If you are interested in pursuing a career in sport and fitness, then you may be considering how you can become a personal trainer. Yes, it is possible to train clients in a gym on a one-on-one basis, but you may also want to be able to extend your personal training habits outside of the gym setting. This may include providing out of hours support, healthy eating advice and even potentially providing private training hours, where support and tailored attention can be given to clients.
If you are settled on becoming a personal trainer, then you will have to find a point to begin in your career. Here are some great tips we found for getting you started on your pathway to becoming a personal trainer.
Education matters
Before you even think about finding potential clients to work with, you need to consider what sort of qualifications you are going to need to become a personal trainer. Clients will not feel comfortable working alongside you if you do not have the correct credentials or experience. Word of mouth is important in the world of fitness; thus, you need to ensure that anything that is said about your training style is completely positive.
If you are thinking about joining a college to gain a professional qualification, you may want to consider a:
- Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing
- Level 2 Diploma in Health, Fitness, and Exercise Instruction
- Level 2 Diploma in Instructing Exercise and Fitness
These courses are all available in colleges, gyms and private training providers. You can even gain these qualifications through fitness apprenticeships. If you want to extend upon these original qualifications, then why not also consider a:
- Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instructing and Personal Training
- Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training
The qualifications you receive will allow you to get accustomed to the fitness equipment of your gym, as well as allow you to understand how to construct fitness, healthy eating and dieting routines. In your future profession, you will be working with different body types, therefore being able to understand how to help each individual acquire a healthy routine will be your main goal.
Additional qualifications
Once you have managed to gain the appropriate qualifications from your chosen apprenticeship or college, you may also want to consider becoming a member of a professional fitness organisation. This can include the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) or the National Register of Personal Trainers (NRPT). These societies will allow you the opportunity to meet other professionals, as well as demonstrate that you understand the skills needed to become a professional trainer. This will help improve your career prospects.
Insurance choices
As a personal trainer, you will need to make sure that you have the appropriate insurance to maintain the safety of yourself and your clients. Not only will you require public liability insurance, but you may also want to invest in personal trainer insurance. Personal Trainer Insurance will cover you against any compensation claims made by clients after a potential injury or training session with you.
By working as a personal trainer, you have to understand that you will most likely be serving as your own boss. That means that if any compensation claims are made against you, this may cost you a lot of money and may ultimately ruin your business. That is why you will need to find an insurance policy that is tailored towards the workouts you run, as well as the sort of equipment you work out with.
Safety training
A final measure before you consider your working environment is to understand how to keep yourself and your clients safe during your workouts. You will need to be prepared to tailor your safety routines based on the sort of customers you train. For instance, if you know that you are training a new client who lacks experience with certain fitness equipment, keep them away from heavier fitness items that require more stamina. Base your clients and their needs on the strength and stamina of their bodies. That way you can keep them safe and fully understand their body types so you know how to construct a fitness plan for them.
You should also look into gaining a first-aid award. This will be crucial should you ever encounter an emergency with one of your clients and need to sustain them as you wait for an ambulance. The first-aid award must also include a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation certificate (CPR).
Training Environments
Once you have gathered the correct qualifications, it is time for you to consider where you will teach your clients. Whilst you are more than welcome to use a gym, as this will also have the correct fitness equipment for you to utilise, you may also want to consider whether or not you want to take your clients out to the park to work outside in the fresh air. Holiday camps and spas are also ideal places to become a personal trainer. These environments tend to have a large number of tourists who are either looking to continue their work out regimes whilst on a trip, or just lightly exercise for entertainment. You will need to decide what sort of personal trainer you will be, and what sort of clients you aim to take on.
Gain experience
Unfortunately, like most careers, you cannot simply jump into the position of a personal trainer without having the experience to guide you through your training regimes. The more experience you have, the more likely that you will know how to cater to the particular workouts and needs of your clients. You will also be able to devise more effective workout regimes. Start off by shadowing a fitness instructor at a gym or at your local health club. You can even go as far as volunteering at a bootcamp. Even as a self-employed personal trainer, you need to know how to handle your clients. So, start your journey off at a fitness club or gym to gain a client base before slowly breaking away to become your own business.
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