If you missed the first 3 installments in this series I encourage you to check them out before reading Part 4 Part 1 is Jon Goodman's opinions on certifications for personal training. You can check it out here Part 2 is a description of the major certifying agencies and details about their PT designations. You can check it out here Part 3 of this series on what certification in personal training you should get is Sam Leahey's opinion of the importance of internships. You can check it out here A lot of people ask me how I started my career in fitness by interning at one of the best gyms out there. I'd like to say it chose me, not the other way around. You see, you get what you consume your thoughts with. You will always be attracting something, whether that something is good or bad is your choice.

"It chose me, not the other way around"

I haven't been in the industry for too long, in fact, I don't even have my certification in personal training yet. After reading one of Eric Cressey's articles about people that are new to the industry, I realized that a certificate is just a piece of paper, and that I needed to intern somewhere before I'd take the exam. That choice changed everything for me.

Now, why Results Fitness? I knew for me to become the best I needed to learn from the best. After attending Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove's "From Counting Reps To Counting Revenue" fitness business seminar, mentorship, and also reading their articles and books I soon learned that there's no bullshit with these guys. They're the go to people when it comes to not only anything fitness related, but also business and sales. In short, they were the summary of all my wants and needs in an excellent internship. So to break it down to you, these were the specific things I was looking for in choosing the right internship:

  • People that have been successful and still are

I wanted to make sure that the place I was going to intern at would have a good record and that they've had great results with clients in the past and still is.

  • A place that carries the same core values as me

Core values are huge to me. It's who I am and by being aware of them I'm setting the standard on how I want and expect life to be handled. Learning from someone, or working at a place that doesn't have the same core values as me (or none at all!) would never work out. I was looking for a place that not only were talking about what they believe in (because we all know how easy it is to say things and not act upon it), but also practicing these values. This was one of the first and most important things I noticed about Results Fitness, and the main reason I knew I had to come back to work for them. I observed how they were living it out, not faking the smiles or pretending to learn and improve. Having great core values can't possibly be hidden. The true colors will always shine through.

Besides, you take on the attributes of those around you. So make sure they've got good core values.

  • Their expertise

Everyone has a special skill in something. Eric Cressey deals with baseball guys, Mike Boyle ice hockey and Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove is fatloss. It was a no brainer for me to choose Results Fitness. I wanted to be the best I can be at fatloss, sales and business.

  • Relationships

"It's who you know that gets you inside the door, and what you know will keep you there." There are millions of people that are very intelligent and educated, but yet not thriving in their business. Unfair? Yes, life is unfair. Like the Cosgroves say; "it's not about working hard, or even smart, it's about working RIGHT." One of the ways of working right for me was to create good relationships with well known and well spoken of fitness professionals to get me one step ahead.

"It's who you know that gets you inside the door, and what you know will keep you there."

Always remember that the two keys to success are to do a great job and to make sure that everybody knows about it.

  • A place where I can learn as much as possible as fast as possible

The whole Results Fitness team is the most talented and intelligent group of people I've ever met. Alwyn and Rachel were very smart about hiring every single one working there right now. The program designers, Mike Wunch and Craig Rasmussen were probably happy for me leaving for some time as I was always "messing in their kitchen" (but they're not getting rid of me quite yet!). So many benefits...

Interning at Results Fitness has benefited me in every way. Like I talked about earlier, it's not so much how smart you are that will make you succeed. By being at Results Fitness, I've built the foundation I wanted before starting my career in fitness.

Great opportunities are continuing to present themselves for me now, but most importantly I've created relationships with some amazing people I wouldn't have gotten to otherwise. It's by those relationships I've learned, and am continuing to learn, more than I ever could even if I was going to the best universities in the world. If it's one thing I want you to remember after reading this article, it's how important it is to learn from the giants. It's not wise to depend upon yourself if you want to become the best you can be. Do some research and find a facility that are representing those things you believe in, with people that are specializing in what you want to become better at, and go intern there. I can't promise you'll get rich from your internship (not while interning that is...), but I can promise you this;

"You're going to walk out of there with a new confidence in what you do, great relationships with people you admire and become a better coach. "

That's how you start you career in fitness.