Being a personal trainer requires you to be up to date with the most recent fitness, health, and nutrition science to ensure you’re giving your clients the best training and advice possible. Working with people daily also requires strong communication skills.
But as a personal trainer, over time you may begin to feel like you’re doing the same old routine and workouts with your clients. Perhaps you just want to freshen up your skills? Or, maybe you want to be able to help a wider range of clients? Whether you want to liven up your workouts, get more knowledge or become even more professional, upskilling as a personal trainer is highly important for many reasons.
A career in personal training means your education is finished once you complete your certification right? Wrong. This industry works at a rapid pace. There are new technologies emerging each and every week, as well as new studies being undertaken in health and fitness. After only six months of working as a personal trainer, there are likely to have already been changes that you need to learn about. By upskilling and completing further education as you work, you not only can stay up to date with all of the latest changes in the industry, but you’ll be able to pass this information on to your clients.
Upskilling to ensure you know all there is to know about health, fitness and the industry means you’ll be able to provide better workouts for your clients – better than those of your competitors. Not only can this give you an advantage over updated competitors, but it can also allow you to compete with the new wave of competitors coming into the industry.
Different groups of people may have different exercise needs than others, such as the elderly, pregnant women or young children. By upskilling and learning more about certain groups of people who may be looking to workout, you’ll be able to tap into a niche market where others may not have the experience or knowledge to do so. These groups of people will be more comfortable seeking your advice knowing you have a true understanding of their needs as opposed to another trainer who hasn’t completed any further study in their field.
Client safety is crucial to personal trainers. Having the knowledge to be able to prevent potential injuries, as well as being aware of what to do in the event that a client does become hurt, will give your current clients peace of mind. Have a reputation for safety may also help to attract new customers.
Many clients also have underlying medical conditions or previous injuries that may be exacerbated by performing workouts incorrectly. Having the skills and knowledge of how to correctly complete workouts is therefore very important to client safety and your reputation.
Over time your clients may become bored with your services if they are repetitive and out of date. This can result in the loss of the client, who may find more up to date and exciting services elsewhere.
Instead, by upskilling, you’ll be able to add new challenges to your routine for your clients and keep them guessing. They won’t get bored and it will keep them coming back for more. With changes in technology, it’s also a great opportunity to embrace items such as wearables, online video tutorials, and smartphone apps. By adding these features into a workout or by sharing this kind of information with clients, they will know that you are well trained, building you a positive reputation.
You may have considered including additional services to your personal training business or gyms such as massage therapy or nutritional advice. Upskilling yourself can allow you to incorporate these services without having to hire additional staff with those particular skills, saving you money in the process. This will also allow you to cater to your clients on a more personal level. Rather than telling a client to visit another member of staff, you can instead be ready to provide advice yourself. Many people who use personal training services are time poor so if they can see you for a workout and a meal plan all in one, the convenience you’ve provided them with will help you retain them as a client. You’ll also be able to help them to track their progress by analysing their workouts and their food intake to help them reach their goals. If you have a client who is injured or sore from their workout, you can also assist with massage therapy. Courses in nutrition and massage therapy can help to increase your client base, the size of your business and how people view your professionalism.
Upskilling is important as a personal trainer to ensure that you are up-to-date with the growing and evolving culture of fitness, and are capable of assisting your clients with all their personal and unique fitness needs. And by continuing your studies with ICI Australia, you’ll be able to stay up-to-date, professional and provide the best possible services to retain current clients and attract new ones.
Gladys Mae serves as the General Manager and Head of Student Services at the International Career Institute. Gladys holds a degree in Mass Communication - Broadcast Media from the University of San Jose-Recoletos. She joined ICI in 2010 and has over the past 12 years been instrumental in providing leadership and guidance to staff and students alike. Prior to joining ICI Gladys led a multifaceted career with key roles in the banking and business process outsourcing industries.
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