There are thousands of blogs about fitness and weight lifting and even more social network profiles of people representing themselves as personal trainers. They offer their services online and in the gym. Some of them are very popular and charge staggering amounts of money.
This, however, doesn’t mean they are the best. Actually, in many cases, it means they are probably not even close to professional trainers, but scammers that worked out on their body some time and are trying to convince you they know what they are doing. In this article, we’ll see what you actually need to be a good, professional, and serious personal trainer.
Certificate
You can’t be a lawyer just because you read a few books about legal stuff, right? Same goes for the trainer job. You must go through testing in order to receive the certificate. It is different in every country, but most of them require learning the basics about lifting weights. The main purpose of this is to b sure that you’re qualified and able to work with people taking care of their health. After you pass the test, you receive a personal trainer certification. It’s proof that clients can trust you.
Psychology
People spend a lifetime studying psychology. You don’t have to do this but you must know some basic things about human behavior. You must know how to act professionally in different situations. Some people are different than others and some can be quite hard to handle. By learning a little more about people’s way of doing stuff and what their motivation for this is, you’ll be able to understand them easier. With it, you’ll work your way through to get the best results.
Experience
Even though books will teach you plenty, you must learn most of the things by yourself. Knowledge is 50% of the base for making great results and having satisfied clients. The other 50% comes with work on self and with clients.
It’s best if you start small. Train some of your friends or family. You probably went through the hard times of training yourself and you already know everything about how to eat and what machines need to be used during the process. Now it’s time to work with people and see how that goes.
Nutrition understanding
One of the most important parts during training is food. You must make a perfect meal plan for the exercises you ask from your client. You can’t ask your client to do the heavy lifting and make them eat salads for two weeks.
Nutrition is a very important part of the whole process and every serious and respected trainer must know all about food, calories, minerals, proteins, and fats. This is kind of science too, but in order to become a professional trainer with satisfied clients, this is a must do for you. Learn some more about nutrition here.
Working on self
Have you ever seen a programmer without a computer? Or an accountant that doesn’t know math? Your body is your tool when you’re a personal trainer. You have to be in shape in order to hold those weights if your client drops them. You must be an example for them. One way to motivate people is by showing your muscles.
Working on yourself, no matter the age and the experience you have is a must. People won’t trust you if you’re a fat and slow person. They’ll think, if my trainer can’t lose weight, I certainly won’t.
Conclusion
Becoming a personal trainer is not rocket science but it still requires some work and knowledge. All five points should be taken very seriously. You can get the certificate but if you know nothing about nutrition, the clients will spread the word and others will avoid you.
Start your trainer career only after you’re sure that you can be reliable and able to teach your clients everything that is needed for making a good work-out. First, gain some muscle and learn about nutrition at the same time. Then ask for a certificate and learn a little about how the human mind works. Learn psychology. In the end, don’t forget to work on yourself and learn from your mistakes.