Personal training (outdoors and at Bondi Gym), sports massage (at the gym, corporate businesses or sports events) and sports modelling (including: sponsored athlete, INBA 3rd place 2011, MMA/UFC clothing, and MMA calendar main girl 2011).
How did this all come about?
As soon as I had finished school and started my cert 3 and 4. I began doing outdoor training with young athletes at a high school as I was/am very interested in athletics and had been successful myself during school representing my state.
During this time I decided I wanted to help more people on a more personal level and moved onto personal training at Fitness First. I also began competing in Crossfit competitions nationally.
After 2 years of working there and becoming a black level trainer I wanted a new challenge so successfully applied to manage an Anytime Fitness club. I learnt a lot and loved the people.
I was offered more opportunities interstate and overseas, but decided that personal training was my passion. I had also been studying sports massage so this fitted in perfectly with my personal training career as some of my existing clients were in need of treatments or rehab from previous injuries.
At this time I also began training competitively for the Sports model division at body building competitions.
Once I had finished the massage diploma and became a sponsored athlete (sports model) I moved my existing clients as well as some new faces to Bondi Gym. The facility is great and I train myself there also and learn a lot from the other trainers. I also currently train clients outdoors and massage at local businesses to improve ergonomics.
I am currently working on my website for personal training and will be adding more blogs and videos to motivate people to achieve at their highest. My next adventure will be to move into competing in the Fitness model category and continue to train others to accomplish their own goals as well.
There is always something new to learn and I always have so many goals and ideas for myself.
What inspired you to become a personal trainer?
I've always enjoyed sport and have a passion for helping people. My mum is a nurse and inspired me in the health industry to improve the wellbeing of others as well as myself. I also always see images in the media and at the gym of inspirational athletes and amazing bodies and love helping others to improve their health and appearance. It is a real physical and mental kick for people seeing results.
Do you specialize in a particular type of training for your clients/if so, why?
I began with most clients wanting weight loss and toning ? a very general statement from a lot of the public. However my favourite people to train have more specific goals such as running marathons or preparing for photo shoots.
A lot more preparation goes into this type of training with macro/micro cycles being a big part of everything all coming together, I love working with tables and figures so you get to really see why the results work.It?s also a lot of fun being a part of events such as the Sydney Marathon and meeting your client at the end for a nice massage and stretch session (if they haven?t convinced you to do it with them).
How well do you think your personal training accreditation course prepare you for the real world of operating a personal training business?
I found cert 3 and 4 very basic, but we did do some great assignments that included a business plan and everything was relevant. Each year trainers must complete CEC points by doing extra courses, which I think is where the most knowledge is learnt, other than from talking to others and comparing ideas with other professionals in the industry.
What is the best piece of business advice you have ever received?
?Listen to others, but make your own decisions.??
There are so many inspirational people out there, but everyone has different ideas on what works and why. Experiment with your own concepts based on research because everyone?s bodies and minds are different, do what works for you and your clients, listen to advice but act only on what you think is beneficial.
Could you briefly describe the last promotion you ran for your business?
I run a fun competition every month where my clients compete against each other doing mini circuits for prizes. They can bring friends along too who often decide to train with me as well. I also give all my clients lots of pretty gift vouchers on special occasions to give to friends.
People feel special and enjoy little challenges. It also gives you the opportunity to pick up more clients that haven?t already come to you through word of mouth.
Do you use any social media channels for your business?How do you use it and how successful has it been for you?
I have a facebook fan page and twitter account, however I have been a bit lazy on them, but have come up with some ideas so I can update them more regularly and use them to my advantage..STAY TUNED!
What type of marketing has had the greatest return in terms of new clients?
Word of mouth without a doubt! Although because this has worked so well for me I found myself relying on this alone. You can?t put all your eggs in one basket, always keep 1 step ahead and educated on new ideas so you always have new interest in your business.
How important is your personal branding to your business?
Being friendly and having your clients get excited to train because they are meeting you is a great motivational tool for them as well as creating a strong loyalty for the long term. When the idea of training pops into their mind you should be the first thing they think of. My clients probably couldn?t tell you the name of my personal training business ?forging physiques? but they all know they are training with ?Katey? every Monday at 6am for example.Speaking of Personal branding; has being an active sports model competitor helped your business, if so why do you think it is? And how do you promote your business with being a competitive athlete?
Having more exposure always helps with marketing, whether people have seen you modelling, at the gym or at ASN it is all exposure.
I would definitely say more people are interested in training with me once they have seen me train myself. A lot of people are under the impression that sports models just prance around at the gym and occasionally do some leisurely cardio. In actual fact we train like mini body builders: big weights, cardio, dieting and supplements. People?s impressions go from ?show pony? to ?shit she might hurt me? within 5 mins of a session.
I usually take business cards with me anywhere I go as people often ask for themselves or friends for training or diet advice. ASN also refer people to me or the gym as its just up the road and supplementation with training go hand in hand.
Although the exposure itself helps, most clients are not too concerned with your goals, REMEMBER personal training is about them NOT YOU.
What advice would you give a new personal trainer just getting into the industry?
Work absolutely as hard as you can in the beginning.
You are going to be very tired, but the harder you work in the beginning the less work you need to do later on. I have people still training with me from the very beginning and others that have come back to me because I had done so much for them before.Even if you know someone is not going to be able to afford training with you or circumstances don?t allow for it, always still give 100% when dealing with them because situations change and when they do those people will remember you and then you are going to be the one benefiting.
Not to mention word of mouth, even if someone cant train with you maybe they have a friend or colleague who is looking for a trainer ? and now they know a great one!
The best part of being a personal trainer?
Meeting new people, changing not only their bodies but their thought processes positively and learning about yourself and your own goals as well. The constant journey and the results make it all worthwhile. Not to mention that your clients still love you even in your trackies and no makeup!
The toughest part of being a trainer?
Having a client tell me they ?hate salad so much they took the lettuce off their big mac?. The mental challenges are often the toughest when taking on a client to achieve their goals, you can put in the hard work but if they are not committed you can feel useless.
One thing you would have done differently if you had to start your PT business all over again?
Nothing, and not because everything I have done is right, but because I have made mistakes for a reason, everything I have done so far has brought me to this exact point where I am right now. I?m ready for more challenges and am loving what I am doing.
Your proudest moments as a personal trainer?
Firstly: watching my client Sam cross the line after a marathon, asthma puffer in 1 hand, band aids on his heels, shirtless, but smiling and yelling at me ?I beat last years? time by 15mins!?
Secondly: looking through wedding photos with my client Serena of her looking gorgeous in a dress that was 4 dress sizes too small for her when we had started training one year ago.
Lastly: seeing my client Yoko an x Olympic gymnast from new Zealand beat cancer and still smile through ever session!
BIO:
Katey Shelley Leal
I?m a very independent person and am always looking to improve myself through education or training. I love having goals to work towards, which is one of the reasons why I love to compete. I also love making new friends and meeting new people, which isn?t hard in this industry!
I?m very hard on myself but the more knowledgeable I become and the more I compete the more confident I am becoming, it?s the best feeling when even the people you see every day say ?wow?.
Interests:
-I?m definitely in my domain when im at the beach! Just add some training and it can?t get better.
-I love being creative but I think ill leave that up to the experts and stick with what I?m good at haha
-I love my friends they mean a lot to me and I really appreciate them especially because they need to put up with my demanding training schedule. They are great and understand that competing means a lot to me and are always there to support me (and have a cheeky cheat meal when it?s over)
Favourites (Food, Bodyparts, People):
Food ? I?m addicted to Nutella (but resist temptation)
Body Part ? Abs and Arms on males and Legs and Butt on females
People ? anyone who can make me laugh (not very hard to do though) and anyone who does whatever it takes to reach their goals ? that?s important to me
Motivations:
Watching others achieve their goals and setting challenges for myself. I have a huge album at home that I always look at of people I think who have amazing characteristics or written meaningful quotes.Training History:
I have always played various sports from a young age. I?ve had a home gym since I was 16 and started competing in crossfit at age 18 when I began working at a gym.
I became interested in sports modelling and began competing in Australian and International competitions in early and soon become an ASN sponsored athlete. My last title was 3rd place at INBA May 2011.
Training Schedule (Training Style and Tips)
Weights: Mainly free weights, some machines, some cables 5 days per week
Cardio: 1 hour per day: depending on what I?m training for can vary from interval sprints or just going for a walk on the beach.
My number one tip is to listen to your body! No single person can tell you how fast you should be running or how heavy you should be lifting you have to progress as your body lets you, so push for the next weight on the stack and go for it.
Nutrition:
Consists of lean meats, fish, fresh fruit, vegetables, salads, nuts, egg whites and protein shakes. Lots of water!!
Competition History:
- National/international Sports model/bikini divisions: IFBB and ANB 2010 recent title INBA 2011 3rd Place)
- Crossfit affiliate games competitions 2008-2010
- NSW State level athletics 2004-2007
- Always been involved in various sports: athletics, dancing, kickboxing, gymnastics, touch football, netball, swimming squad.
I love training my clients and seeing them achieve their goals no matter how big or small, so im committed to them, but I would also love to pursue a sports modelling career. I want to maintain a healthy and athletic body that others can be inspired to achieve their own fitness goals and make sporty look sexy not scary!
Media Coverage:
I construct and feature in various articles in the fitness section of Cosmopolitan Magazine including advice and issues faced by myself or other women and perform video demos for the Cosmopolitan website.
I also Model brands such as Veve swimwear and MMA training wear.
Best Advice:
Listen to others advice, but make your own decisions and follow your own path. You will always have critics, if they get to you, pretend they don?t!
Supplements Used:
- Pre Workout supps: Define 8, Infernos, haemodrene, L carnatine, black powder
- Post workout supps: Proto Whey protein, Scivaction Xtend
- Vitamins: Scivaction fatty acids, Women?s multi vitamins.
You can contact Katey Via:
Forging Physiques Website
On Facebook
And Twitter
Source: http://mybusinessisfitness.blogspot.com/2011/06/personal-trainer-spotlight-katey.html
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