What is a personal trainer?
From a theoretical standpoint, the personal trainer is a person who, following specialization courses, obtained a diploma (or certificate) recognized both by national authorities in education, research, and training as the JCC Community Center as well by individual entities generally recognized and accepted in the fitness industry.
Being a relatively new professional into the fitness industry, I have noticed the lack of information on movements and applied training principles for practitioners. So, given these findings, I decided to bring some light into this matter.
From my point of view, a valuable personal trainer must first possess certain qualities that make him compatible with his job:
– A fine perception of the current society;
– A high degree of understanding of human interactions;
– High capacity to relate to those around him;
– Much persuasion, etc.
Leading by example
You can not be a good personal trainer unless you are an example for those around you, every day. The ability of good psychologist is the key to success in attaining the people you train. Continuous motivation is the bottleneck of relating to such context. Whether or not we want to accept, personal trainers sell their image, which, of course, they want to be perfect.
To highlight the complexity of this job, I present below some of the requirements of a personal trainer:
– To know the client better, by drawing anamnesis (the personal record);
– To test the physical qualities of strength, coordination, control and overall determination of the customer;
– To draw up a specific training program to achieve realistic goals, taking into account the anamnesis;
– To win client’s confidence;
– To ensure the safety required to develop adequate workouts;
– Be consistent and stick to the training program;
– Be an example to follow (physical, mental and moral);
– Be a good orator and always come with explanations for scientific evidence to support the training methods;
– To remember or to conduct a training diary;
– To take into account the physical and mental condition of the client;
– To collaborate with specialists in fields that are related to sport (nutritionists, orthopedists, physical therapists, etc.);
– Do not leave personal motives to affect training, etc.
Should we avoid the romanticized version of the personal trainer myth – stating that he must be eternally in a good mood, omniscient, full of money and expensive in terms of services offered? We could say that he is like others, an actor on the everyday life’s stage, with both good and bad days.
Why use a personal trainer?
It is one of the most frequently asked and common sense questions that arises when a prospective client is given the opportunity to call on personal training services. In brief, the answer is: a personal trainer is a professional who will help an individual to achieve the objective in the shortest time possible with maximum safety and high efficiency. It must be said here that the physical safety of the client is priority number one for any professional personal trainer. He is also the motivational support to achieve the objective. Several ex-athletes still use a personal trainer!
Why a personal trainer can sometimes be considered too expensive?
Let’s be honest! Not everyone can afford a personal trainer. Indeed, total costs may seem slightly raised. It should be understood from the beginning that hiring a personal trainer means to hire a professional, and the benefits are mirrored in the results that you expect. Without fear of exaggeration, I can say that the benefits of such a partnership are much more than the material costs involved: physical security, physical and emotional balance, aesthetic beauty, self-esteem, overcome your limitations and, not least, your health.
It seems that this new level of services in the fitness industry is in constant expansion and reflects how the society has evolved. Considered at the individual level, this approach can be perceived as a high standard of education which makes us, personal trainers, happy.
