Essential Qualities of a Personal Trainer

Essential Qualities of a Personal Trainer What Qualities Qualifications Do You Need to Be a Personal Trainer? ChaptersBecoming a Personal Fitness CoachQualities and Qualifications to be a Personal TrainerQualities to be a Personal TrainerUse Your Sports Competence  to Be a Personal TrainerGain Experience in Personal TrainingTaking Care of Your Personal AppearanceAre you a personal trainer and on the lookout for new clients?Do you already have a recognized diploma as a fitness professional or are you a professional athlete looking for a new career and on your way to becoming a personal trainer?Indeed, what could be more rewarding than to help people achieve their fitness goals with one on one fitness courses at home, away from the impersonal atmosphere of a health club?Do you know what the origin of the word “coaching” is?It comes from the word “coach”, a closed horse-drawn carriage dating to the 16th century.First used in Kocs in Hungary, the coach soon spread throughout Europe and became generalised as a means of public transportation. It could hold six to eight people and was well- adapted to longer distances as well as short ones.Personal coaches are descendants of the coachmen who saw their passengers safely to their destination. Photo credit: Cavedragon on Visual huntSo where does modern “coaching” come in? The coachman - the driver of the coach - was the one who accompanied everyone and helped arrive at their destination.By 1830, the word “coach” had become a word for an instructor or tutor, mentor and finally trainer.Different sports need different physical preparations - and their own specialised and qualified personal trainers. Photo credit: Joint Base Lewis McChord on VisualhuntFor under your guidance, they are sure to improve in health and fitness, not only through continuing fitness programs, but also with the proper nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and regular physical activity such as weight lifting or cardiovascular training (at least 10 minutes every day), or even just walking every day.Your fitness career will depend on your own fitness ed ucation and discipline. No-one will hire an out-of-shape trainer! Your body is part of your credentials in your personal trainer career.This is also why having practised sports on a professional level makes you qualified in the eyes of your clients. They know you have been there and done that and that you have gone through everything they are experiencing. It will also tell them that you are truly passionate about your sport and not simply teaching them the handbook on resistance training, but have hands on experience and are knowledgeable in the field.Gain Experience in Personal TrainingDo you want to register with Superprof and offer personal training at home or as a webinar?Make the most of it in order to gain and showcase your experience.Prove you are worth every penny of your trainer certification by showcasing your experience. If you are just starting out as a fitness instructor, you might consider asking an established personal trainer to let you assist him for a few months, or working in a gym for a while to garner some experience.On this private tutoring platform, you can set up a profile, work for yourself and become your own marketing specialist.With up to fifty different coaches available in a city near you and hundreds nationally to choose from, you can find clients and gain important professional experience in personal fitness training sessions. As a certified personal trainer, Superprof allows you to display your:Accreditation and qualificationsSpeciality and abilities (senior fitness, youth fitness, sports for special populations; or else exercise physiology, corrective exercise, resistance training…)What training techniques you useStrategies for helping others stay motivated and achieve their goalsHow long you have been dedicated to sports and to training othersHow you set up the sessions for your fitness program (warm-ups, exercise training, muscle building, stretching, endurance exercises etc…)The greater your experience in personal fitn ess training, the higher the personal trainer salary you can command, moving up to more challenging clients who may even want to know how to become professional athletes themselves.If you have already worked in the fitness industry, whether in personal fitness or group fitness, be sure to put it in your profile and on any other marketing material you have. It tells your potential clientele that you have the requisite skills and experience to create a personalised work out suited to their needs.Join the discussion: how should one train to become a personal trainer?Taking Care of Your Personal AppearanceAnother important factor in creating a client base is your physical appearance.This means personal hygiene, a neat appearance with trimmed hair and well-curated facial hair (clean-shaven or trimmed beard) and shaved legs for the ladies (feminism aside, it gives the impression of cleanliness and shows off your leg muscles.) Make sure you shower between clients - if your schedule is a bi t tight, excuse yourself for your sweaty appearance and ask to use their bathroom for a rub down with a damp towel. This shows that you care about the impression you make - both in looks and odour!Unless you are training sumo wrestlers, you should make sure your personal appearance convinces your clients that you know about fitness. Photo credit: MastaBaba on Visual HuntBut more than that, clients will expect a personal trainer to be in good physical shape. A personal fitness instructor who is obese or underweight, stiff, and out of shape will not inspire confidence in his or her abilities.This doesn’t mean you need to look like a bodybuilder. But you need to look fit and healthy. So make sure you stay in shape and eat well since your body is your billboard!Now learn more about how to market your skills as a personal trainer...