A personal trainer is certified as having a variety of knowledge of general fitness. He or she is involved in the instruction of exercise.
Their primary function is the motivation of clients by setting goals and providing feedback as well as accountability to them. Personal trainers also look at their client’s strengths and weaknesses with the use of fitness assessments. These types of assessments may also be performed before and after an exercise routine in order to determine their client’s advancements in physical fitness.
Personal trainers should also teach their clients about many other aspects of wellness besides exercise. These include general health and nutrition guidelines. It is extremely important that a personal trainer takes their time to evaluate a client’s personal life outside of the gym. In this way, personal trainers can see out what kind of stress their client may be putting on particular areas of the body during their everyday lives.
Qualified personal trainers and certified personal trainers (CPTs) recognise their own areas of expertise. If a personal trainer suspects that one of their clients has a medical condition that could prevent the individual from safe participation in an exercise programme, they must refer the client to the proper health-care professional in order for them to clear them for exercising before they start.
What certification will I need to be a personal trainer?
Become a personal trainer with a personal training certification. This certification will provide you with sufficient training to have a career as a personal trainer.
Once you’ve earned your qualification, obtain a personal training certification one of the many organisations such as:
- American Council on Exercise (ACE)
- National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
- Trifocus Fitness Academy (ICE)
- American Fitness Training of Athletics (AFTA)
When you’ve become certified through a nationally recognised organisation, you’ll be eligible to begin working as a personal trainer. It’s important to recognise, however, that you will be required to regularly complete training and education which will keep you up-to-date on trending health and safety laws.
What career paths are available to me as a personal trainer?
As a certified personal trainer, your career paths will vary depending on what your specific interests as a trainer are. Possible workplaces include:
- Gyms and recreational centres: Many gyms offer complimentary fitness trainers. Alternatively, customers can purchase training sessions. Your job will include creating training plans, overseeing workouts, as well as keeping an eye on progress for multiple clients.
- Civic and social organisations: In these kinds of bodies, you will likely be providing the same fitness guidance you would in a gym. However, clients will usually be lower-income. Organisations like the YMCA/YWCA hire fitness trainers who have a passion for fitness and health and also a desire to provide tangible health information to section of society.
- Hospitals: For patients who are healing from surgeries, many hospitals will hire in-house personal trainers to work with patients who need rehabilitation. You will look at what the patient can and cannot do. Then you will provide a fitness regimen to help them regain mobility as well as full functioning. Often, personal trainers at hospitals will focus on helping recovering patients regain muscle that they have lost.
- Self-employment: For personal trainers who are also comfortable with marketing and promoting themselves and their service offerings, self-employment can be a fabulous career option. Running your own personal training business will be challenging since you will need to advertise yourself and build a client base. However, if you can pull it off benefits include dictating your own hours and keeping all of your profits
