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Career Description

This is an ideal career for a visionary thinker. As a personal trainer, you are not simply a fitness instructor, but help to manage, assess and train people within gymnasiums, clubs, sporting centres and in other recreational areas such as the beach, swimming pools or sports ovals.

Career Advice - Personal Trainer Career

You will teach and train across a variety of aerobic and anaerobic topics taking into account each client’s particular requirements. Your approach may range from preparation and management of fitness programs, general health and well being, to addressing specific objectives with rehabilitation programs, weight loss, body-building, cardiovascular gain and body flexibility.

Because you work with different bodies and different age groups, you need to have an appreciation of client objectives and desired outcomes and tailor your management in a safe, controlled, orchestrated manner that caters for the physical and psychological differences between clients.

What you do every day

Before developing any program for a client you agree on realistic objectives and time-frames, and assess their capabilities and fitness level. The programmes and advice are specific to each client, but a typical day can include dealing with weight loss or gain, fitness improvement, body-building, cardiovascular and lung capacity measurements, injury or health rehabilitation or simply for a general improvement in fitness and muscle tone.

You demonstrate and give correct advice on how to operate any fitness equipment, such as exercise bikes, treadmills, or weight-lifting equipment. When working in a facility that provides areas for fitness programs, you will assist in the general cleaning and maintenance of all the equipment. You may also have to answer telephones to take bookings required and to answer all relevant questions that customers may have in regards to any programmes.

Personality that best fit this career

You will need to have great communication skills and an outgoing personality. You will have a high level of fitness and preferably a background in fitness or exercise activities. You are a visionary thinker.

Your ability to encourage and motivate your clients needs to be second to none. You have a positive outlook of life, believing and advocating a healthy lifestyle of regular activity, good food and outdoor living. You are a role model and a walking example of what many clients want to become. You are trying to help them to achieve certain outcomes in either their general fitness, to lose weight, or to just become healthy and active.

So you need to understand the psychology behind the purpose. For example weight loss may not be and end in itself but rather a path to regaining self-esteem. Empathy and understanding are essential, but not at the expense of pushing your clients to achieve their best possible outcome.

Best thing about this career

Being a personal trainer you have the ability to help those who wish to improve their health, fitness and general well being. You get an enormous sense of satisfaction seeing your clients achieve their milestones. You are able to work in a number of different locations, such as gym, studio, home, with flexible hours.

Overseas work including working on cruise ships is also a possibility. Your personal fitness will also benefit. It’s a combination of factors that all come together to ensure a healthy living lifestyle.

Worst thing about this career

You will find much of your work is requires inconvenient hours and may be on a casual basis only. Clients generally require your services before and after work, so early morning starts and late nights are the norm.

The in-between is a good time for specialisation groups, university education or another part-time occupation. Holding clients to a sustainable programme (or retaining them at all) can be a challenge. Your body also wears out over time, the result of too many sessions.

It’s generally an occupation for younger people, so you might need to plan for a career change when you’re over 50.