You Must Evolve as a Personal Trainer
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By Sal | February 3, 2010
The quest to improve as a personal trainer/strength coach is a never ending pursuit. In our field there is a constant flood of information that we need to be in touch with if we are going to provide top-level service to clients. If you belong to a professional organization – I’ve made no secret of my feelings that fitness professionals must be a member of at least the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) – you need to spend some time every month reading professional journals. If you get these journals and do not read them, change your ways and set aside some time every week to review this info. If you have yet to join one of these organizations, you should do so immediately.
Thanks to the Internet there is a never ending supply of new and reliable, scientifically valid exercise and nutrition information that’s provided on a non-stop basis. This info can help you identify trends in the field, avoid ineffective methods or products and to offer a glimpse of new methods and techniques. Reading research can help to stimulate creative juices and/or help bring about an “A-ha!” moment that gets us to understand a concept that had been a mystery.
This info will also provide the means to design and implement the best possible training programs for you and for clients. That right, for your workouts. If you continue to train the same way that you did 10 - even 5 - years ago, then you have become stagnant and, by extension, your clients’ sessions have. If you do not regularly change the elements of your workout, no matter how progressive these elements may be individually, your workouts are inefficient and less-than-effective.
Fitness professionals need to push the envelope in so that they can continually improve. Don’t fall into the trap of complacency or use just one source of info to determine the direction of your training philosophy. Challenge yourself and you will always challenge your clients.
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Topics: Personal Trainer Coaching, Training Education, Training Philosophy, Training Style | No Comments »
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