Personal Training, The dirty Side? You are probably thinking, I didn't know there was a dirty side. Well, your right to an extent.
I want to "talk" about some things I have been reading on the Internet concerning Personal Trainers being young and not knowing how to train clients, trainers being just in it for the money, personal trainer's hurting people, they're just hustling people... etc etc etc. I'm sure you have probably heard some "horror" stories too. Well, how do these stories develop and who are the "trainers" that contribute to these disasters. This is the Dirty side I'm talking about.
If you are currently studying for your Personal Trainer Certification, don't get discouraged by this. My advice is, if you are going to become a personal trainer do it because you have a passion for helping others. Don't let the nay sayer's dampen your dreams of becoming a personal trainer.
I'm saying this to say, those horror stories we hear about are caused by people that are not really passionate about personal training and those that don't take the time to really peferct their craft.
This article is to help you understand why you should always be professional and be about the business of personal training so that you do not blend in with the few bad apples that exist.
Know Why You are Becoming a Personal Trainer
Being a Personal Trainer requires patience, customer service, marketing skills, the ability to give different people different workouts and a willingness to continue learning. You wont be able to train everyone like you train yourself and you will have folks depending on you to help them. Mentally it takes a lot and you need to be aware of this. You can not do this if you simply just like to work out.
So ask yourself, why do I want to become a personal trainer? Is it because I just need a job or do I really like personal training? Knowing why you are becoming a personal trainer will help you determine if you will be successful and if you will put in the time needed to become the best at what you do.
The trainer just needing a job, more than likely will not take the time to develop skills needed to become a great personal trainer. They are more or less just waiting for a paycheck and trying to get through the day. They help to create some of the "horror" stories we read about most of the time due to inexperience, lack of knowledge and just wanting to make as much money as they can however they can.
On the other hand, the trainer that loves helping people and passionate about it, more than likely will develop his/her skills and educate himself/herself on the do's and dont's of the training business. Not to say they won't make mistakes, but every mistake is a lesson learned and a challenge to become better.
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Separate Yourself from the Crowd
Never start training clients without first understanding how to train them correctly. The last thing you want to do is blend in with trainers that have created the stories I mentioned above.
Do not try to master everything. Figure out what your good at doing... is it bodybuilding, weight loss, group training, for example...and focus on that.
Become a master of your niche and separate yourself from the crowd. It's ok to spice up your workouts with variety, but don't get off into things your not good at, you'll lose credibility fast!
Know When to Turn Down a Client
Yes there are a select few out there who have chosen to Become a Personal Trainer as an easy way to make money as it can be a very lucrative. Also some Personal Training Certifications can be really easy to get, which can sometimes invite folks that simply need "something to do" until they find something they like doing.
These select few often lack skills on proper technique and training due to just knowing enough to pass the certification exam. They also lack knowledge needed to properly train clients with injuries or seniors and young kids just to name a few. However, they will take on this kind client because they do not want to turn down the MONEY.
Some Great Personal Trainers with a boat load of knowledge sometimes make the mistake of taking on clients they don't have experience training too. They feel turning down a client will make them look less knowledgeable. But this is the farthest thing from the truth.
A personal trainer that knows his/her limits should always turn down a client they are not "qualified" to train and pass them on to a trainer that is. Trust me, you will never lose money or credibility doing this. You will gain more credibility and have other trainers referring clients over to you in return by doing this. There's enough for everybody, so pass clients to "qualified" trainers when NEEDED.
What does this all mean?
The moral of this story is, if you want to become a personal trainer or already a personal trainer, The Best Trainers have a passion for training and don't blend in with the trainers that are "unskilled" or don't take the time to perfect their "craft". Separate yourself from the crowd by demonstrating you are knowledgeable and HIGHLY qualified for the job you're doing. Let's not be one of those personal trainer "horror" stories I'm reading about on the internet.
Personal Training is a Professional Business, lets hold that to be true and have high expectations of anyone calling themselves a Personal Trainer.
Become a Personal Trainer and be the best.
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Much Success!
Candace Harrison
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