Personal Trainer : the Good and the" Not So Good"
So how you do assess your current or the near future personal fitness trainer, and see if he or she is worth your invested money and more importantly your valuable time? The same thing goes for you in becoming a trainer yourself; how do you evaluate yourself to be one of those few good ones.
The following attributes are not in priority order, but they are all equally important to be present in a personal trainer. Attentive Paying attention to your client during the personal training session is very important; watching for any boredom or discomfort when performing the exercise, or the other way around like observing excitement and enjoyment. That way, you as a personal trainer, can take a few points and make the appropriate adjustments. There is a difference between a client saying, "I am struggling when I am performing one more pull up", and "I feel some discomfort or slight pain in my wrists when I lift myself up".
When needed, make sure to cue your client during his/her exercise performance and not to “zone out”. You should do this whenever it is needed even if you have to do it for every single exercise.
Supportive Giving support to your clients during the training session and away from the training session is showing that you care about your clients, and you are there to help when there is a question, comment, or just to touch base. This caring practice can be done through a short message of an email or a brief phone call (make sure the client doesn’t mind). Trust me that you most likely will have a loyal client who will train with you for a long time. Just make sure you keep your supportive reach on a professional level. Good Communicator
An example of a good personal trainer communicator is asking your client the right questions in order to have a clear understanding of what she/he wants to accomplish at the end of the contract. Know the expectations of your client if they are within reach, and if not, you should communicate that right away and let them know about more realistic expectations. Be a good listener if you need to, and do not tune out your client under any circumstances.
Real Life Experience Nothing will substitute the real life experience that a person goes through, period. In order for you as a personal trainer to understand what your clients are going through and to provide the appropriate help, support, exercise alternative, and other means to benefit your client4, then you must walk the talk.
"I have been there and done that" should be your middle name; otherwise, there will be some kind of disconnect, and you won’t be able to relate to your clients. At the same time, I am not saying that you must be a former college champ or several titles holder, but you should love to exercise and have a reasonable level of physical quality and fitness level.
After spending months and years experiencing different training methods, following various eating strategies in order to get over the obstacles to succeed with your objectives, and finally after numerous trials and errors your goal is finally accomplished. This real life experience puts you in a unique spot where things become clearer to see, and issues are resolved and results are provided to your trainees. Educated and Continues Learner Keeping yourself informed and updated with things happening in the world is something that is now within your grasp. Thanks to the internet--gathering information and becoming informative about fitness training, nutrition, and other health-related topics are relatively easier to obtain than several years ago. It is true there is a lot of information that is not of a good quality, but at the same time there are plenty of credible resources for you to read from and learn. Resources like and not limited to are:
- Fitness Training Books by credible authors - Online scientific journals-- some of them are free and some require a paid membership. - Trusted and reliable websites that belong to fitness training coaches, Nutrition PhDs, and experts.
So, as a fitness trainer, take the responsibility of keeping yourself educated on a continuing process; that way, you separate yourself from the rest.
Getting Your Clients Educated Providing your clients with information that will benefit them and keeping them educated is something they will appreciate you for as apersonal trainer. And don’t be concerned that they might leave you once they gain enough fitness and nutrition knowledge. If that is the case, then, they can get the necessary fitness books, read the hundreds of online articles, and purchase the "27 nanosecond to firm thighs" 5 series DVDs in the first place. Whenever your clients have a question or ask you for articles to read, then you should provide them with the required information so they will not have any worries. Even better, offer them now and then interesting articles to read and benefit from; it is the right thing.
Results It all comes down to giving your clients what they have been working for all that time-- results. It does not matter what your degree level is, or how many certifications you have earned, but what matters is did you meet your clients’ goals or have you even exceeded their expectations?
When you are provided the sufficient time to train the clients in order to see noticeable results, and the clients are following what you been telling them what to do, then it is only fair to give them the expected results. Also, it is nice when you promise them the path to attain their reasonable goals, and then you over deliver, that is a priceless personal trainer.
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