How to Be a High Intensity Trainer: Interview with Jay Vincent, Founder of BioFit Personal Training

 

High intensity training (or “HIT” for short) is disrupting the traditional mentality many people have when it comes to working out and staying fit.

Jay Vincent is the founder and master high intensity trainer at BioFit Personal Training, with locations in Clifton Park and Albany, New York.

He also offers an online bodybuilding course Jay Vincent’s HIT: Ultimate Physique where he “shows you the exact workout and techniques he uses to build his photo-shoot ready physique.”

In between client training sessions, Jay shared with us more information about high intensity training, how he started as a high intensity trainer, challenges faced by fitness training business owners, and tips for HIT beginners.

How did you get started with high intensity training (HIT)?

I came across HIT while doing research to find the most effective way to add muscle.

I had just been accepted into a prestigious modeling agency in New York City but they told me I had to add some muscle. I was 190lbs and about 7-8% body fat at the time. But fitness modeling is a very competitive industry so unless I could get a little bigger, chances of me booking work was slim.

I had been training for about 6 years at this point and haven’t seen much in terms of muscle growth for the previous 3-4 years. I came across a presentation by Dr. Doug McGuff where he explained basic exercise physiology and the concept of high intensity training.

I applied these principles to my training; less exercises; shorter workout session times; harder and more intense training to muscular failure…I began to grow.

Within about 4 months I was up to 200 lbs and began booking work with companies like MuscleTech, Under Armour, and Mens Fitness just to name a few.

How did you start your high intensity training business, BioFit Personal Training?

After an impressive change in my physique, people began to ask me how I did it.

I quickly found myself instructing workouts using HIT principles to friends, family and acquaintances in my spare time. I saw that it could be a lucrative business so I began taking on clients at my local gym.

After about a year or so I found a studio in Loudonville, NY that instructed this type of training using the best equipment I couldn’t get access to. I checked out the studio and the owner asked me to become a high intensity trainer there. I accepted his offer and worked there for about a year and a half before I decided to branch off and open my own studio in Clifton Park.

I now own the studio I originally started working at along with my Clifton Park studio.

What are some of the challenges fitness business owners should expect when running their own business?

The most challenging part of a new business venture is how you stack up against the competition.

The simple question is: “Why would a customer choose your service or your product over what the competition is offering?”

I found that addressing this question is one of the most important aspects of the success for the new business.

Personally, my business offers a more time-efficient workout, a much safer workout (there has never been an injury at Biofit), a more effective workout, and a more private workout environment.

These are areas where almost every commercial gym and personal training facility lack. Beating the competition is easy with my business model.

All businesses should try to gain an upper hand on their competition even if it means sacrificing revenue in the beginning.

Any tips for someone just getting started in high intensity training?

A new trainee should find a qualified high intensity trainer if one is available near them before beginning this protocol.

A good HIT instructor will teach you the fundamentals of the training, show you how to properly perform the exercises and allow you to feel what a proper HIT workout feels like so you have a reference point.

Many people may think they are training properly using HIT principles but sadly most are not.

A good high intensity trainer will help you get the absolute most out of your HIT training and take the workout to a level that you will not be able to replicate on your own.

If you cannot get a high intensity trainer then there are some key principles that must be followed:

1. The workout must be intense and uncomfortable.
2. The workout must be short in duration. No more than 30-45 minutes.
3. The workout must be infrequent, just a few workouts per week is adequate.
4. Each exercise must be performed using slow reputations and must be carried to muscular failure.

 

Muscular failure is the point of an exercise where your body can no longer perform the exercise in good form. It is “stuck”.

This phenomenon is what stimulates your body to improve. If you are not pushing your body to a point that it can not handle, your body will not improve.

How can someone learn more about BioFit Personal Training and high intensity training from you?

You can learn more at www.BioFitNY.com

Also check us out on Facebook: BioFit Personal Training

Instagram: @BioFitNY

Youtube: Jay Vincent