Skills Needed to be a Personal Trainer

Many fitness enthusiasts think their passion for working out is all it takes to be successful in a career as a personal trainer. While that love of being active and living a healthy lifestyle is crucial, it is far from the only attribute needed to excel as a professional trainer.

Here are some of the other skills & qualities needed by a great trainer:

How to Perform a Fitness Assessment

At your initial meeting with a new client your first task will be to assess their current level of fitness. Being able accurately pinpoint where they are beginning and what they hope to accomplish is a critical first step in creating a workout plan that will safely help them reach their goals.

The Correct Form for a Variety of Exercises

Knowing the correct form for each exercise you incorporate into a program, and how to recognize it in your client, is extremely important. Improper form can put your client at risk of injury.

How to Develop an Exercise Program

Creating an exercise program that is tailored to the current abilities of a client, challenges them to push to the next level, and keeps workouts varied and fun is no small feat! This is what keeps clients engaged, seeing results, and coming back!

Energy

There is no “phoning it in” as a personal trainer. Your clients are looking to you to stay upbeat and positive throughout each session, and make their time in the gym fun! It can be tiring and physically demanding work – requiring that trainers focus on their own fitness as well to meet the challenge!

Compassion

Sometimes your clients will have tough days. Especially in the beginning, and especially for those clients that begin their journey with you out of shape, not used to intense physical activity, recovering from an injury, or dealing with an illness or physical limitation there can be frustration, feelings of insecurity, and physical soreness. This is when you are needed as a mentor, a cheerleader, and even as a friend, as you acknowledge their struggle and motivate them to push through towards their goals.

A Thorough Knowledge of the Sciences

It’s important that a personal trainer have knowledge of anatomy, physiology, the muscles and how they work, how exercise impacts the various systems within the body, and nutrition. This critical scientific expertise is in large part what sets a professional personal trainer apart from a fitness buff.

Healthy Living

Making health and wellness a priority can’t end when a client walks out of the gym. The best personal trainers provide education on a healthy diet, getting adequate rest, and even techniques for coping with stress that address the well being of the whole person.

How to Run and Grow a Business

Though you may be attracted to a career as a personal trainer because you want to share your love of fitness, you won’t be able to fulfill that passion if you can’t support yourself financially. Successful personal trainers must wear many hats including marketer, salesperson, and highly organized office manager.

While this list is long and varied, it needn’t feel overwhelming. In the LHAA Personal Fitness Training Program the skilled and experienced educators address all of these areas and many more, leaving graduates extremely well prepared to excel in their chosen career path. To learn more give us a call ((859) 252-5656) or fill out the short form to the right.