A personal trainer is a certified individual who competently demonstrates, delivers and creates effective and safe exercise or workout programs for clients and groups. That doesn’t mean that success comes overnight. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of personal trainer pain points to overcome.
First, the trainer needs to find clients. Next, the workout plan created by the personal trainer will include a time frame. To create the plan, a variety of assessments are taken by the trainer on the client.
These assessments include but are not limited to; core function, posture and movement, flexibility, muscular fitness, balance, body composition, reactivity, cardiorespiratory fitness, speed, and agility.
Creating an effective workout plan for a client takes a lot of time, prioritizing and analysis. Once the plan has been implemented, it may require several changes. These may pivot the client’s journey but hopefully won’t delay or thwart progress. Personal trainers are responsible for reengineering and strategically keeping the program on track.
Five Pain Points Personal Trainers Have Creating Workouts For Clients
Having To Narrow It Down.
As a personal trainer, creating a concise program with vital information can be a serious challenge. This is because the process of creating this program requires you to utilize your wide knowledge, then pare it down. Your goal is to include several important points that cover up for the numerous points that have to be excluded.
For instance, if you know one million things, you are expected to fit it all into a handful of exercises, reps, rest, variations and more. Making the plan is not enough, you will most likely have to create a new one if the initial program wasn't working for your client. This sometimes has a lot to do with health issues that may not allow the client to safely participate in a workout program. In this case, referring your client to do a check-up and get medical clearance is important.
Getting Clients To Invest In Their Routine.
This can be very difficult, especially if you're working with someone who only just started their fitness journey. Getting clients to properly devote their time and stay consistent is not a walk in the park. Most people find it easier to quit than develop good workout ethics, and this is most likely one of the most common challenges you would be facing as a personal trainer. Your work is made easier when your client can develop the habit of consistency. It can sometimes be a bumpy ride getting them to that level.
Dealing With Difficult Clients.
As a personal trainer, you know more about fitness than your client, and you have extensive knowledge of specific plans that would suit different people. While you can identify the exact needs of your clients, they may not see it too, and so you end up trying to convince them. Some clients are convinced that having a personal trainer means they would get to try out fancy exercises during workouts. When a client has such expectations, personal trainers have trouble including the basic practices which are very important.
Changing Clients’ Eating Habits.
Having to work on yourself to adjust and adopt healthy eating habits may be very difficult. However, what could be more difficult is convincing your client to do the same as it determines how much progress can be achieved. Some clients find it hard to give up their favorite snacks and junk. So as a personal trainer, creating a meal plan for them could be a challenge.
Cancellation Of Training Contracts.
Even after successfully drafting a workout program for your client, a lot of things may not go as planned. A client can arrive late, come in unprepared, or be too exhausted to properly workout. They’ll sometimes even cancel, which leaves you both a day or more behind the set goals.
Top Six Skills Of Successful Personal Trainers
Your success in the personal training industry and your ability to effectively impact lifestyles are dependent on certain skills. Here are the top six skills and habits of successful personal trainers:
1. Passion.
To be a personal trainer and constantly push through every challenge, you need to have a lot of passion for what you do. Living and promoting a healthy lifestyle would not only be of great help to you but also serve as a great motivation to your client. Without passion, you'd be quick to fall out of any industry after encountering some difficulties. Your passion becomes your compass, helping you see the bigger picture and enable you to thrive in the fitness training industry.
2. Communication Skills.
Being a personal trainer means you would be communicating with individuals directly, guiding them through a healthy practice and lifestyle. Having excellent communication skills translates to you being able to pass a message to your client in a way that they can understand. For instance, when showing your client how to perform an exercise, be clear about what exactly they are not to do while at it to avoid injury.
3. Knowledge of the Industry.
You’ll be spending your career helping people through their fitness journey and bringing out the best in them. Therefore, you are expected to constantly broaden your knowledge about the fitness training industry. To be able to give safe and effective fitness and nutrition information to your clients, you will have to be cutting the edge with knowledge.
4. Leadership skills.
All successful personal trainers have this one thing in common: Leadership. No matter how many clients you may have, having people look up to you to achieve their means you lead them. To show great leadership, you are expected to live the lifestyle you expect your clients to adopt. The fitness journey is a tough one, but it gets easier and more achievable when you can lead.
5. Self-promotion.
Your ability to find more clients ultimately boils down to how skillful you are at promoting yourself. You have to be able to convince potential clients that you are the right person to lead them through their journey. This means properly advertising your physical and personal skills, both in person and online.
6. Attentiveness.
Being a personal trainer means you will get to meet and work with a lot of persons with varying lifestyles and needs. To be able to effectively offer your services, you are expected to have good listening skills. Pay attention to their needs, complaints and suggestions.
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