A personal trainer is a certified individual who competently demonstrates and creates effective and safe workout programs for individual clients and groups. As a personal trainer you’ll get to help others reach their dreams while having a flexible work schedule.
The responsibilities of a personal trainer include:
- Evaluating the fitness level of each client.
- Creating a variety of fitness goals for clients, which is a collaborative approach.
- Build customized workout programs based on a variety of assessments of the client. The assessments can include core function, posture and movement, flexibility, muscular fitness, balance, body composition, reactivity, cardiorespiratory fitness, speed, and agility.
- Providing instruction for safe workouts.
- Developing trust with each client.
- Monitoring the progress of each client.
But if you really want to take your personal training expertise to the next-level, there’s a few things you should do. Here are five tips every personal trainer should know.
How To Be The Best Personal Trainer in Your Field
Once you’ve received your certification from an accredited organization, it’s time to put those skills to the test and up your game. Because being a personal trainer is so much more than giving clients exercises to get strong.
1. Always Be On Time.
Whether you have a phone call with a client or an in-person session, the golden rule to follow is be on time. If you’re someone who tends to run a minute or two behind, then be early. It’s easy to think being just a few minutes late is no big deal, but think again. It goes a long way when you can show up on time or early because it shows your clients you are reliable, professional, and that you care. Not to mention that you have your act together. At the end of the day, no one wants to give money to someone they don’t trust. Being punctual builds trust - and trust builds business.
2. Listen To Your Clients.
Don’t just talk at them. Sure, showing different workout routines and strength exercises is a big part of your job as their personal trainer, but so is listening. Let them give you feedback on the exercise you give, listen to their specific goals. If you have a client who is more reserved, asking questions is a great way to get them to share more. When they do talk, really pay attention to what they are saying to help you figure out a) what they want and b) how to make adjustments to their training plan if necessary. Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback.
3. Identify Your Values.
What are your values as a personal trainer? Do you value building the best relationship possible with clients? Helping them find empowerment through their workouts? A structured schedule? Whatever your values are, take a few minutes to write them down. Then keep them on a mirror or desk to help remind you of what matters when you start to forget. By clearly stating your values, you’ll live out practices in your personal training business that directly reflect what is important to you. Talk about a game-changer for your business.
4. Create Your Work Schedule.
Once you’ve clearly identified your values, it’s time to create a work schedule for yourself. Why? To avoid burnout. It’s crucial to set boundaries relating to when you work and when you do not work so that you don’t go all-in too soon and get tired of your job. A good starting point is to begin by working a more traditional Monday to Friday schedule and then tweak things as needed from there. Maybe after a couple weeks you realize you have way more clients who need help on Thursdays than Mondays, or between specific hours in the evening. Overtime you’ll learn which hours work best for you, but the most important thing is to have set hours for both work and play.
5. Slow Your Roll.
You know the saying, “fools rush in?” It can also be applied to your personal training strategy. We get that when working with clients you’re excited to immediately show them all the strength workouts and activities they can do in order to reach their ambitious goals. But even if their dreams are to run a 5k, triathlon, or just shed a few pounds, they have to learn the technique of workouts first. Proper form is everything. Take your time in that first session (or whenever new workouts are applied) to teach the best form based on their movement patterns. This will help them reach their goals and therefore improve your relationship.
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