We get to know Tiana Gonzalez in this Trainer spotlight episode of FITLETE Radio.
GEORGE: Introduce yourself and tell us a little about what you do and your background.
My name is Tiana Gonzalez, and I'm from the Tri-State area of New York City. My social media handle is Tiana's Mind and Moves, and my former business name was Fit by Tiana LLC. Now, I say former because about two or three years ago, I decided, you know what, I want to do more than just fitness. I have a background in dance, martial arts, powerlifting, CrossFit, and most importantly, competitive bodybuilding. In fact, I got my IFBB Pro Card in 2010 and figure. And it was in the pursuit of getting my Pro Card and figure that I did quite a number to my metabolism and to my overall health. Now, all of the lessons that I learned, digging myself out of that hole, finding my way back to normalcy, to getting my hormones under control, and to, I mean, I say this in air quotes, fix my metabolism. Those lessons that I learned and all of the different areas, whether it was with an endocrinologist or my gynecologist or my integrative medicine doctor, like all of those things put together is what really fueled me to get into the fitness industry in the first place. So I left behind this amazing career where I was making six figures in commercial real estate, still using my engineering degree. I walked away from it all in 2013 to pursue fitness full time. And it's been a ride. It's been a rollercoaster up and down. And I've realized, like I said, over the last two or three years that the impact that I want to make is much bigger than just fitness. I want the everyday person to understand that with a little bit of discipline and a whole lot of consistency, they could make ripples that will have a long-term effect for the better for their health, wellness, and longevity.
GEORGE: Tell me a funny or interesting story about yourself that help's us get to know you as a human.
I have a very funny side to myself. In fact, the ongoing joke at the gym that I hear from people often is like, I knew you were here. I didn't see you, but I knew you were here because I heard you laughing. And I tend to laugh at myself quite a lot. So a very funny story, and I'm glad you mentioned Tennessee because I am blessed and fortunate enough to be on staff with Power Monkey. And Power Monkey Fitness holds a camp in Tennessee twice a year. It's a week-long retreat in the middle of the woods on a campground, and it is so fun. It is a week of fitness and recreation and just community. It's so awesome. And obviously, I've been there seven times, so I know a lot of the people. I know how things flow. And I want to say a year ago, on the first day that I arrived at camp, now you got a picture, there's like a big gym, and it's more of like a open tent, if you will, or an open building that has garage doors on each end. And there's gymnastics equipment and padded flooring and a basketball court. And there's just different things staged that are set up for the camp experience. But outside of the building, it's all gravel. And a friend of mine was doing some photos with our on-staff photography team for merch. And I mean, it's like quick turnaround, right? We take photos, and then somebody is uploading them to the website and onto the Facebook group same day. And that's an opportunity for people at camp to make sure they see what merch is available and purchase it, or people at home. And so she was posing for a photo. I think I'm being slick. I go running right across, and I'm skidding on my shoes, and just as I get right in between her and the cameraman, I end up sliding, wiping out. And to this day, I still have a big scrape on my left thigh. It was hilarious.
GEORGE: What strategies do you use to attract and retain clients in your personal training business?
My number one strategy to attract and retain clients is that I know exactly who I serve and I take an inventory periodically. I would say maybe every other month I'll sit down and this exercise may sound a little outside the box but this has really worked for me. I sit down with a pen and paper and I write out who do I serve and I'm talking about from details to where they live, what kind of car they drive, what their family unit looks like, what type of work they do, how much money do they invest in their self-care, how they think about health and wellness. And I'm able to attract the right people because the thing is no matter what kind of communication it is, whether it's a verbal conversation or over the phone or whether it's in person or it's over a video call, what I say, what I mean, what you hear and what you understand, those are all variables in a conversation. So what else can you bring to it that is none of those four things that I just said? And it's the energy, right? So energy, like attracts like. So if I go into a conversation with somebody and I'm excited and I know that this could be great, without being overbearing, usually that good energy and that lightheartedness will keep it flowing, keep it light. And then the person's guard is down and we can just figure it out. Like, hey, is this a good fit? Are we a good fit for each other? So I think one of the biggest mistakes I made when I was a new trainer is like I wanted to help everybody. I would work with anybody. I would take a session at any time of day on any day of the week. And guess what? I realized that being more focused and going deep on that focus as opposed to casting the net wide, it actually helped me build a better business. Now, as far as retaining clients, I check in with my clients once a month to ask them, how are they doing? How are they feeling about the programming? And we check to see, are we making progress?
GEORGE: What is your process for assessing a new client's fitness level and addressing their goals?
I like people to show me where they're at as opposed to telling me where they're at. So when I'm doing an assessment with someone, I am looking at some basic movements to get us started off. Even in the warmup, for example, like let's say we're going to do a lower body, I'll have them show me some air squats, and I will tell them up front, hey, listen, I'm going to give you minimal coaching right now. I want you to do this, and I'll show them a couple of reps of whatever the movement is. Let's say it's an air squat. And I'll tell them intentionally, I'm not going to coach you right now. I want to see what you do naturally. And then we'll take it from there. I'm collecting data. And it does take me a little bit of time to really get a good feel for where this person's at, because now that they know I'm watching, nine times out of 10, people do things differently. It's just like when you tell somebody, okay, you want help with your nutrition, like write down everything you eat for two days, and then I'll take a look at it. And just knowing in the back of their mind that you're observing changes the behavior. So I start with looking at movement from the primary mover. If it's a squat, for example, I'll look at the ankles, the feet, the big toe. I'm analyzing every little movement. I'll listen to their breath. I'll watch to see if they're bracing their core. Let's say it's a compound lift, like a squat with the barbell or a barbell deadlift. Do they know how to set up? And it's surprising how sometimes people who I find to be a little more athletically inclined, or they were an athlete when they were kids, they tend to progress or be in a position further ahead than where they think they are. And then other times, and this happens a lot too, I'll be working or talking to somebody and the way they just explain themselves like, yeah, I take this class, I do this, I do that. And then you get them out on the platform and they don't know any terminology or have no understanding of what it is I'm asking of them. So I think it's super interesting.
GEORGE: What certifications do you hold, and how do you stay updated on the latest fitness trends and research?
I currently have NASM, CPT, and PES, which is the Performance Enhancement Specialist Certification. I have actually let some of the certifications that I once held expire. And why? Because they're not relevant anymore. For example, at one point in time, I had not only those two certifications, I also had USAW Level 1, CrossFit Level 1, and CrossFit Kids. And I don't coach CrossFit any longer, and I definitely don't need to renew. So I let them lapse. I think it was five years for each one of those, and I let them lapse. Now, for my CEUs, I go to Power Monkey Camp twice a year. I'm on staff, and when I have a break, I'll sit in on some of the sessions. So that's how I can accumulate continuing education credits. I also am big on reading, listening to podcasts, and I'm a big advocate for in-person. Fit by Tiana was an online brand, and I am not doing online coaching at the moment. I am doing exclusively in-person, one-on-one training, and I love it. I absolutely love it because, again, it's more about being focused and having tunnel vision. I know who I serve. I know the best way to deliver my services. And if I have something in the wings that's not relevant, I don't need it right now. It doesn't mean I won't do it again in the future. I am actually thinking about maybe getting my USAW Level 1 again just to see if the material has been updated since I took the cert six years ago. I'm sure it has. But yeah, I'm all about less is more and trim the fat.
GEORGE: How do you envision your personal training business evolving in the next few years?
I know that the personal training industry is forever evolving and I also know that the basics will never fail the vast majority of folks. So when we're talking about our business and evolving for the future, my personal goals include doing more collaboratory work, just like this, being on podcasts. I'm potentially considering starting my own podcast and believe it or not I actually had about eight episodes recorded. I think they're on my MacBook somewhere but I didn't do anything with them. But work like that, collaboratory work, in-person, networking, seminars, workshops, and also just continuing to do the best work I possibly can for the people that I serve. The people that I serve now and the people that I will be serving in the future. It's interesting because I have actually done something a little bit backwards. When I started my brand in 2013, the idea was to be completely online and after, I don't know, I think 2021, I left behind all of the hybrid work and went fully remote and I was miserable. So I've gone back to exclusively training in person and I love it. I have never been happier. It's been life-changing for me. Do I think that I'll go back to online coaching? Maybe, but right now I'm loving the in-person coaching. And yeah, there's a limit to that, right? There's only so many hours in the day, there's only so many people you can see per day, and I get that. But there's other ways to complement the business. For example, like I said, all those collaboratory projects. There is a book in my brain that I do eventually want to publish at some point. And like I said, I really do think if you do good work, people will stick with you long-term.
GEORGE: What do you think are the biggest challenges currently facing the fitness & personal training industry?
The biggest challenge that I see and that I used to face is people having unrealistic expectations. So they expect in 90 days to make this wild transformation that they saw somebody else do online without really knowing the full story. And I don't necessarily run into this too much with my clients because I keep it real right from the start. And I explain to them that my intention and my goal is a balance that I'm going to strike between facilitating an excellent workout every time I see them and educating them and empowering them so that they could come to the gym and know what they're doing by themselves or workout when they go on vacation or just be inspired to show up on the days that they don't have an appointment with me. Now remember, I am working exclusively in person at the moment. And it's very different because online coaching, you are trusting that the person is actually going to go to the gym. I'm in a gym and I'm there every day in person. So I'm actually seeing people and I can look and see if they've been checking in so I can stalk people. It actually works out really well because I feel, for me and my business, a little bit more integrated in this person's life because they actually see me as opposed to sending out a program and just hoping, wishing, praying that they're doing everything the way I intended them to do it and with the same volume and intensity and the vigor and passion. No, I'm actually seeing them. So I think that people just try to understand, you're comparing your 90-day challenge results to a pro bodybuilder who's been doing it for 28 years. There's no comparison, so don't hurt your own feelings.
Want more Tiana Gonzalez in your life? You can find’em here:
Message: tiana@fitbytiana.com
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