All of the course tutors who write CPD courses and workshops for motive8 CPD are or were personal trainers. We feel this gives us an advantage when developing and writing CPD courses and workshops, as we understand what personal trainers are looking for when they sign up for one.
Last week, as a team, we all brainstormed what makes a good personal trainer; after all, just like you, we want to be the best at what we do. We called these our 10 Commandments and thought we would share these with you.
1. Ongoing Learning
Developing your skills and knowledge keeps your passion alive as well as making sure you are using new research and techniques to help clients hit their targets. Whether you attend courses and workshops, read the latest journals, or have discussions with fellow personal trainers, it’s important to keep the fire in your belly and stay passionate about what you do. Your clients will notice if you’re not passionate and you will soon see your retention rates drop.
2. Challenge Yourself
This relates to the above; don’t get stuck in your ways. As personal trainers, we live in a world of constantly changing research. Don’t be afraid to apply this to your training sessions – just because what you are currently doing works, doesn’t mean new approaches won’t work too….in fact, applying new methods may get your client’s to their goals even quicker!
Also, don’t be afraid of admitting your weaknesses. Spend some time looking at which of these areas you need to improve to deliver the best service possible to your clients and then enrol on a CPD course or workshop and develop your skill set.
3. Set Yourself Apart – What’s Your USP?
There is a lot of competition out there, so you need a USP to stand out from the crowd. Your USP should be something you enjoy learning about as if you’re going to be an expert in the field, you will need to spend lots of time studying and reading about this area.
4. Client Education
We’ve talked a lot about your own education, but what about educating clients? I remember when I first started working as a personal trainer, I was so worried that if I gave away my training tips and secrets that I would lose my clients….after all, they wouldn’t need me anymore, right? Wrong….an educated client is a client who is empowered to make their own decisions. Someone who feels that they have made the choice is more likely to stick to their healthier decisions and lifestyle.
5. Measure Results
I’m a stats person and I remember being horrified at the first gym I worked where many of the personal trainers didn’t measure their client’s progress……how do they know when they have hit their targets? How do you know what you are doing in their training sessions is correct. You should be regularly monitoring your client’s progress towards their goals, recording it and giving them copies of this so they can see how well they are progressing to their ultimate goal.
6. Provide Regular Feedback
As personal trainers, I think we have a duty to provide constant feedback to clients whether it be daily/weekly monitoring of food diaries, training programmes, sleep patterns, etc. Without this how do our clients know that what they are doing is the right thing to achieve their goals? Ensure your feedback is provided in a timely manner – what if I’m a weight loss client who has been eating too much sugar for the last month? I could have made so much more progress towards my goals if you had told me 3 weeks ago!
7. Lead By Example
I am a big believer that personal trainers are role models to their clients. You really should practice what we preach, and if you don’t then don’t go blabbing about it to your clients…..will they feel inspired if you confess to having sank 8 pints of beer at the weekend? Live it, breathe it…..
8. Have Empathy
Some people still think that personal trainers are sargeant majors, barking orders at them, but we know we’re not like that, don’t we?! A degree of empathy and understanding is essential to being an excellent personal trainer. Life often throws various things at clients which impact their progress towards their goals and you must be understanding of this otherwise they will soon become disengaged and stop training.
9. Treat Every Client As An Individual
An excellent personal trainer understands that each client is an individual, each person they work with will be motivated in different ways, face different obstacles in achieving their goals, have different work capacities, etc. Take some time to get to know your clients in their sessions, understand what makes them tick and you will have them hitting their goals in no time.
10. Go That Extra Mile
Ultimately, as personal trainers, we work in a customer-focused environment. Good customer service results in increased client retention. Give your client a little birthday present, a Christmas card, text them when you know something important is happening in their lives. We’re not saying you should become best friends with your clients, BUT, those extra little touches are worth it when it comes to client retention.
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