Post #3 - Getting Acquainted with the Gym
Alarm clock: 4:25am. I need to be out of my house by 4:45, I don't make it so I called a car service to pick me up and take me to Brooklyn Heights. Due to oversight in how long it would take to get there I ended up getting to they gym just a little after 5am. Luckily Jose, another opener, was there to greet me.
The club opens right at 5:30am and it's amazing how busy it is by 6. The fitness floor is spattered with upper class, middle-aged professionals sweating it out. By 7 it seems all the personal trainers are with their clients.
You don't just jump into the training, of course it takes training. They just wanted to make sure that everyone they hired knew a bit about fitness so we could withstand the "floor shift." Every trainer is required to about 20 hours a week on the floor. This means we're picking up weights, spotting people, walking around meeting and greeting potential clients. We also have sporadic duties, like class counts (counting the number of members taking each group fitness class) and we're the "in case of emergency" person. I figure out pretty quickly this is all a bunch of BS. I start talking to all the trainers as they're between clients and get as much knowledge from them as possible. They all say it's virtually impossible to get clients on the floor shift, and you just have to pass the time. I even got some tips for taking naps... where and when you can slip away into the massage tables in the spa and grab a few zzzzzz's. Nice help.
All in all the first day and the next few weeks goes smoothly. It seems the two PT managers (the manager, Debra and the assistant manager, Christen) are somewhat flaky, not showing up for appointments and constantly not really giving enough training, but this makes them wonderful managers once you get started. They're the opposite of my boss at my other job, the ultimate micro-manager. When I was in my interview with Debra she said "I want you to make money, because when you make money, I make money, but I'm not going to bug you about it unless I think you're not making your potential amount." Pretty genius, except when you're one of the few people that get hired with virtually no experience.
