more, you know, bro stuff like cheap get quick, get rich quick stuff. Like it’s the quality, it is integrity, it is meeting people where they’re at and really building those relationships and doing it in a way that is focusing on the quality and you’re doing it you’re leading, you’re leading the way and you’re leading by example. And I think that’s really exciting. So I’m wishing you all the best on that. I’m going to add in okay, this is a new thing I’m adding in a new feature. I’m asking my guests, yeah, maybe in a sentence or two. What does strength mean to you?
Jasmine Braxton
Okay. Strength means options. You do not have to opt-out from living your fullest life, enjoying your kids, enjoying your family, enjoying adventures from enduring the stress that this life is going to put on you. When you’re strong. You’re harder to kill which I know Steph knows all about the heart being hard to kill but it means options in my personal opinion.
Steph Gaudreau
I love that. Fantastic. I’m looking forward to seeing all the amazing answers because everybody is so different. And you all have your different spin on that. So thank you for being the inaugural answer. I love it. A royal wave there we just did. All right, thank you so much for being here. I’m looking forward to seeing how you, how you grow and how things just continue for you. And I’m really, really grateful that you are on the podcast. Thank you.
Jasmine Braxton
Thank you.
Steph Gaudreau
All right. That does it for this episode with Jasmine Braxton. I hope that if you are an aspiring fitness coach or personal trainer that you found this episode to be not only inspirational, but also to know that there are some steps and there are people out here who are really devoted to seeing you succeed. And Jasmine is one of them. And she is really blazing a trail in this industry. And I’m here for it. So go ahead and find out more information, link up with what Jasmine is doing, go ahead and get her guide and listen to her podcast and work with her. It’s really worth it to get the help and guidance that you need up front instead of years later having to go back and fix a bunch of mistakes that you unknowingly made. So you can find out more by going to Jasmine’s details, and you can find that late over at StephGaudreau.com in the show notes. So if you want a full transcript, you can also find that over there as well. While you’re here, before you hop away, go ahead and hit subscribe on your podcast app that sends a signal to the app that you liked it and other people may also like this show as well. Thank you so much for joining me here on the podcast this week. And I will talk to you soon. Until then, stay strong.
