Chapters
- 01. 'Mens Sana in Corpora Sano': Profile Of A Fitness Trainer
- 02. The Main Benefits Of Personal Fitness Training
- 03. Enhance Your Performance With a Balanced Diet
- 04. Invest in Your Personal Development
- 05. How To Become A Personal Trainer
- 06. A Few More Reasons To Get Into Personal Training
- 07. To Summarise:
If it is true that working out with a certified personal trainer is beneficial on many grounds – in terms of motivation, weight loss or to adopt a different philosophy, imagine the positive impact that becoming a personal trainer would have on you!
Just think, you'd be in the gym most days, teaching others about and advocating a healthy diet, not to mention meeting other like-minded individuals who love fitness and all of the positive things it brings.
Let us discover together how that feeling of fulfilment athletes seem to enjoy is as much a result of their physical performance as their mental and psychological preparation.
Does their healthy lifestyle have anything at all to do with their overall well-being?
We think so.
'Mens Sana in Corpora Sano': Profile Of A Fitness Trainer
This Latin phrase literally translates to: a healthy mind in a healthy body.
As a personal trainer in a gym, or an in-home fitness trainer, you would surely maintain optimal physical conditioning as well as a calm, balanced disposition.
Many who have made a career in fitness training aver that the stifling feeling they operated under in their more traditional work situation was the strongest motivation for earning their personal training certification.
Less stress in your daily life could result in fewer bad habits, such as excess coffee or partaking of nicotine.
You really wouldn't want such substances attributed to your performance; it would be one of the quickest ways to lose credibility as a health and wellness professional!
If you no longer have to endure endless days in front of a computer screen or get barked at by a micromanaging boss, most likely you won't need the caffeine to stay awake or the nicotine to calm you down anyway!
Becoming a self-employed personal fitness mentor means you are giving yourself the autonomy you've craved for so long: to set your schedule, choose your clients and do what you love!
Discover how personal training would be a career love!
Add to that the fact that no one will shout orders or make demands of you, you are virtually guaranteed an automatic reduction in stress and tension.
Will your calmer disposition rub off on your clients? Will your encouraging motivate them; push them to work harder on attaining their fitness goals?
We think so.
The Main Benefits Of Personal Fitness Training
If you have decided to become a trainer, at-home or in a gym, it is most likely for two purposes:
1. Human contact and the transmission of knowledge gives you a deep sense of purpose.
Indeed, working in the personal services sector, in general, requires a certain skills set that includes: communication, pedagogy, a good disposition, and the ability to encourage, motivate and promote your clients.
2. Physical activity is already a large part of your life; maybe even a way of life for you.
You cannot conceive of a life without workouts; without cardio or endurance training, or even a more holistic approach to health and fitness, such as yoga or other flexibility sessions.
If being active is beneficial for your students; allows them to sleep better, lose weight more efficiently and even improves their overall well-being, know that you too will reap those rewards.
From a physical perspective, exercise places you inside a virtuous circle.
Be you a trainer or student in a gym class, fitness class, resistance training or strength training; any exercising will make you sleep better.
Feeling more rested each morning will give you more energy throughout the day which, in turn, will contribute to a lasting good mood.
With each passing day, you will feel more motivated; ready for any challenges ahead!
One caveat: you should partition your workouts from your clients', as your focus should be on their physical conditioning when you're in a session with them.
Besides, wouldn't your workouts be vastly different than, say, those you design for senior fitness, youth fitness or postnatal mothers?
We think so.
Discover more reasons you might become a personal trainer...
Enhance Your Performance With a Balanced Diet
If your primary objective as a personal fitness coach is to provide education, whether on general fitness principles or specialized to muscular reinforcement, you should cultivate a knowledge base in complementary fields such as nutrition.
As your knowledge of exercise science expands, so too should your nutritional competencies.
Should a client approach you, asking for a training program targeted to fat loss, naturally you would conduct a fitness assessment, including a review of his/her food intake.
Just as you would not start such a fitness hopeful out on a high-intensity workout, you should not leave without counselling him/her on proper food and calorie intake.
Should that aspect of your duties as fitness trainer be neglected, surely any gains made in functional training would be lost on bad food choices that client might make.
All expectations of workout programs aside, nutritional needs and caloric requirements vary from person to person.
You might consider partnering with a dietitian, rather than flying on common sense or relying on Internet education.
For example, a bodybuilder would need a lot of protein in his/her diet, but someone with abdominal issues might not be able to break down those essential amino acids very well.
Whatever knowledge you amass for the purpose of educating your students should also apply to you.
You could hardly coach weight lifting if you had no muscle mass, or – more generously, little muscle tone.
Likewise, you would strain credulity leading a group fitness lesson targeting abs if your own gut strains your workout jersey.
The important thing is to demonstrate consistency with the services you offer by applying to yourself what you are advocating for the success of your students.
The maxim "Do as I say, not as I do" must not figure in your work as a fitness professional. You must be beyond reproach so that your clients will have confidence in you and feel fully cared for.
Wouldn't it be well worth it to diversify your services, embody the best of sports conditioning to provide the ultimate fitness guidance for your clients?
We think so.
Invest in Your Personal Development
Everyone who has made the leap into the fitness industry as a personal fitness trainer has his/her own motivations.
For financial reasons, to free themselves of the tyranny of salaried life and a rigid schedule, or simply because that is where they feel they can do the most good...
One characteristic often seen in those who have earned their personal trainer certification is the willingness to take control of their lives.
In fact, the very focus of their professional life is on personal development and fulfilment!
Well, on the surface it's mostly helping clients grow and thrive through sport, but even that lofty ideal cannot be called altruistic.
The notion of personal development can be quite difficult to define because the concept varies from person to person.
The psychological definition of personal development includes the knowledge and activities that improve self-awareness and identity, talent and potential... and contributes to the realisation of dreams and aspirations.
If you are not yet wholly confident of your capabilities – you're uncertain of what stage of personal development you are currently at, becoming an online fitness instructor might just be your niche!
Although not working in the same space as your clients, you can still:
- Improve your interpersonal skills
- Increase your self-esteem
- Refine your teaching methods and how you communicate
No matter if you have never addressed a group or conducted personal training sessions before; with your passion for sports, your knowledge of exercise physiology, and a sincere desire to help others, you will soon hit your stride.
And every lesson you teach will make you better!
Your earnest desire to learn all that you can about your chosen field may drive your back in the classroom.
Whereas UK law requires personal trainers to be certified at least to Level 3 for personal training sessions in a gym or at home, you could further your education by taking courses in fitness nutrition, marketing – to effectively promote your services, and even get your AED certification.
Naturally, you could also obtain your Level 4 fitness instructor certification...
In all cases, it is important to remember that your education as a fitness program designer would not be complete without input from your clients.
Your students, individual though they are, each have something to teach you, be it patience, gentleness, kindness, the resilience of spirit...
In other words: expertise in fitness programs does not make you the best teacher; being ever on the quest to learn more does.
Find for yourself available online teaching jobs here.
How To Become A Personal Trainer
It seems like a lot of people are personal trainers, or PTs, these days. To be a male Love Island contestant, for example, it feels like you have to be either a fitness trainer or a model! But while it is fast becoming a popular job, that by no means suggests that it is an easy line of work to get into. Personal trainers, aside from the need to reach a certain level of fitness themselves to physically be able to train others, must also pass a number of assessments to qualify to mentor others on how to be fit and healthy.
People wishing to become professional personal trainers would, in most cases, already be interested in fitness and possibly already from a fitness background professionally. Many personal trainers start off their careers as fitness instructors, acquiring one or more of the following diplomas to prove their skill and ability:
- Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing – Gym
- Level 2 Diploma in Health, Fitness, and Exercise Instruction
- Level 2 Diploma in Instructing Exercise and Fitness
Once a person has reached this level of expertise, they can go on to study towards a more specific certificate, such as:
- Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instructing and Personal Training
- Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training
Enrolling to take these nationally-recognised diplomas isn't the only way to achieve your goal of becoming a personal trainer. There are various courses available via colleges or private training providers which can offer you an equivalent level of experience and skill.
While you can choose which way you enter the profession, you cannot get away from paying for public liability insurance as a personal trainer, nor can you get by without a first aid award.
Another optional extra is gaining membership of related professional bodies like the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) or the National Register of Personal Trainers (NRPT). These are great to have on your CV or PT profile as they show that you are serious about your commitment to fitness and also demonstrate your competence within the area.
A Few More Reasons To Get Into Personal Training
If you are already considering training to become a fitness trainer, then we probably don't have to tell you about the benefits as you will already be looking forward to getting stuck in as soon as you've qualified! However, we'd still like to reiterate or highlight a few excellent reasons to work with people on improving their level of fitness.
1. Access to equipment / Time to train
Gym membership and setting up a home gym are quite expensive, but if you are a personal instructor then you may get your fees paid for at a local fitness centre. Moreover, if you do wish to create your own gym at home, then you may get good deals on used equipment or offered items at cost price. Regardless of how much you pay, if you look at the outgoings as a business expenditure then it's not as bad as it first seems!
Another thing that people struggle most with when it comes to their health is having the time to dedicate to a session in the gym. As a professional fitness trainer, the gym is your office so you need not worry about putting time aside to look after your body. Of course, you won't be working up a sweat yourself during all those hours spent in the gym, but you have the option to do some training alongside your client and, when all of your appointments for the day are complete, you are already there and can immediately get some of your own training in before you head home.
No need to motivate yourself to get to the gym, no need to travel... it couldn't be more convenient to train!
2. Helping others
Okay, so you may not be a doctor, able to cure people of illnesses, but your role in the community is vital because you are still helping people. And not just helping someone walk across the street as a one-off gesture of goodwill, or give someone that 20p that they need to pay for parking - in the grand scheme of things you are helping someone to be the best they can be and inspiring them to take their health seriously. It is the work you put into helping someone reach their goal weight or to get fit for a sporting event that could ultimately prevent them from becoming ill. Remember, therefore, that you must take your role as a Certified Personal Trainer equally as seriously.
Furthermore, many people find a sense of freedom when they are training in the gym, so you could be that person who helps to bring joy into their life! For some, you could even help them change their lives and turn their bad habits around for good!
3. A career / financial stability
There will always be a place for fitness experts in this world. In fact, gyms, exercise classes and a general awareness of healthy habits are all on the rise, so you can bet that your personal instructor training will lead to a healthy job prospect.
What's more, with people beginning to understand the importance of maintaining a healthy physique, overweight or obese people are really starting to listen to their health practitioners and are hiring the help of personal trainers to get them fit and back on track. A survey says that the personal training industry is set to rise by another 16% between 2015 and 2020, and we can expect this trend to continue beyond that.
Isn't it nice to be in high demand rather than worrying about when the next pay cheque is going to come in?!
4. Independence
There aren't many jobs where you can be working independently for yourself, yet also having the benefit of a social setting around you. As a personal trainer, you are often your own boss but have the opportunity to work within busy gyms or fitness centres. What's more, you get to meet new people daily and build up great relationships with your clients.
An added bonus is that you can be solely in charge of when and where you work, being flexible on working hours and choosing the schedule that suits you and your circumstances.
5. Become an expert in your field
Since the industry is booming right now, there are lots of people who want to enter into it. This means that there is a lot of competition.
If successful, you can push yourself to train more and learn more and thus become an expert in your own specified field. For instance, fitness training often welcomes new techniques and takes note of important breakthroughs in science when adapting course content.
If you are committed to your career, then you can strive to be the absolute best!
To Summarise:
1. A personal training business is a passionate work that requires you to invest yourself wholly into a personal training program.
If you have neither desire nor ability to establish and maintain personalized relationships with your clients, your efforts will be met with less than total success and a lack confidence in your abilities.
2. As a health fitness expert, the benefits to your own lifestyle must be appreciated from both the physical and psychological sides.
These complementary facets of any exercise program should be considered and developed together.
3. Becoming a master of program design, be it group training or an individualized exercise program, will call for you to engage in varied disciplines; perhaps some you hadn't yet considered.
Participation in a Zumba class, for example, or other aerobic routines such as Pilates will further qualify you to future clients because you will be able to recommend such activities as a part of their fitness plan.
For you as for your clients, exercise activities will promote better sleep, which will help boost your/their mood, leading to a more satisfying, productive life... to say nothing of a healthier lifestyle.
This is called the mind-body connection that so many gyms, fitness clubs and exercise programs are on about...
Why not expand your horizons, see beyond what even your clients have to offer?
Let your journey to fitness become your destination: go beyond fitness education to learn about real human connections, and how they can fundamentally alter our lives.
Indeed, being a fitness specialist is not all about kettlebells, weightlifting and customized programs; training techniques and improving body composition.
It is about human relationships – with their bodies, with themselves and with each other, in which everyone must find some sense of accomplishment to find fulfilment!
Finally, please note that a fitness career is a profession of originality in which no two days would be the same! Isn't that something to look forward to?
We think so.
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