In this rapidly changing world, we have seen a huge revolution, as more and more people are now becoming active. As a result of people becoming more fitness conscious, people have started realizing the importance of personal trainers. But what exactly are the essential skills learned in personal training courses that equips the trainers to excel in their profession? What skills and tools do personal trainers need to help their clients reach their health and fitness goals?
A personal training certification covers a wide array of topics ranging from human anatomy and physiology to motivation and behaviour to exercise science and programming. It also teaches you about the principles of evidence-based practice. Let us delve into some of the essential skills acquired through personal training courses:
- ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY: A certified personal trainer course covers the concepts of human anatomy and physiology that you need to know as a personal trainer, to coach different clients. You will learn about various muscle groups, their structure and function which will help you select and modify exercises for your clients. Understanding human anatomy will also help you prevent injuries among your clients. You will also be learning about the functioning of various systems like the cardiovascular system, understanding human physiology helps you understand the impact of exercise on our body and how training plan can be modified for various clients based upon their health and training history.
- CLIENT TESTING AND ASSESSMENT: Training plans are not one size fits also approach. A certified personal trainer course teaches you about individualization. You will learn about assessments that will help you know about the client’s health and fitness status. Using various assessments, you will understand what the client needs to work on, what goals should you set, what kind of a program might be suitable for the client. It also helps you understand which client needs to get a medical clearance before starting a new training plan.
- GOAL SETTING AND RAPPORT BUILDING: Two of the most important aspects of personal training are goal setting and rapport building. A personal training certification will teach you about the strategies to set up better goals for your clients, which helps you coach your clients for their goals.
As a coach it is important for you to learn about rapport building. This is one of the skills that will help you attract more clients, improve lead conversion, help your clients be more consistent. A client follows the plan consistently when they have trust in their coach and building trust is the major aspect of rapport building. Personal training courses focus on teaching their coaches about skills that can help them build rapport so that they can build a better client-personal trainer relationship.
- NUTRITION AND DIET: A certified personal training course lays a major focus on the importance of diet planning. You will learn about the tools and guidelines to help your clients make better dietary decisions. This especially includes the pre, post and intra workout nutrition to optimize athletic performance. You will also be learning about food choices and nutrition labels that you can teach your clients to make better health decisions.
- EXERCISE PROGRAMMING: Another important and probably the most important skill of all is exercise programming and periodization. A coach who understands training volume, intensity, and frequency and how these variables are to be modified as per the needs of the client. Along with this, understanding training principles like specificity and progression and how they can be applied in different ways for various clients is an essential skill that coaches need to develop.
These are just some of the skills that a personal trainer certification teaches. You also learn about behavior modification, injury prevention, marketing skills, career development, cultural competence, etc. In summary, personal training courses offer far more than just the mechanics of exercise. A personal training certification will equip you with all the skills that you need to build your career as a successful personal trainer.