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How to become a Personal Trainer and help others become the Best they can be.How do I become a Personal Trainer? Hmm, is it for me? The reason I wanted to become a Personal Trainer was to help others on a more personal level. I had worked in gyms and handed out exercise programs, but the way some of the gyms that I worked for were all about getting as many people through the doors as possible so you never had that long to spend with any one client. So, in that respect, I think the customer was suffering. You give them a workout, tell them to stick to it for 3 weeks and then we will have a look at changing it and progressing if they made an appointment to go round again with you. Invariably the client would not choose to make an appointment at the end of those 3 weeks and their progression would suffer and eventually they would give up coming. Therefore the gym would lose out by losing that customer. Because of word of mouth that customer would tell all their friends that that particular gym wasn't very good and didn't give very good customer satisfaction. Well I didn't like that and decided to look into getting a personal trainer certification so I could go out on my own. I have very high standards and believe that everyone should get great value for money. If you are thinking of becoming a trainer then you have to weigh up the pros and cons of going into this business and then make a decision on those results. First of all you will have a lot of travelling to do if you decide to work from home as apposed to working as a freelance in a fitness chain. Decide on a radius from your home that you will work from, say you will visit people within a 20 mile radius. You have to add the time it takes you to get to that job onto the time you will be with the client. This means it cuts down on the amount of clients you could see in any one day. Secondly as a result of the first point, there are never enough hours in the day. Taking into account that you have are a service provider, you will also have to become a manager, bookkeeper and secretary to your business. And thirdly you have to be aware that you will have to carry any equipment you use for your sessions with you, as apposed to having everything there when you work as a freelance in a fitness chain. Well those 3 points were the cons of the business but on the other hand, you can work flexible hours, choose the hours you want to work and you get the chance to be creative. One of the most rewarding things about being a personal trainer is the opportunity to work with a client to set goals and reach them. Each new client is a new opportunity to put your knowledge to the test and use your skills to reach the desired result of the client.
I had always wanted to become a Personal Trainer. I did it in phases as I had small children at the time and it was difficult taking time out just for myself. My husband worked away a lot of the time and there had to be someone at home so it was difficult for me to do all in one go. I started off taking an Exercise to Music course way back in 1994. I had always loved exercise classes and I had the chance of taking over a long established step aerobics class so I did my ETM certification over 5 weekends with the Central YMCA. It was a fantastic course and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I made lots of friends and we all enjoyed the structure of the coarse and how it was taught. Our tutors were brilliant and made us feel welcome and comfortable. And that's how it all started! I bought myself some step platforms and away I went teaching 3 classes a week to start of with. I did to a Reebok Step Course to find out all the steps to use as you can get very creative with the choreography for these type of classes. I did this for a couple of years and then decided to take a Gym Instruction Course, that was in 1997. The equivalent course today is the Level 2 Gym/Fitness Instructor Certificate. This enabled me to start working in gyms not only as an ETM Instructor but also teaching people how to lift weights and use cardio machines. This is what I like the best. I have alsways enjoyed the feeling it gives me to have a really good weights workout, I started lifting weights after I left school at 16 so I guess there must be something about it I like!! For the next few years I just found myself having to do small courses to keep up to date. It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to become a Personal Trainer and it was still this dream that I held on to. My other half was very busy in his work and with children to look after it was difficult to find the time to increase my knowledge. And also finances, as you are not always in a position to pay for courses although nowadays it is easier as they always seem to have payment plans so you can stretch the budget a little. I eventually did my Level 3 Advanced Instructor Certificate and Personal Trainer Certification in 2007, which means I have become a Personal Trainer!! My dream has been realised finally. After all these years I finally did it. So there you go that is my story, and how I became a Personal Trainer. If you want to become a Personal Trainer too and get your Personal Trainer Certification just follow the advise here and make the most of your life and skills to help others. It's a fantastic feeling.
What can I say? YOU NEED IT!! Liability Insurance is like your cars spare tyre! You hope you never have to use it but you are sure glad it's there if you need it. DO NOT, I repreat, DO NOT begin to train any clients until you have some Personal trainer insurance. Most potential clients will ask you if you have liability insurance and what are you going to say if you haven't got any. You will look mighty unprofessional to say the least. Just like liability insurance, an up to date CPR certificate is a very good idea. It reassures your potential clients that if anything was to go wrong and they had a fall, sprain or god forbid something more serious, you would be capable of looking after it until the emergency services arrived, if they needed calling that is. Well there you have it, how to become a Personal Trainer. I can assure you it is a very rewarding career and I fully reccommend it.
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