How to become a fitness trainer is one of the most frequently asked questions lately. Regardless of the rise or fall of the popularity of the fitness industry, there is always a demand for good specialists. This makes many fans of a healthy lifestyle look for entry points into the profession. This exact topic will be considered in this article.
How to become a fitness trainer
This material is a logical continuation of the first and second parts of a series of articles about what the profession of a fitness trainer is. In the first part “Who is a fitness trainer“, we analyzed the very concept of a trainer’s profession and considered the career opportunities that are open to him. In the second part “Job description of a fitness trainer“, we learned about the requirements for him by the employer. In this part, the third in a row, we will figure out how to become a fitness trainer, what knowledge, skills and abilities you need to have for this, and also touch on a lot of subtle nuances, which are plenty in this profession.
So, let’s imagine that you are wondering how to become a fitness trainer from scratch and have set yourself the goal of getting a job in a fitness club. The first question that arises in your head is what is needed for this? Under this rather general question lie many smaller and more specific ones, such as: what kind of education you need to have, what knowledge you need to have, what kind of experience you need, what diplomas or certificates you need, and so on and so forth. Well, let’s try to answer these questions in order, however, not only these, but also some others.
Your own training experience
The first thing you need to know before you set out to find a job is experience. And I don’t mean the experience of working as a trainer, which you naturally don’t have yet. I mean the experience of self-study in the gym, so that you understand how the club is organized, how the staff works, how the training process goes, what kind of simulators are there in the club, what they are for and how to work on them. Experience shows that it will be quite enough for you to work out on your own for about 4-6 months, in order to master at least a basic understanding of how a fitness club works and functions. So, how to Become a Fitness Trainer? Tip #1: Learn how a fitness trainer works. It’s advisable to follow the work of the trainers, how they look, how they behave, how they communicate, how they train clients and how they train themselves. This will be a great help for you in your quest on how to become a fitness trainer.
Exercising with a skilled trainer
The second thing that will play into your hands is at least a small amount of experience with a skilled person in this craft, such as your friend, relative or acquaintance, but it is better if it’s joint training with a practicing certified fitness trainer. From him you can get the necessary information about the basic principles of building workouts, about the basics of proper nutrition, about various sports supplements and their use, however, not only. Such a person will most likely help with questions about how to become a fitness trainer. This is tip #2: find and hire a personal trainer. By training on your own and absorbing knowledge from an experienced trainer, at this stage you will be able to understand in the best way for yourself, firstly, most of the aspects of the training process, secondly, the features of the profession of a fitness trainer, and thirdly, are you interested in this profession at all.
Knowledge of basic concepts
So, in order to become a personal fitness trainer, you need to learn the craft accordingly. And at the initial stage, you have two ways of development: learn from an experienced fitness trainer (which we have just reviewed), or take a training course of a gym instructor (or an instructor of group classes, martial arts, dancing, swimming and so on). When applying for a job, in the first case it will be more difficult for you to prove your knowledge, since there will be no supporting document behind. An acquaintance just taught you. How much his knowledge is correct and relevant, you will either prove at an interview, or with a successful coincidence of circumstances – during the first months of work. In the second case, you have a better chance of getting a job, since the level of your qualifications is confirmed by a very specific and credible document. Tip #3: take specialized training courses for trainers and receive a document (diploma or certificate) confirming your qualifications.
Experience in sports
Another factor that plays into your hands is your experience in sports. Why? Everything is very simple. A person who is or has been involved in sports objectively knows more than others about what the training process is and how it’s built. What is the regime and proper nutrition. What is motivation, goal setting and hard work towards achieving it. In other words, even a cyclist, skier or swimmer who wants to become a fitness trainer will have a better chance of finding employment than someone who has never played sports. Even if you are 30, 40 or 50 years old and you cannot boast of an athletic physique, the knowledge and experience in sports will definitely play into your hands. Tip #4: go in for sports (any).
Communication skills
One of the most important factors is experience talking to people. Better yet, experience in sales. Communication plays an important role in the daily activities of a fitness trainer. A potential trainer absolutely must be sociable and communicative, and definitely not shy and timid. If you want to become a fitness trainer, it’s very important to be able to advertise, market yourself and sell your services. Every day you will have to constantly convince people that you are the person who will lead them to the result in the shortest terms possible. That you are better than other trainers, that you know more, you have more experience, you are better versed in nutrition, for example, or only you have experience in working with back injuries, or only you have successfully prepared athletes for competitions. Communication is the greatest art that can only be learned through practice. Tip #5: develop your communication skills.
Conclusion
Becoming a fitness trainer is actually not difficult at all, for this it is not even necessary to study at the academy for five years. Summarizing this material, it should be said that the intention should be supported not only by desire, but also by action. You must watch, read, learn, participate in professional events, thus increasing your level of knowledge and qualifications. As we have already found out, you will have to work with hundreds of different clients with different goals and initial health conditions, and only those who constantly devote time to self-development can cope with such a difficult task. If you want to become a fitness trainer, you must first of all understand that this is more about teaching than about sports. For this reason, knowledge and ability to work with people are most valued here, and not big muscles and experience of performing in competitions. But we’ll talk about this in the next articles.
Felix Palmer – author of the blog crusfit.com
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