Becoming a Personal Trainer

Many people have asked me over the years about if I think they could become a personal trainer and how they could go about it so just for everyone’s reference, this is how you go about becoming a personal trainer. In the following entries in my blog I am going to look at some of the traits a Personal Trainer needs and also the benefits of having a PT.

Personal training is a self regulated industry, we have an organisation called the Register of Exercise Professionals. This organisation sets the standards for fitness professionals at different levels, ranging from level one (assistant) to level three (advanced instructor/PT). The standards are set in conjunction with Skills Active, which is the sector skills council for the liesure industry.

In terms of qualifications there are two main awarding bodies YMCA and Active IQ, the bodies develop the courses and ensure consistency in the testing procedure. These courses are then delivered by a number of training providers such as Premier Training International , Focus Training, YMCA Fit and Future Fit.

So to become a qualified personal trainer you need to do a course that is recognised at REP's level 3, such as the Premier Diploma in Personal Training or the YMCA Personal Trainer Award.

Most personal trainers courses cover the following modules:-
- Client Lifestyle and Assessment
- Gym Instruction
- Advanced Gym Instruction
- Sports Nutrition
- Circuit Training
- First Aid at Work
- Business Skills

Some courses like the Premier Diploma also include a Sports Massage Therapy module. Which is a very useful addition to your PT based skills.

So now you are qualified can you go out and set up as a Personal Trainer? Well technically you can, you are qualified and have the know how. However when I speak to people who are newly qualified, they think they can go out and get clients from the Cheshire set who will be willing to pay upwards of £50 a hour for their time. This I feel is unrealistic for most, I think that you need to gain the valuable training time before you can put such a high price on your skills. The best way to do this I feel is to do a period of time where you work in a gym under the guidance of more experienced trainers, this period would allow you to put your newly found practical and theoretical skills into practice.

There is always more to learn, a there are a wide variety of courses out there that allow a PT to develop more advanced training knowledge. REP’s have also recently implemented a Level 4, this would allow trainers to be recognised for higher level qualifications. These are generally based on GP referral and the training of special populations, the level also however has a requirement for number of training contact hours.

If anyone out there is thinking of taking a Personal training course or would like advise on becoming a Personal Trainer, please do contact me and I will do my very best to help advise you.

TOM