A personal trainer is an individual tasked with the responsibility of guiding and instructing people to attain their health and fitness goals. They primarily work with a particular customer, providing instructions and motivation in exercises and its related activities. Some of the academic qualifications that a personal trainer ought to have included; a bachelor’s degree in a field related to fitness, an accredited certification and a spell of hands-on experience with a certified instructor. A personal trainer may specialise in the following areas; yoga, aerobics or weight-lifting.
A personal trainer has a varied range of roles and responsibilities. They include; having the latest fitness knowledge. A personal trainer needs to ensure that he is clued up on the most recent exercise practices and nutrition practices. He should strive to keep abreast with the current trends and changes that occur in the fitness industry. He should have the expertise to design and implement individual exercise fitness programs curtailed to meet the needs and wants of the client. His approach should both be safe and effective, tailored to the consumer’s attainable goals. Thirdly, he should have the ability to educate and motivate his target market to attain the set objectives. He should strive to instil values such as hard work, passion, commitment and persistence in the consumer so that they can maximise their input to attain the desired results. Other responsibilities of personal trainers include; administering emergency first aid, enforcing the rules and regulations of facilities, monitoring the consumer’s progress and giving constructive feedback whenever necessary (Personal Trainer, 23).
Career opportunities
There exists a diverse range of career opportunities fitness trainers can venture in. Some of these careers include; being hosts of TV shows. Some renowned TV shows today seek the services of personal trainers to educate masses on the importance of living healthy lifestyles. Being a personal trainer has, therefore, become a high profile job in the showbiz industry. Secondly, personal trainers can be hired by celebrities and professional athletes to ensure that they keep fit and practice healthy habits. Athlete trainers aid in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries that may be sustained while participating in athletic activities. Thirdly, they may become nutritionists/dietitians and help masses eat meals that are healthy through educating them on issues to do with food. Personal trainers may also opt to become recreational therapists and design recreational programs for the disabled or the ill.
Salary
Research conducted by (Holland and McMorris, 34), dictates that roughly 267,000 people in the US worked in the occupation of a personal trainer as of 2012. The research further dictates that most of these trainers work in fitness centres, recreational centres, universities, gyms, exercise studios and resorts. Fitness trainers earn a median salary of roughly $40,000 annually. These figures are however expected to increase as the popularity of this lucrative career continues to grow.
Professional organisations affiliated with the career
There exist several fitness organisations associated with the job of a personal trainer. They include; American Council on Exercise (ACE). ACE is an NGO that offers certifications, research, education and training to the health and fitness industry. Secondly, there is the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM); a fitness firm that provides to the public the latest research in the health and fitness industry. Thirdly there is the International Health, Racquet " Sportsclub Association (IHRSA); a company that provides association services to sports, clubs, spas and gyms all over the world. Other well renowned professional organisations include; club industry, National Fitness Trade Journal and The Association of Fitness Studios.
Ways personal trainers can market themselves.
There exist numerous ways through which professional trainers can market themselves. These are; use of social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to sell the diverse range of products and services that they offer. The personal trainer should post teaser fitness sessions online regularly to the public giving them a hint on what they are to expect when they attend his meetings. Use of social media platforms is recommended because a large percentage of the target market is covered at the same time. Secondly, the personal trainer may employ the use of local fliers and ads to pass the message to the public on the services offered. Thirdly, they may easily make referrals by providing their clients with actual referral documents so that they can advertise the trainer by word of mouth. Other marketing strategies include; creation of a personal trainer application, offering free classes regularly and forming partnerships with nutritionists (Career As a Personal Trainer, 42).
Advantages/disadvantages of being a personal trainer
Some of the pros of being a personal trainer include; handsome wages and salaries, living a healthy lifestyle and practising good eating habits, having the benefit of working and interact with celebrities and athletes, the ability to land lucrative deals with large companies such as Nike and Adidas. The cons of pursuing this career include; working late night shifts, and during the weekend, the trainer will have to travel from job to job, working in multiple gyms/people’s homes. The trainer will also be forced to train even when he is not in the mood to do so. Being a personal trainer is a career path that I would love to follow because I will not only live a healthy lifestyle but also earn good money while doing the same.
Works Cited
Career As a Personal Trainer. Institute for Career Research, 2009.
Holland, Tom, and Megan McMorris. Beat the Gym: Personal Trainer Secrets-Without the Personal Trainer Price Tag. Morrow, 2011.
Personal Trainer. 2015.
