From the desk of
Darren Tebbenham
Cotswolds, United Kingdom
May 2020
Dear fitness enthusiast,
Hi. I am genuinely excited for you. There couldn't be a better time than the present to discover the fire inside of you and start living your BEST life as a successful and sought-after fitness professional.
In this letter I will share with you some important truths about what it will take to become highly successful, especially in a crowded industry. These truths are based on the success of our 3000 graduates from 6 continents and more than 30 different countries around the world.
If you are wondering whether being a fitness professional is right for you; whether it will pay and whether you'd be any good at it, I understand!
It's not for everyone. The pre-requisits most certainly are NOT your fitness level. But they are your genuine desire to actually HELP people!
If you seek a career you can really get your teeth into and one that pays BOTH financially and in terms of fullfilment - READ ON
If you are researching but don't really know what you are looking for and find yourself procrastinating and fearful of either choosing the wrong course or simply the wrong profession, this letter will most definitely help!
Choosing a cheap course, following the masses, qualifying with the exact same qualifications as every other trainer out there, failing to differentiate yourself, competing on price, working unsocial hours, earning a poor income and, at the end of the day, falling short are the very REAL concerns of many new and aspiring fitness professionals.
If you want to avoid all these frustrations, obstacles and barriers there are four compelling truths I will share with you that I truly believe will serve you whatever your final decisions and direction for your career...
HERE’S THE EXCITING TRUTH.
If you are here because you REALLY do want to make a difference and stand out as a leader and add value to what is equally a very exciting and growing industry, you are not only in the right place but are about to launch yourself at exactly the right time!
But first…
Beware! Many people "qualify" in fitness but very few ever feel qualified to actually change people's lives for a living. Don't follow the masses.
It takes a great deal more than just knowing a few muscles and how to “train” people to be successful in this industry.
Being capable of selling a true solution to people’s needs and positioning yourself as the go-to expert takes a great deal more than just being "qualified".
But mostly, actually changing people's behaviours i.e. creating new habits is no mean feat! Don't beleive "all you need is a basic level 3 award and a good marketing blueprint".
Let’s start to get to know one another a bit better and explore these 4 truths of success…
4 truths to mastering a fulfilling career in fitness in this crowded industry!
TRUTH #1
The first truth you should know is that you need to be the "real deal", meaning able to operate as a behaviour change expert. You must be able to change what people habitually do to ensure they can accomplish and maintain the results you promise. If not, you’ll start selling what you do by the hour and end up competing with the cheapest trainers out there driving your prices down and frustrations up.
Think about it. It’s NOT what you do when you are with your clients but what they do when you’re NOT around that counts most!
You will also need to know all about exercise and nutrition to confidently steer people in the right direction. It's not going to be good enough to offer them an insight into how you train. You will need a principle-based approach and a client-centred perspective from which to offer your exercise and nutrition guidance and support.
If you want to wake up every morning excited and loving what you do for a living…if you want to go to bed every single night feeling proud about the people’s lives you have changed…and if you want to actually get paid for this and well, KEEP READING!
So, who am I to be sharing this with you? And what makes me qualified to think I can offer such an insight?
My name is Darren Tebbenham and I am the founder of the European Institute of Fitness. I have been a trainer of trainers since 2001 and opened EiF in Spain in 2005. For the past 15 years we have trained 3000 students from 6 continents now thriving in more than 30 different countries around the world.
We don't sell qualifications; we sell successful careers in fitness
Don't work in a health club, be freelance and be your own boss
Don't train bodies, train people
We offer an online course to teach you how
"We imagine a world where people don't need to diet to feel good; where being physically active is habitual and people can look in the mirror and smile at the person looking back!
We ignite students' passion and instil the certainty they need to feel confident they can make a real difference, inspiring them to be and achieve more."
THIS IS OUR WHY!
We position ourselves very differently than any other training provider. We do NOT measure our success on being the biggest or most well known in health clubs. We measure our success based on the success of our students. And we believe their success hangs on their ability to embrace and apply these 4 truths.
We believe YOU too should position yourself differently from other trainers. Indeed, we believe you will need to position yourself as an expert who doesn’t just treat the symptoms of an inactive lifestyle but the root cause as to why so many people struggle with their weight, health and fitness.
And yes by the way, I was a PT. I was a Personal Trainer at the Hilton in Regent Street, London. I ran my own fitness studio in Spain and worked as a PT at one the world’s largest PT studio chains in Australia.
Yes, I have an educational background too. I have a degree in sports science and master’s in sport psychology and was formerly a lecturer at Liverpool University part way through my PhD before I made my own career change into this industry.
We offered residential training from 2005 to 2020 providing a live-in approach to retraining and relaunching yourself as a fitness professional. Expanding from Spain into the UK and then the Middle East and the Maldives, we are very proud of the many graduates now operating as fitness coaches around the world.
EiF Journey from 2005 to present
“It is not the strongest nor the most intelligent of the species that survives, but those most able to adapt” (Darwin)
Over the years the fitness industry has become flooded with poorly trained level 3 instructors. As other training providers cut their prices, reduced course content, automated delivery and mass-produced their courses to compete, we did the opposite.
We raised our prices, improved our course content and stopped selling courses and started selling a true solution for those who genuinely wanted to stand out and thrive. We added more business and coaching to our program and in recent times more online application to ensure our graduates continue to stand out.
MORE BUSINESS | MORE COACHING | MORE ONLINE
Times are changing!
No longer is it OK to follow the crowd
No longer is it OK sell a service
No longer is it enough to just get "qualified"
TRUTH #2
And so, to truth number two - you must sell a result. It is as simple as that. It stops you having to compete on price. It prevents comparison and it differentiates you from the masses. This simple realisation we made a few years back made us add far more business into our training programs. It made us feature the “coaching” element i.e. the part that teaches you how to change people’s behaviour and now movement away from the term "personal trainer" even though you will still graduate a fully qualified and internationally recognised PT.
We really don’t sell fitness courses at all. We do, indeed, sell successful careers in fitness. And this isn’t just a sales line. We deliver a program to ensure our students succeed. We are passionate about it and channel all of our efforts to this end!
Just as you MUST do so too. For us it’s not about the modules or the certifications or the registrations after you finish, but yes the program in amazing, you can register with REPs and CIMSPA and EREPs and travel and gain a £5 million insurance policy as a fitness professional covering you for everything you study with is. But this isn’t the important part. Anyone can do this.
What no one else can do is offer the expertise and total dedication to one thing, and that’s the end result. For you, this is a career you can really get your teeth into where you stand out because of the results you help your clients attain.
You will love what you do because you will be good at it and that isn’t about teaching squats and lunges but about shaping people’s lives…
TRUTH #3
Truth three is about habit coaching and the simple fact this is about what clients do when you are NOT around!
The lies
The deception
And the outright fraud…
MOST TRAINERS DON’T CARE ENOUGH ABOUT THEIR CLIENTS
If they did they would train in behaviour change and habit coaching not just bench presses and squats. This is where you will stand out and command an audience!
Most training courses don’t either. Otherwise, they too would do what we do. And they don’t. And the reason they don't is that it is harder to learn how to change people’s behaviours and habits than teach squats. It takes real expertise to teach it too. And that's what we will teach you.
Some alarming facts!
By 2030 scientists can show if nothing changes half the population will be obese and more than 80% of the population will be overweight. Alarming?
It should be.
Is it because going keto just doesn’t work? No
Is it because intermittent fasting doesn't work? No
Is it because cardio makes you fat? No
Is it because resistance training fails to raise your metabolism? No
Is it that creating a calorie deficit doesn’t actually work? No, of course not
So what is it?
The answer is that people STOP!
That’s it. Regardless of the specific nutrition approach they had adopted and irrespective of the particular fitness program they started, had the NOT stopped they would have likely accomplished their goals.
It’s no more complicated than that. People start but they don’t finish. They stop. And because they stop they don’t get results.
When it comes to what actually works, the truth is boring old routes with regular compound lifting and daily huffy puffy exercise works. The simple truth is eating and drinking sensibly and dealing with problems around snacking, alcohol and emotional based calorie consumption works. It’s not sexy. But it works.
Everything else falls short in the end. Pills, potions, lotions, bands, belts and wraps just don’t work. And if you are anything like me you are tired of seeing people do this to themselves. You feel compelled to help and feel motivated to fight back.
You and I both know that in order to live our fittest, healthiest and most rewarding lives we must master and repeat the same old routines and habits again and again in our training and nutrition every day.
This is not a cool message. But it is the only way. The more accountable, consistent and committed your clients, the better results they will attain and sustain long term. That’s it. And your number one role is to help them become more accountable, consistent and committed. And when you do, they will get amazing results, you will be paid really well standing out the coach who gets clients results! There are no shortcuts. People all around the world need this help. And they need it now.
