Introduction to Personal Training
A
ccomplishment begins with vision. At some point in your
life, you envisioned yourself as a Personal Trainer. What
brought you to this point? Perhaps your own passion for
training, or a significant accomplishment in your own health
and fitness, or perhaps you simply have a keen interest in help-
ing others achieve their goals. Regardless of your reasons, you
probably have an appreciation for the challenges one can face in
striving to make a change in lifestyle and hopefully you also have
a sense of what it takes to be successful.Personal Trainers can’t be all things to all people, but they are
certainly in a privileged position to effect incredible change in
their client’s physical health and level of fitness, which often ends
up affecting their mental, social and emotional health as well!It is our hope that we can provide you with the tools and the
inspiration to make you the best you can be in this very important
and exciting position! This chapter will provide an overview of the
profession of personal training and outline the skills, knowledge,
abilities and equipment needed for success.The Personal Training Industry
Western society has become increasingly aware of the benefits
of active living, physical fitness and self-directed health. For
some people, being active is easy, but even fitness enthusiasts
and higher level athletes need coaches and trainers to create the
right programs and provide the support to keep them on track
and achieving their goals.For some people, being active is a struggle. This may be due to
a health condition, chronic injury or disability. Sometimes it’s due
to a lack of interest or motivation to exercise. Sometimes the mo-
tivation is there, but a hectic lifestyle, work and family responsi-
bilities make it difficult to find the time for exercise. These people
may need more support, encouragement and guidance to start
and continue a regular fitness program. Obviously, each trainer will have different skills, abilities and inter-
ests which will make them better suited for certain types of clients.
It is very important for trainers to understand their own strengths
and weaknesses and to target their services accordingly.It is also important for trainers to understand the specific reasons
people have for hiring a Personal Trainer. Often the motivation
is a desire to experience specific results such as weight loss,
weight gain, increased muscle tone, or better cardiovascular fit-
ness. Sometimes there’s a more general desire to feel better, takeChapter 1 Introduction to Personal Training