How To Become A Professional Trainer – The 2 Vital Steps
Any individual who loves to lead a healthy lifestyle and help others achieve the same goal will excel as a personal trainer. Most fitness enthusiasts tend to fill in the role, unwittingly, for their friends and families. In this feature, we open the world of professional training to people by describing the two steps that one should take.
What Characteristics Do You Need?
Before investing in a course or a gym, the smart step to take is to know if you have what it takes to be a great personal trainer. A brilliant health lifestylist will be brimming with the following skills and characteristics.
- The person will be analytical. It means they can break down one goal into smaller projects and find ways to achieve them.
- The individual has to be extremely patient. The path to a fitter body is paved with endurance and persistent. It is not a one-day journey.
- The trainer has to be nurturing and capable of motivating the client.
- Persistent is another ability that is required because losing weight or creating a healthier body is not easy work.
- Like most other jobs, organization is needed in a trainer.
- The person also needs to be an effective motivator for others and themselves.
- A good listener.
How To Get A Trainer Certification?
In case, you check mark every characteristic listed above; you are ready to take the second step to become a professional trainer. This is a critical phase. Choosing the right certifying academy can make or break your profession. Always pick one that has been accredited by a renowned third party like NCCA. It becomes imperative if your dream employer looks for the certification. Before selecting the final institute for personal training certification, find the answers to each of these questions.
- Is the institute offering a national or an international accreditation?
- Is the academy universally recognized?
- Are there any prerequisites for sitting the exam? In most cases, there is a minimum requirement such as a high school diploma, a CPR certification, and an age minimum age limit. The person has to be at least 18 years.
- Does one have to attend a lecture, seminar or workshop before taking the certification exam? If yes, then where are these offered? Or is it a home study program?
- How is the exam to be taken – online or on-site?
- If the test is on-site, then where and when are the exams offered?
- How much does it cost to get the certification? Does the fee include any study material or lecture? Most often the price may range from as low as $300 to higher than $1000.
- Does one need to renew the certification periodically? If yes, then what are the education requirements? In most cases, a certain number of hours need to be fulfilled to gain certification.
Any institute or academic that stands tall on all these questions will be a superlative place to get a personal training certification.