Career Profiles Personal Trainer
Working as a personal trainer at a gym, or doing private sessions for clients in their home is one of the most important jobs to have in the personal fitness field. Clients rely on their personal trainers to help them achieve results that they otherwise cannot accomplish on their own. Being fit and looking good instills a sense of pride in all individuals and to be a personal trainer you are required to help people reach the goals that they have set for themselves.
At many gyms it is required that the personal training staff undergo a series of courses to prepare them for the task of personal training, but even if this is not required in order to work as a personal fitness trainer it isn't a bad idea to take one of these courses or attend a seminar specializing in personal training.
As a personal trainer you may find yourself working with a variety of different clients. While some may simply want to lose a few pounds so that they look good in a bikini, for others who are dangerously overweight it can be a matter of life or death. To truly help your client reach his or her goals you must have an extensive knowledge of what exercises work and which ones to include into your clients' workout plan in order to achieve the results that they are looking for.
In addition to knowing what exercises will work best for them you must also know what exercises could potentially cause harm to your client. One good example of an exercise that you may want to avoid including in your clients workout routine is squats if it turns out that the person you are training has a history of knee pain or may have suffered an injury to that part of their body in the past; this also applies to dead-lifts if your client has had a history of back problems.
One important thing to keep in mind is that no matter how many clients you have, each of them is no less important than the rest and equal care should be given to all. It is inevitable as a personal trainer that you will have some clients that you have to push harder than others in order to get them to put in that extra amount of effort that it takes to accomplish the goals that they have set for themselves. In fact, many people hire personal trainers because even though they may know what exercises to perform to attain the results that they are looking for, they may need the additional motivation that only a personal trainer can provide to help them accomplish their goals.
Aside from possessing the knowledge of exercise techniques and how best to implement them, a good personal trainer will also have an extensive knowledge of dieting and how to design a meal plan that will help the clients achieve their goals. Without a proper diet even the best workout routine in the world will only yield mediocre results if the person being trained isn't consuming the types of food that their muscles need to grow. In fact, many personal trainers will say that the workout itself only makes up 10 percent of the progress achieved, with the other 90 percent coming from what they are putting into their body.
In terms of payment and employee benefits these may vary depending upon the company that you work for, and some personal trainers are actually considered independent contractors. Whatever your employment status may be as a personal trainer the pay is very competitive and if you find yourself employed by one of the larger fitness clubs the benefits in terms of health insurance, retirement benefits, and salary can be quite substantial.
Perhaps the most rewarding part about being a personal trainer however, is the feeling of helping others to reach their own personal fitness goals and achieve the pride within themselves that they have dreamt of their entire life.
