How to Become a Personal Trainer
Jenny Richards provides advice on the prerequisites of becoming a personal trainer.
As human beings, we are all deeply concerned with how we look. Most of us go to great lengths to be perceived as fit and healthy. At no other time in the world's combined history has fitness been as high a priority as it is now. With our increasingly sedentary lifestyle and stress levels from work and life in general, lifestyle diseases like obesity are at an all-time high. It is little wonder that personal trainers and lifestyle coaches are in demand.
Personal training as a career
To be a personal trainer, you must be able to do three things. First, you need to be in optimal shape. The second most important skill you need to possess is being a motivator. Last but not least, you ought to empathise with people.
Being in optimal shape
This means you need to be in the best physical form. You also ought to be at the right weight for your height, and your BMI, or Body Mass Index, needs to be according to your height. A passion for physical fitness and knowing your way around a gym are also great help.
Being a motivator
Think of this attribute as a cross between a friend and a drill sergeant. You need to know when to be strict and when to mentor your client. Challenging and pushing your client to improve is a big part of the job. Yet you need not be a tyrant. Prominent fitness trainers agree that being a positive role model and enabling your client to lose weight, be more active and adopt a positive lifestyle is the mantra to being a successful personal trainer.
Being empathetic
This attribute is of prime importance because it is your job as a trainer to identify your client's pain points and help them work through them. You need to understand your client's body type and lifestyle, embrace it, and help them make changes that will positively impact their lives.
Certification
As with any vocational profession, a gym instructor needs certification. One essential skill a personal trainer needs is understanding human anatomy and its varied functions. Understanding and calculating BMI, metabolic rates, and the right kind of exercises for the diverse needs of the clientele is also an acquired skill. Think of yourself as an automobile or machine technician. Would you be unable to repair or tune a car or machine without the proper training? The same applies to the human body, so a personal trainer's certification course is vital.
Advantages of the vocation
Being a fitness trainer means that you are an independent professional in many ways. You can choose your hours, select the number of hours you prefer, and select the clientele you want to work with. Moreover, you could always take up part-time assignments at gyms and private workout studios, or better still, consolidate your clientele and start a gym or workout studio independently. After a few years of experience, some personal trainers have been known to work with actors, sportspersons, and models, a lucrative career option in its own right.
So, being a personal trainer is a doubly good career choice. For starters, you help people better their lives while being your master—quite a sensible career option.
Page Reference
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- RICHARDS, J. (2015) How to become a Personal Trainer [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article179.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Jenny Richards is a freelance writer passionate about sports and fitness. She likes to collect fitness information and read books.