How to get started as a trainer? w/Jacob Ross | One Good Question

WEBVTT

1
00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:11.080
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to fifty
percent Facts our Friday episode One Good Question.

2
00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:14.960
Today we have a star guest,
our friend Jacob Ross's in the house.

3
00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:18.519
Long long, long time friend,
even longer time strength and conditioning coach

4
00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:23.800
to multiple Olympians, pro athletes names
like Luel Dang, Matt Forte all over

5
00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:27.079
the league. Not only were pro
athletes, but some of the best pro

6
00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.160
athletes to ever play in sports.
One of the nicest guys and one of

7
00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:33.679
the best minds in the world that
I've come across in this space. And

8
00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:38.039
the question is right up your alley
here, buddy. The question is Jacob's

9
00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:42.320
also consulted and worked with multiple gyms
and businesses. Any advice for someone that's

10
00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:47.439
very new to personal training. I'm
only one to three months in. Where

11
00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:50.880
do you start? You just got
your shirt or whatever? You're stoked?

12
00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:57.799
You want to coach people? What
do we do? I would say train

13
00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:03.359
as many people as possible. I
know what helped me is when I was

14
00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:06.519
an undergrad at TCU, which I
don't this sound a plug that I think

15
00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:08.000
you need to go to college or
trainer, because I don't think that's the

16
00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:12.200
case. What do you guys,
horn dogs or something horn bullfrogs or something

17
00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:18.640
horny bullfrogs. Horn frogs. Yeah, see you guys, they're the fucking

18
00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.719
orn frogs. Tc is a great
school, but I don't know about that.

19
00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:23.120
I don't know about that mascot.
Buddy. Well, it's actually a

20
00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.840
lizard. Technically it fits in the
size of your hand. It's not even

21
00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:32.519
a frog. And because are liars. When it gets mad or feel scared,

22
00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.680
it feels its tear dog up with
blood and shoots it up to ten

23
00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:41.840
feet out of its eye. Are
they are they Texas critters? Uh?

24
00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:48.040
Yeah, like like South South best
Desert. Yeah, y'all just got that

25
00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:51.879
point guard. Yeah, that blonde
chick I forgot her name. She was

26
00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:56.640
at Louisville then she just went to
LSU. Do college basketballs literally like free

27
00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:59.159
agency central, But I think she
just signed a TSU. She's a baller.

28
00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.400
I think she was on our pick
three by three team beside the point

29
00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:08.599
TCU undergrad. Yes, coaching,
folks, I would train anybody I could

30
00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:14.319
for free, which I know doesn't
sound like a good strategy when you're trying

31
00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:16.919
to make money in the job,
But what it allowed for me to do

32
00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:22.680
was to train a wide variety of
people, because the thing that you can't

33
00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:27.800
substitute is actual experience doing the work. You can learn all the anatomy you

34
00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.520
want to know, all the physiology
you want to know. You could read

35
00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:35.560
about all the training techniques and super
sets and drop sets and tempos and theories

36
00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:40.919
and whatever, but that doesn't ever
supersede the actual one on one experience of

37
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:46.520
working with people, and that,
to me is the most critical thing that

38
00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:51.680
a trainer can have in terms of
their effectiveness and ultimately their optimization of how

39
00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:55.159
they work with a client. You
know, oftentimes people say in the gym

40
00:02:55.199 --> 00:03:00.319
that's good or that's bad, and
it's a really low level kind of way

41
00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:04.919
to phrase things. It really should
be you know, what's most optimal for

42
00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:07.919
that client. There's a lot more
nuanced and good or bad, and we

43
00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.680
give with a wide variety of clients. It becomes easier and easier to pick

44
00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:15.360
out those things on a much faster
level and kind of get straight to the

45
00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:17.680
point and not dance around it as
much. And so for me, I

46
00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:23.719
would train professors, college kids,
college athletes who just felt like they weren't

47
00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:28.960
getting enough with their team. You
know, people will lose weight, people

48
00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:30.680
want to get stronger people when you
gain muscle, take your pick. I

49
00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:35.000
would work with anybody I could,
But when I actually went to go make

50
00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:38.520
money within this field, I already
trained I don't know, maybe one hundred

51
00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:43.240
people something like that, and I
didn't have this pressure of trying to figure

52
00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.800
out or prove something I need to
be a certain kind of trainer. I

53
00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:50.199
could kind of go into it and
meet people and say, well, I've

54
00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.400
done this in some capacity before,
and I was just able to relax and

55
00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.879
do my best. And I think
that for me was probably the biggest reason

56
00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:00.680
why I was able to step into
my actual job when I'm moved to Chicago

57
00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:03.400
and be successful right away because I'd
already kind of gotten over that learning curve.

58
00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:06.919
Yeah, I think that's great advice. Mine would be very similar.

59
00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:13.400
I got a job right away at
a commercial gym and not the greatest area.

60
00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:15.560
It wasn't like bad bad, but
you know, diverse, shall we

61
00:04:15.639 --> 00:04:19.519
say, area of folks, old
people, young people, was kind of

62
00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:24.040
close to one of the high schools
that wasn't that athletic, And my experience

63
00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:28.360
and my advice would be very similar. It gave me the opportunity to just

64
00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:31.879
coach everything I had high school football
players, I had grandma's trying not to

65
00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:34.439
break a hip. I had ladies
trying to lose weight in their thirties and

66
00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:38.680
forties, and it just gave me
an experience. The other advice I would

67
00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:43.759
give is to not stop learning so
you'll learn those skills, which is arguably

68
00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:47.839
sixty percent of the game to me, is those soft skills of how you

69
00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:54.519
read people, communicate with people,
motivate people, empathize, know when to

70
00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:58.040
push, when when not to push, and those skills you can learn some

71
00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.800
online. You know, soft skills
is a big like buzzword that's coming about

72
00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.399
in kind of the business realm,
and it is very very important. But

73
00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:08.639
a lot of that I think is
in you. It's in you know a

74
00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.439
little bit of genetics or a little
bit of how you're raised. Some of

75
00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.959
it you can learn by experience.
The other thing I would advise is to

76
00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:17.680
grab as much knowledge from all those
people. So a lot of people I

77
00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:23.959
think tend to grab one like whether
it be a mentor in person or online,

78
00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:27.639
and they just just watch them and
then you just replicate what they do.

79
00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:30.319
That's not really learning or problem solving
to me. Now you're just regurgitating

80
00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:34.000
the one coach because he trained the
one athlete you like on the internet,

81
00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:38.079
or he trained the one mister Olympia
on the internet, and you just do

82
00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:41.959
what they do, but learn from
a lot of folks. If you find

83
00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:46.680
fifty different cool coaches online and you
watch and absorb all of their stuff,

84
00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:49.279
now you can combine it and kind
of deduct what works for you based on

85
00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:54.040
what client. And if you need
help with list like that. Jacob's a

86
00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:57.920
great resource, was it Jacob dot
w or JACOBW. Dot Ross? No,

87
00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:03.000
just Jacob dot dart Ross follow him. My buddy Ramsey Nigem's another great

88
00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:06.959
source. And the truth is,
and Jacob and I have never talked to

89
00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:12.920
it on exact topic, but me
and my friend Jen we're talking about the

90
00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:15.079
other day, who's a very high
level coach and has coached multiple folks,

91
00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.959
these clients. If you want to
get in the upper echelon of coaching of

92
00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:23.199
any nature and you want to start
to charge more and whatever down the road,

93
00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:27.079
and obviously it's a little bit of
foresight. Those people have to want

94
00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:31.000
to be around you. So like
your coaching knowledge, you might just need

95
00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:34.920
to be slightly above foundational. You
might need a seven out of ten knowledge.

96
00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:39.879
They don't care if you're reading the
newest, latest study every single day,

97
00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:44.519
if you have the experience, if
you have a good base of knowledge,

98
00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:46.439
right, we don't want to be
idiots, but like a seven out

99
00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.240
of ten and then be closer to
a nine or ten out of ten personable.

100
00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:55.680
The professional side again, the soft
skills, how you communicate, scheduling,

101
00:06:55.839 --> 00:07:00.319
being on time, writing emails on
time, responding on time, all

102
00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:03.720
those things matter just as much.
And personal training. Almost regardless of jim

103
00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:08.720
you go to, you're very much
like an entrepreneur. You're you're in charge

104
00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:11.800
of selling a lot of times,
you're in charge of scheduling a lot of

105
00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.839
times. You have to do a
lot of your own work. So it's

106
00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:20.800
a lot more than just being jacked
on Instagram and fucking prescribing one hundred berpies.

107
00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:25.639
Like the job is is uh is. The job is as big and

108
00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:30.600
as successful as you want to make
it. I think maybe the other piece

109
00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:35.879
is just not not following the crowd, the social media crowd in terms of

110
00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:42.120
exercise selection or any of that kind
of stuff. Any that the really you

111
00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:49.680
know, buzzworthy stuff that isn't gonna
isn't sustainable, isn't isn't doesn't have a

112
00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:54.079
base of evidence around it. Whatever
it. You know, as much as

113
00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:57.279
I hate the term like influencer,
like, it's kind of good we have

114
00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.279
that term now because then we realize
those people are not fitiness professionals. They're

115
00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:05.480
creating influence, Yeah, they're they're
literally Yeah, their job is to try

116
00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:09.560
to pretend they have influence. Yeah, and rather than like, there are

117
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:16.319
good coaches and there are fitness professionals
that do make content, but it's not

118
00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:20.680
everyone with a six pack on the
internet. Yeah, easy, plug,

119
00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:24.720
plug away, Jacob. Where can
they find you a new gym in the

120
00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:28.040
western part of Chicago, somewhere in
the middle of nowhere Illinois. Uh,

121
00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:31.519
you got coaching online Olympics coming up, So yeah, plug website and Instagram.

122
00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:35.240
Just just go to Jacob w Ross
the easiest way. All my links

123
00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:39.039
are there. You can find out
about any and all things that is there.

124
00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:41.480
You guys want to get stronger,
you want to get a little fitter,

125
00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:45.440
you want to feel a little better
in the Jim Jacob's absolute great resource

126
00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:48.639
for any goal. You have a
close friend of ours and uh, hopefully

127
00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:50.639
you have fun of the Olympics,
Buddy, I hope to see a bunch

128
00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:54.919
of pictures and some fun with the
crew, ladies and gentlemen. New episode

129
00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:56.960
Wednesday and Friday. I'm Selom Mike. Where you want to find me?

130
00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:00.720
I Matthej McDonnell of those social media. This show is fifty percent facts or

131
00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.679
percent is a word and fifty is
just numbers. Fifty percent facts. This

132
00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:07.159
is a Spreaker Prime podcast and association
with the Heart Media on the Obscure Celebrity

133
00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:13.799
Network. I want to talk to
you next week. Easy Easy, Breezy,

134
00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.960
Easy Day, Beautiful cover Girl,