Scope of Work

A personal trainer helps clients improve their general fitness, or achieve specific goals such as building muscle strength or losing weight. Their work may involve providing:

• Support in a gym or outdoors, or generally with clients.
• Exercise programmes for clients and support as the client uses programme.
• Fitness assessments to identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Nutrition advice and perhaps a dietary plan.
• Fitness assessments - heart rate, blood pressure and body fat.
• Reviewing progress - assess and discuss progress and adjust if needed.
  
  

Work may also involve:

• Professional Development - networking, PD study, travel, conferences, workshops
• Communications - writing reports, work in media, public speaking
• Administration - record keeping, financial management, accountability, reporting, marketing

What You Need to Learn

• Coaching skills - rapport building, focus on solutions, goal setting
• Exercise knowledge - awareness of different exercises, aerobics 
• Health & fitness - exercise physiology, biomechanics of muscles & skeleton, risks associated with exercise, injury avoidance
• Human nutrition - diet, calorific intake, nutritional value of foods, lifestyle & weight management
• Planning - designing exercise programs, giving instructions, demonstrations
• Motivation skills - mentoring, advising, leadership, facilitation, incentives
• Coaching skills - rapport building, focus on solutions, goal setting, mentoring
• Communication - verbal, non-verbal, interviewing, educating clients/patients, interpersonal skills

Starting a Career

Personal trainers may start many different ways, including:

• Conducting classes - volunteers at community centres/groups, gyms, tai chi, yoga
• Athletes -amateur or professional
• Useful professions - police, army
• Study - short or longer courses, informal learning
• Health - work in health care, first aid, nutrition or anything related to wellbeing can lay a foundation to get started.

 
Personal trainers are mostly self employed. To get started, you need to take a risk to start a business applying knowledge and skills in both fitness training and management. You must be able to find clients.
Finding clients depends upon:

• being known and seen by potential client
• being able to convince them to employ you
• being able to deliver a service which clients value
  
  

Progressing a Career

Personal trainers may advance; or perhaps change the direction of their careers, after further study by specialising in fields such as:

• Recreational therapist – working with people from various backgrounds or with certain disabilities to improve their lives for example:  children the elderly, people with psychological or physical disabilities or illnesses.  Recreational therapists use exercise, dance, music games, sports, crafts, swimming etc as part of the programs. 
• Athletic trainer – work with injured sports professionals to diagnose and treat injuries and devise rehabilitation plans.
• Exercise physiologist: often work with people with specific health problems such as cardiovascular or lung disease on their fitness and health education. They usually work alongside general practitioners.
• Networking also helps to improve career and business opportunities – within your sector and allied sectors as well as places and people who may be looking for the type of work you offer.