Becoming a Personal Trainer is not an easy process it takes time, commitment, patience and hard work to study and understand all the concepts needed. Not only does a personal trainer need to understand the anatomy of the body, as well as functionally how the body works but a personal trainer also needs adequate knowledge of aspects of business life, creating their own business, what it means to work for themselves or for someone else. Here are seven crucial steps needed to become a qualified personal trainer
Step 1: Characteristics of you and Research
Understanding whether you have the characteristics and analytical mind to to become a personal trainer is a crucial aspect in the process of deciding if the profession is for you. According to an article by Paige Waehner some of the characteristics needed to become a personal trainer include being ‘analytical’, ‘patient’ and ‘nurtering’. These qualities truly are needed as person who wants to become a personal trainer needs to understand the client their needs and also wanting to improve in their knowledge. Once the person decides whether they are fit characteristic wise to become a personal trainer they need to research different places, pricing, whether the course lectures fits into their lifestyle, therefore which institution will provide the best service for them. for example going out to request interviews for all the different institutions such as the Australian Health and Fitness Federation to see which course suits your lifestyle the most as well as the reputation of the institutions to keep in mind as well.
Step 2: First Aid
Once the course placement is decided on the institution it is very important to acquire first aid, according to australain standards for acquiring the Cert III in fitness (gym instructor) a person needs the first aid certs of HLTAID003 which includes both (HLTAID001) and (HLTAID002). It is a valid idea to get this course out of the way soon after starting the personal training course as it will save time in the long run.
Step 3: Personal Training course
Most certainly the most crucial step in becoming a personal trainer is becoming qualified with cert III and cert IV in fitness, according to Australian standards this is the minimum qualified amount needed to becoming a personal trainer. It is important along the course to try and garner as much experience and knowledge as possible.
You need to choose a federation that puts its students first, is flexible and supportive.
step 4: Acquiring personal training insurance
As much as any personal trainer does not want to injury a client or for a client to somehow become injured, it does happen from time to time and it is another aspect which is why it’s paramount to obtain insurance through a company for example BizCover which will alleviate the extra stress of potentially being sued from a client. If the personal trainer decides to open a gym it is also crucial to not only acquire public liability insurance insurance but also personal indemnity.
Step 5 Deciding your path within the fitness industry
As you progress through your course is good to develop of sense of what field of personal training you may prefer to work with, whether it be athletes and sport, lifestyle and weight lost, pregnacy. This choice will then therefore determine the type of way you go about marketing yourself and your brand.
Step 6: Marketing
Are you wanting to make your own business? are you wanting to be well known? if so social media is your friend, establishing a social media a presence will allow for your brand to be widely known and being diverse with social media, e.g. a website, Facebook and Instagram, also keeping in mind your target audience, for example for the elderly you may to be a little less digital and hang flyers at local supermarkets etc. as different demographics receive information differently.
Step 7: continue learning and adapting your knowledge
a personal training you should want to be the best at what you do, it is therefore an important aspect to further your knowledge in the fitness industry after being qualified, this can be done going to fitness and business seminars, as well as always keeping up to date with new scientific articles with research.
For wanting to be a personal trainer all these steps listed above are needed to be considered in the process of deciding, becoming and garnering further experience in terms of personal training and the fitness industry.
Help reference links
www.ahff.edu.au
https://www.verywellfit.com/steps-become-personal-trainer-1229776
https://fitness.org.au/articles/industry-services/fitness-insurance/34/107/175