By Sujain Thomas
Personal training is not merely making someone do a tough workout. It is all about becoming a mentor, a friend and a motivator. It is everything to do with knowing what drives people to succeed, what makes them tick and what restricts their capabilities. All these skills would be of no use unless you have a solid clientele. Building trust, a positive brand and reputation is the key to getting clients. You could have a number of certifications, but you need to plan your career well in order to succeed. Here are a few expert suggestions for surefire success.
See If You Have It in You
Becoming a Personal Trainer
Decide if you are really interested in pursuing a career as a personal trainer. The job requires someone with multitude of skills. You need to be patient, analytical, persistent, nurturing, organized also, a good listener and most importantly, a great motivator. Remember that you are the role model for your client so you need to be fit and active and embrace a healthy lifestyle. Fantastic motivators and excellent educators would be having problems in bringing in clients if they are themselves not in shape.
Personal trainers should be fit and perfect for demonstrating a variety of workouts and training as hard as or even harder than their clients. Consider becoming a personal trainer only if you have solid faith in the amazing power of fitness. Personal trainers believe that physical fitness is a powerful force, which helps to enhance people’s lives. You need to have a strong faith and confidence in your capability. If you think you are up to it, go ahead and choose one of the effective fitness certificate courses.
Choose an Effective Certification
There are several certifying agencies, each providing different workshops, classes and exams for getting the certification. Choose an institute that is not only national, but accredited too. Browse through the various websites on the Internet for accurate information. Get a certification from an agency accredited by the NCCA (National Commission of Certifying Agencies). However, there are some state diploma schools as well that offer classroom education as well as hands-on-experience.
Consider the programs offered by National Personal Training Institute, National Academy of Sports Medicine, the National Federation of Professional Trainers, the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, and the American Academy of Exercise. Choose whatever, seems just right for you.
Obtain a Specialty
Personal trainer showing client the right way to exercise while education them.
Though this is strictly not mandatory, it would prove useful to you in the long run. Fitness world is characterized by cut-throat competition. It is necessary to get a specialty certification simply to enhance your resume so that you get better job opportunities and more clients.
Specialty certification implies you are more qualified and capable of delivering more effective services so, you could even charge more. You could opt for specialty certifications such as NASM’s Behavior Change, ACE’s orthopedic certifications etc.
Start Networking
Personal training is mostly about your friends and acquaintances, to be precise; it is about the people you actually know. Building a strong network is vital to success. Remember that business and social life are interlinked and you should never give potential networking opportunities a miss.
Start networking with local wellness centers, local clinics, fitness expos, wellness fairs, business events and workshops. These are a great way of connecting with more and more new people or potential clients. Utilize these platforms for making a name in the fitness industry. Always attend these events and remember to distribute your business cards and brochures to disseminate your contact information so that the prospective clients could get in touch with you.
Take Up a Job or Start Your Business
Once you have achieved your certifications and are professionally qualified to be a personal trainer, join a club for getting experience and building your clientele. Alternatively, you could start your very own home business. You need to choose a business name, register your company, get liability insurance and set up your own gym.
Evolving and Staying Updated is the Trick
You can succeed as a personal trainer only if you keep yourself constantly upgraded and updated. You need to go on learning, improving and evolving. Keep attending training workshops and fitness conventions from time to time to stay abreast with the latest in the industry.
Images by: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/
Sujain Thomas
Author Bio: Sujain Thomas is a qualified career counselor. She has helped aspiring students to identify the right career as per their skills and aptitude. She enjoys blogging in her spare time.
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