A lot of people have recently become interested in sports activities. They visit special centers, gyms and fitness clubs to acquire the desired sportswear. That is why such a profession as a trainer in a fitness center or sports club is gaining popularity. But before you start studying such a specialty, you need to pay attention to some important nuances in order to understand how to get this profession. So, how to become a trainer in a gym or sports center? What criteria are important for this?
Physical endurance
This criterion will be especially relevant if a person has set his sights on a long professional path. A trainer who is engaged in various group programs must perform many physical exercises over a long period of time. The gym instructor will be less tired, but he will spend a lot of time communicating with his students, and therefore various psychological fatigue may appear.
It is important in both the first and second options to be very positive and not pay attention to your mood and well-being. Such a load and work should always be a joy. But will an unprepared person be able to approach someone doing it with a smile during many years of similar work? You need to honestly assess your health and mental state and only then answer such a question. This is especially true for those who are over twenty-five years old or have had some serious sports-related injuries.
Don't use clients to solve your problems
Among your clients there may be very influential people, businessmen or representatives of socially significant professions (doctors, teachers, etc.). Do not try to find out which of them is which, and then use your acquaintance and communication for personal gain.
Do not ask your clients to help solve your problems or resolve any issues. Perhaps they will help you, but then it is possible that your reputation will suffer. The trainer receives money for training clients, and they do not owe him anything. And don’t try to actively tell clients about your problems so that they themselves offer their help (read the paragraph above about problem-free trainers).
Communication skills
A lot of people buy client club cards to not only develop significant physical fitness, but also to interact with people, and perhaps even with a trainer. This means that the instructor must have certain qualities:
- communication skills;
- non-conflict;
- he must provide all services to his charges with pleasure.
And also the coach must be able to find a common language with different types of people. If a person who wants to become a trainer does not have such traits, then he should not even think about going to work in a fitness center. Very often, the instructor has to act as a kind of psychologist and constantly listen to the problematic stories of clients. This may seem unbearable to many people. If you really like sports , but are an introvert, then it’s better not to start breaking yourself. Perhaps you should choose some other profession.
Physical activity, as well as communication skills, are usually determined by genetics and upbringing. That is why it is very difficult to achieve adjustments in this direction.
Never give advice to clients on personal matters
If your communication with clients is excellent, they share a lot with you and let you in on their secrets, the most important thing you should do is not give advice on personal issues. Even if the client directly asks you for advice, it is better to tactfully change the subject of the conversation or make do with the excuse that you do not know what to do in such a situation.
You are not a personal psychologist or conflict specialist to solve someone’s problems. Remember that once you have given personal advice to your client, you are indirectly responsible for the consequences of its implementation.
Imagine that your advice turned out to be incorrect, and the client made a mistake, did not act as he should have, what then? Most likely, the client will attribute his failures to your bad recommendations. You need it? Of course not! Therefore, give advice only on professional issues: fitness training, proper nutrition, weight correction course.
Appearance
Everyone knows that in most cases people are greeted by their clothes. This can be said about a sports coach. But here attention will not be paid to the clothes, but to the physical parameters of the instructor. It is not necessary to have huge muscles, it is enough just to have a toned figure and also have developed body contours. In this case, the client will have great confidence in such a person, and the coach will become an ideal motivator for him. It is difficult to imagine that someone will take seriously a trainer who is overweight and at the same time advise people on how to perform this or that technique for losing weight.
Seller Skills
The bulk of a trainer's salary usually depends on individual lessons sold.
Some part will be provided by the club card that the client buys, but the main part will be what the instructor can earn on his own. This is where sales skills are required. But, unfortunately, many novice coaches do not want to deal with these issues and believe that work will provide them well anyway. This is why many subsequently leave this industry. They earn little money and they are not happy with it. Some people find it very difficult to impose themselves, and it will be very difficult for such people to achieve great heights in coaching. If you work at least a little, you can understand the simplicity and banality of sales techniques. But this is only available to the most hardworking people who are willing to work on themselves.
Rule #3. When training clients, give them more than they need to stay in shape.
Just as you shouldn't get caught up in the dogma preached by one certification or one "gurus," you shouldn't get caught up in just one form of training, especially when it comes to what's new to the industry. Fashion comes and goes. For example, kettlebells appeared in the 1700s, but over time they almost disappeared for certain reasons: they put too much stress on the wrists and elbows. Suddenly, kettlebells became popular again, but they were proven to provide no additional benefits over barbells and dumbbells. Of course, weights are a completely independent tool, but it cannot be said that they are better and it is possible that they will soon disappear again.
Strength and conditioning coach William Wayland blogs: “Problems arise when coaches get too emotional about the training process—it clouds their judgment; they say that "when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail." So, fans of kettlebells are ready to use them for everything in the world. Steve Maxwell, a kettlebell aficionado and jiu-jitsu black belt, wrote on his blog: “There is an approach to using kettlebells like Leatherman tools, which means you can drive a nail with a screwdriver, but doing so is stupid. Kettlebells are a great tool, but you need to choose the right tools for the job.”
The British military banned the use of kettlebells many years ago due to increased injury rates, and as Body by Science co-author Dr. Doug McGuff points out, “If I were a kettlebell enthusiast, the question would be whether I would get injured or not.” “, for me there would be no question - only a question of “when”.
Higher education
Sometimes, to get a job, it is enough to complete special fitness training courses that have some specific state accreditation. But if you have a specialized education in coaching, then this can become the main conditions for hiring. Fitness trainers are not trained in any university in Russia. And therefore, the work requires special knowledge, not that given at universities that have a sports focus.
That is, you still need to learn some more information after receiving higher education, which can only be acquired at special courses, although there are a lot of them now. This suggests that higher education is not that important, but many club leaders look at it anyway.
Don't forget to use media for self-promotion
Nowadays, not using the media space for self-promotion is a big mistake. Today, almost all people are registered in at least one social network, many actively watch videos on Youtube, and use search engines to obtain the necessary information.
Therefore, a fitness trainer who expects success and a large number of clients should take advantage of the opportunities of free online advertising. To create your own account and thematic group on social networks, you will need no more than an hour of time. But by regularly updating motivational photos, videos and posts advertising your services, you can significantly expand your circle of clients.
Involve existing clients in your group, let them leave reviews about your work, give advice, share your best practices, post photos of your real achievements in personal training, and the result will not be long in coming.
Individual approach to clients
There were cases when the position of instructor was given to any muscled guys who were able to build muscle for themselves and help several friends with this. But modern realities are such that fitness centers are looking not only at big biceps and triceps. You need to show your communication skills. In addition, you need to be not so much a mountain of muscles, but rather the owner of a beautiful figure, which employers will primarily look at. All this must be an instructor, otherwise he simply will not be in demand.
It is worth understanding that there is a different contingent of people in the room. These could be young girls who came to give relief to their belly, and office clerks who want to turn their thin body into a mountain of muscles. During the day, older clients or teenagers can go to the club .
And some fitness clubs also sell children's cards. The range of clients can be very wide, and each needs to be approached individually. Those who want to get a job as a coach in such a club need to understand this very well. Those who are unable to find the right approach to the client will never be able to build a successful career in a good fitness center.
Trainer versatility
Very often, over time, a fitness trainer gets tired of doing the same activity every day, and he wants to change the direction of his activity. A professional instructor must be able to adapt and redirect his actions, correct the course and master the theoretical bases of other areas. Otherwise, the client will simply turn to another trainer who is more versatile. And because of this, wages will be greatly reduced.
Fitness instructor training
At the time of the formation of this profession, former athletes or coaches related to big-time sports became instructors. Society began to notice the difference between fitness and sports, so soon the narrow field significantly reduced the number of candidates. A fitness instructor helps a person achieve specific goals, eradicate existing problems, transform the body, and cope with complexes and fears. By and large, this profession combines the skills of an athlete, medical and psychological knowledge.
All the subtleties of this direction are taught in courses. Higher and secondary specialized institutions in Russia do not yet provide such training, but the courses provide knowledge on various physical education and health systems and technologies.
A higher education diploma in one of the medical specialties, coupled with professional courses, opens up much greater prospects both in the field of employment and in opening your own business providing private services.
Starting in 2022, a new regulation “On the certification of gym instructors” will be introduced in Russia, which concerns the procedure for obtaining an educational document by a candidate for the post of fitness trainer.
The responsibilities of a gym instructor include:
- strict adherence to accepted labor standards, compliance with safety regulations, direct subordination to management;
- wearing the sports uniform accepted in the institution;
- immediate response to complaints and their prompt resolution;
- maintaining order and cleanliness in the workplace;
- warning, informing clients about compliance with the necessary rules;
- timely maintenance and completion of documentation;
- general assessment of physical condition, determination of a training plan;
- mandatory implementation of related measurements and indicators;
- technical safety briefing;
- careful observation, careful monitoring of clients during classes;
- monitoring the impact of training on a person’s health and compliance with the developed plan;
- conducting personal consultations on issues of interest;
- maintaining control, accounting, and analysis of the results of joint work;
- constant study and mastery of new training techniques, regular training.
Salary and tips
Typically, individual lessons, and group training, are quite expensive. That’s why you shouldn’t count on tips too much. Clients can only give small gifts if they are satisfied with the results obtained. As for salary, a good personal trainer can earn approximately 200 thousand rubles per month. Income will depend on the level of development received by his clients, as well as on those skills that have already been described above.
To receive a tip, you must fulfill the following conditions:
- get into an expensive gym as an instructor (in ordinary gyms it is not customary to spend additional money on tips);
- absolutely always be kind and smiling;
- answer all questions and help in every possible way;
- pay great attention to your wards.
Schedule
Basic information on how to become a fitness trainer has been received. But we need to consider one more - a secondary, but quite important issue. We are talking about the instructor's work schedule. There are several options. The schedule can be flexible or permanent. It is worth understanding that free is much more difficult, but more financially profitable. Typically, clients come to the fitness center in the evenings. Weekends can also be busy. Therefore, it will be very difficult to communicate with your friends and relatives when you have to be at work from 10:00 to 21:00, and sometimes on weekends.
How can a girl become a fitness trainer from scratch? Do everything that is written in the article. It doesn't matter what gender a person is. The conditions in good gyms are approximately the same for a fitness trainer: education, skills and communication skills. Therefore, this is not a matter of gender differences.
Originally posted 2018-03-29 09:09:56.
Is it easy to become a good specialist?
Now I’ll tell you how easy it is to become a good coach, and not just a guy who received a piece of paper and now walks around the hall with an important look and a high nose, fluffing his feathers.
What kind of coach is good? As for me, a good coach is one who has all the necessary information that will help a person transform and, most importantly, will not harm him.
For example, the coach just repeats that the base is what you need for a good result, the golden three, you don’t need anything other than the base, the base is like a mother, one for life. Do the basics and everything will be fine for you, muscles will grow, fat will go away, you will pay off the loan, your wife will return, your children will get a job and it doesn’t matter that they are not even three years old. And he says this to absolutely everyone, both men the size of the cruiser Aurora and girls who can barely raise their hand with a spoonful of buckwheat.
Most likely, such a coach often had dumbbells fall on his head . With such a coach, a person’s prospects are not the brightest.
Yes, undoubtedly, nothing more effective than the base has yet been invented (except for the butterfly, which clings to the abs and burns fat with electrical impulses, naturally). It’s just that it all works together. It’s not enough to just lift weights; you also need to eat right, monitor your rhythm of life, and much more.
A good trainer will definitely find out about the injuries of his ward in order to correctly create a training program that will not harm, but rather strengthen his health.
Another good trainer will always draw up a nutrition program and explain what and how to do.
If from the first training session a coach loads you with a weight that 23 Tajiks can hardly lift, and then also forces you to dig up a garden at his dacha and chop firewood, then you won’t last long with such a coach .
The load must also be selected individually and gradually increased. To do this, a good coach will keep a training diary. Or at least make you do it.
Also, a good coach will always give you maximum attention. No good trainer will allow himself to eat shawarma and watch a new TV series on his phone while you can hardly lift heavy dumbbells off the floor.
And a good coach will always be happy to tell and explain to his ward what exactly he is doing and why.
We’ve figured out the definition of a good coach, now we’ll find out how to become a coach in general.
