10 Things You Never Knew About Personal Training

Personal trainers have become increasingly popular in recent years, as more and more people have discovered the benefits of fitness for their physical and mental wellbeing. Resultantly, lots of sports professionals are looking to get into this line of work, whilst loads of regular people are now considering hiring a PT for themselves. As such, we thought we would use today’s article to discuss some things which people are commonly unaware of when it comes to personal training. Whether you’re an upcoming PT or someone who’s thinking about committing to getting fit in 2021, this article should appeal to you. Keep reading to find out more information.

1.) Losing Weight Isn’t the Main Goal

Most people hire a personal trainer because they want to lose weight. While there is nothing wrong with this, it’s definitely not the primary goal of personal training. Instead, personal training is all about empowerment. You participate in weight training to give yourself more strength; you improve your fitness so you can feel powerful enough to run a hundred miles; you lose or gain weight to feel more confident about your body, and so on. It’s important to establish the difference and build a healthy relationship with exercise. Otherwise, you could end up doing yourself more harm than good.

2.) A Healthy Diet Is Very Important

The majority of personal trainer courses will cover nutrition. This means that, while personal trainers don’t qualify as nutritionists, they will still take diets into account when devising a fitness plan for their clients. Therefore, people should be aware that their PT will ask about what they’re eating and give some additional advice. Meanwhile, aspiring PTs should try acquiring a nutrition qualification alongside taking a personal training course. Companies like Train.Fitness offer a Body FX nutrition programme, so you should definitely check them out.

3.) One Size Does Not Fit All

If you have tried improving your fitness before and found that you hated every second of it, then you’ve probably not found the right exercise or workouts for you. When it comes to fitness, there is no one-size-fits-all. We all have different taste in food – and the same applies to exercise. For example, your friend might find jogging easy and a lot of fun, but you might find it boring and too intensive. Don’t beat yourself up about it. A personal trainer will take your exercise likes and dislikes into account, then create a tailored workout which is a huge amount of fun, plus helps you to achieve your fitness goals.

4.) Personal Training Can Be Online

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown everybody’s routine out of the window. Inevitably, it has also had an impact on how personal trainers deliver their sessions to clients. However, thanks to the benefits of technology, PTs can still keep helping their customers with their fitness. For example, you can email your clients routines or fitness videos to complete as ‘homework’ whilst you are unable to host the sessions in person. Moreover, aspiring PTs can take a virtual personal trainer course to enhance their skillset whilst waiting for the pandemic to blow over.

5.) You Don’t Need to Train Every Day

There seems to be a fitness myth going around that you must exercise every day to maintain the ‘perfect’ physique. However, most personal trainers will actually recommend against this. As we mentioned before, exercise is about empowerment – improving your mental and physical health. If you train every day, you could end up over-exercising or developing an injury. For example, your leg muscles might become increasingly worn down, so instead of getting stronger, you’ll actually be getting weaker. As such, it’s important to draw a line and not slip into obsessive exercising. A good personal trainer will help you to identify and establish your body’s limits.

6.) Psychology & Personal Training Often Combine

Most personal training courses focus on developing your teaching skills and expanding your physical education. However, these aren’t the only skills you will need as a PT. It’s also important to learn the basics of psychology – because, as it turns out, this is a big part of personal training nowadays. Whilst training clients, you will probably find you need to push them past their physical AND mental boundaries, as these two things are inextricably bound. In fact, it’s not uncommon for personal trainers to become like a therapist to their clients. As such, it might be worthwhile brushing up on some counselling techniques if you want to get into the field.

7.) Personal Training Is About the Long Term

Everyone wants to achieve their health and fitness goals as quickly and easily as possible. However, this simply isn’t possible or viable. Personal training isn’t about getting fast results. Instead, it is about developing a sustainable lifestyle which improves your overall health for the long term. Nobody can make drastic changes to their routine and expect these new habits to stick, after all. Therefore, personal trainers will focus more on introducing small, healthy habits into your lifestyle which you can keep up for many years to come.

8.) Working Out to Music is a Thing

As we mentioned before, exercise is supposed to be fun. You are much more likely to stick with your fitness routine if you are enjoying yourself along the way. And what’s more fun than dancing along to some music? Most personal trainers will keep this in mind and try to incorporate music into their sessions with clients. In fact, this is such an effective motivation method that you can take whole personal training courses on ‘exercise to music instruction’. So, you don’t need to dread exercise – PTs want to make it as fun as possible.

9.) Exercise Doesn’t Have to Be Labour-Intensive

Most people don’t have the energy or motivation to do a full-body workout for 45 minutes at a high intensity. And that’s okay. Exercise doesn’t always need to be labour-intensive, and your personal trainer should be aware of that fact. Sure, they will push you to do better, but they also aren’t going to force you to do anything you don’t want to. In fact, good PTs will recognise that good exercise doesn’t always need to be hard exercise. Take yoga, for instance. This is a fantastic way to build your core strength, but it’s also not too draining – making it a good alternative for a day when you have low energy.

10.) PTs Are Guides, Not Directors

Most people think a personal trainer will force them into getting fit. However, PTs are only supposed to guide their clients – they can’t give you the motivation you need. So, if you truly want to achieve your fitness goals and sustain your physical health, then that motivation must come from inside yourself. Fortunately, personal trainers can be a massive form of support. They will help set you on the right tracks and find your inner willpower, empowering you to make permanent changes to your lifestyle and mindset.

These are 10 things you might not know about personal training. It is worth keeping this information in mind if you are considering getting a PT or becoming one yourself. Most importantly, remember to have fun whilst exercising and prioritise health (mental or physical) above all else!