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Fitness is attained one exercise session at a time - Tom Miles
There are many types of personal trainer out there. And they all come across as people with an excellent physique and a healthy life. But behind all that is a lot of hard work, perseverance, investment in certification courses, and sleepless nights. You can't think of becoming a personal trainer or gym instructor overnight. You have to go through the entire process of building your body, getting certified, finding clients, and sustaining yourself.
All the different types of personal training that a fitness trainer offers come with a lot of expertise and experience. And these are backed by tangible skills, a diploma or degree, and certain emotional qualities as well.
Four Types of Personal Trainer
Depending on the type of training programs that you offer, personal trainers can be broadly classified into four different types:
Mobile Personal Trainer
As the name suggests, a mobile personal trainer is someone who can bring the experience of personal training to you. Unlike a gym instructor, a mobile personal trainer can literally move from one place to another based on the needs of their clients and bring the whole gym to experience to their homes. They can even use public spaces like a joggers' park or running path to conduct their training sessions or even online platforms.
Group Exercise Trainer
A personal trainer who conducts their training sessions in groups of 5 to 10 individuals or more is known as group exercise trainers. These sessions may be conducted at a location of the client's choice or a health club or a fitness studio owned by the trainer herself. The group sizes can vary depending on the size of the space and how much individual attention the clients may need during the session.
Gym Instructor
This one is pretty simple. Any personal trainer who is certified and works at a gym is called a gym instructor. The important thing here is that you need proper certification to become a gym instructor or to be hired by a health club.
Boot Camp Instructor
A boot camp is synonymous with grueling regimes of hard, physical labor. And that how a boot camp instructor also conducts their session. These sessions are marked by shuttle runs, lunges, team-building activities, sprints, etc.
Find out if you are fit enough to enroll in a boot camp.
Essential Qualities of the Different Types of Personal Trainer
So, what are the inherent qualities of a fitness coach?
Solid Qualifications
This is an underlying necessity for the different types of personal training. You can get a diploma, advanced diploma, or a certificate in personal training to kickstart your career in the domain. You will find certification and diploma programs for,
- Gym instructor
- Nutrition and exercise instructor.
- Health, fitness, and exercise instructor.
- Personal training.
Choosing the Right Place of Work
A mobile trainer can work in any location, while a boot camp instructor cannot. But whatever different types of personal training you offer, the location is very important for the client. It is a huge driver for clients, especially the new ones to come and join your program. The location must be such that it gives them comfort rather than add to their stress. Be it a company setting, a sports complex, a health club, a fitness center, or the client's home- choose carefully. Also, try to minimize the logistical concerns of moving around your equipment too much.
Staying Healthy and In Shape
Group exercise instructor or at-home personal trainer, you have to ooze confidence and inspire trust. It is essential as a fitness professional to always be in excellent physical condition and to commit to a healthy lifestyle. By remaining active and dynamic, you will be able to train your students to the best of your abilities. And please drop the assumption that the act of training others will help you stay in shape. You must have your own exercise and fitness regime beyond your work hours.
Being Farsighted
As a human being, it is but natural for your strength and level of fitness to dwindle with age. So, you must constantly think about retraining and keep challenging yourself with newer training methods to up your game. Also, start thinking of second careers early on. For example, post retiring from being an active personal trainer, you could become a trainer to other newbies or a gym manager. You can even teach children sports.
Remain Dynamic and Motivated
It can be difficult to sustain the energy you have during personal training sessions with clients. But during off-hours, find ways to keep your mind working and stay motivated through your own fitness sessions. Just do things that keep your brain working and your body moving.
Important Emotional Qualities to Master
IQ gets you hired. EQ gets you promoted - Anonymous
For the various types of personal trainer, emotional intelligence is as important a skill to have as your physical fitness. Emotional intelligence can constitute innumerable soft skills. Take a look at the topmost-
Active Listening Skills
Emotional coaching is actually a crucial element in your training program if you want to succeed as a personal trainer. It is important to,
- truly listen to your students
- build an understanding of what they need
- align your goals with theirs
- help them taste success
- act as a constant source of motivation
Indeed, the basis of being an excellent coach is how you make your clients feel and can give them confidence.
Motivational Skills
One easy way of doing this is to lead by example. In fact, this is one of the basic requisites of a personal trainer. It is not an option. A fitness coach must be irreproachable and practice what he preaches. Show enthusiasm when your students do well which will give them energy and desire to go farther and put in their best. Create a positive reinforcement cycle for your clients to succeed.
Versatility
It is important for a personal trainer to constantly keep adapting to the changing needs and demands of clients in order to exhibit your versatile set of skills. Be creative and sometimes even daring to,
- provide personal advice
- deal with unforeseen situations
- keep up with new fitness trends
Discipline
This is another non-negotiable for a fitness trainer. Discipline can be demonstrated in many different ways:
- Being punctual
- Measuring progress
- Using effective monitoring tools
- Offering tailormade sessions
- Being open to new information
- Being organized
Patience
You may have achieved a certain level of physical fitness and set a benchmark for yourself, but your clients haven't. It is never advisable to rush someone into being physically fit through a rigorous exercise regime if they are not ready. It will only break them with little chance of ever standing up back again. It is okay to push but not to the extent of breaking a person.
Positivity
A personal trainer is, in a way, obliged to be positive and consistently put up that image to their clients. By being positive you are also transmitting positive emotions like motivations, aspirations, perseverance, etc. to your clients who need it the most.
A Personal Trainer is Almost Like An Entrepreneur
Different types of personal training have a few things in common- factors that you must take into account before deciding whether to become a gym instructor or a group exercise instructor.
Profitability
Do a cost-benefit analysis to find out what is the minimum income you need and what could be the potential profit margin. Consider the following in your analysis:
- Discounts to clients
- Travel expenses
- Food expenses during training
- Cost of equipment
Also, check out how to set the right prices for your training sessions.
Growth
Over the course of time, you will have to think about growing the business. You need to focus on:
- getting promoted while in a job
- building loyalty with customers
- diversifying your service offering
- choosing the right clientele
- surpassing your competition
Innovation
Today, you will find the fitness industry booming with trainers and a hundred different types of personal training courses. But what will set you apart is how unique your offerings are amongst the competition. Here are some ideas to consider:
- Offer sports exposure as part of your training
- Organize outdoor activities
- Design good referral programs
Marketing and Communication
Selling your brand is very crucial to growing your business. Get some basic marketing tools and strategies in place:
- Your own website
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Exposure to learning platforms like Superprof
Administration
All said and done, you need to have a plan in place to run your operations. Get a team in place who can manage your daily operations, generate invoices, take care of your taxation business and insurance, and generally help you run the business.
So, if you have got enough food for thought, get your brains working and chalk out a plan to make your personal training business a success.
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