Whether you are wanting to get started as a personal trainer or you are just trying to start going to the gym more, this blog post will be for you! Both of these things seem to be on completely different ends of the spectrum, but I can promise that they are both more aligned than you think.
Personal Trainers should be just as thorough as potential new members to a gym as there are a lot of things to consider when you set out on this journey!
With that being said, lets get into the 3 main things to keep in mind when getting started into fitness.
1. DO YOUR RESEARCH
Now I know what you all may be thinking, well what do I look for and how do I know that it is good information? Well, you don’t always know and that is where things get complicated. The longer that the fitness industry is around and modern science is around, the more products and “miracle” drugs come up and make empty promises. You see it all the time now, nutrition companies that will send you pre packaged meals that are said to help you lose weight, miracle powders that help you lose weight, everything trying to pull at your heartstrings that all seems to be “for you”.
This is rarely ever the case.
These companies know that there are people out there that want the easy way out, the one thing that will allow them to stay in their routine and also lose weight, but this is not how our bodies work and this will not always be the case. You will have to get out of your comfort zone and you will have to do things you never wanted to do.
Now, with all of that being said, where do you go to learn more? Well, most good resources are either scientific articles, nutrition and health articles on personal training websites like ACE, NASM, and many others. From there, you will get a basic understanding of what to do to get started and, as a personal trainer, what you are qualified to teach people and tell them what to do.
Outside of that, there are some other great people on YouTube such as Jeff Nippard, Christian Guzman, and Layne Norton to name a few. The good thing with these people is they take the science and break it down to the point to where it is easy for anyone to be able to understand it themselves and then reciprocate that information to friends or future clients. We of course also provide great information, but want to be able to show you other places to get more.
You will find many people on your journey of research that are giving out general information and may offer personal training services for free, but we strongly suggest to avoid doing so and here is why.
Your body is different from my body, which is different from my neighbors body. We all build muscle differently, need to eat a different amount of calories, process food differently, and ultimately have different lives. The reason personal trainers get paid for their services and information is because they know that, and their information is tailored to the individual, not the masses. When you adopt a trainer or a program that is “one size fits all” this will not maximize your results and may frustrate you more because you are still where you started.
Great information can be hard to come by, but with all of the places recommended above, you now have a great start toward getting the right information for yourself.
2. ASK QUESTIONS
In this profession and with a health and fitness lifestyle, things are always changing and new research is always coming up. This is where researching and asking questions is great. A good rule of thumb is being able to go to the resources previously listed and learn and make an attempt to reach out and ask questions. On top of that, talk to people at the gym that look put together.
That is where I got my start, asking people that looked like they knew what they were doing.
Most of the time, people will be willing and ready to help you out and will give you their advice, and you can always go and look it up afterwards and see how accurate what they give you is, but at least you get it from someone who has most likely put it to use and gotten great results. The other people that you should ask is trainers, but be careful with that.
This is where aspiring trainers should pay attention.
Personal training is more than just sitting at a machine and doing 3 sets of 10 reps with your clients and calling it a day. If that is you or you see someone that is doing it, chances are that there is more out there that you need to be learning. If anything, machines should be the last thing that you should look toward, unless you are a bodybuilder or you or your client is in the middle of physical therapy. Outside of that, majority of people should not even touch machines as there are better alternatives.
If you see a trainer doing that with their clients or they are not engaged with them, then I would stick with asking maybe the owner if it is a smaller gym or asking someone who looks to be in shape. Don’t be afraid to ask, that is the only way that we learn.
For example, when I first got started I read countless articles and watched YouTube until my eyes hurt, learning anything and everything fitness and health, and it helped. It was only when I started asking questions at the gym that I really benefitted from what I was learning. I learned the best way for my body to squat, and backed it with research along with learned some of the better techniques to pack on muscle and the best types of training for that.
Even some of the smartest personal trainers out there had to ask questions, so don’t feel like you are wrong for having to do so!
3. START WITH SOMETHING YOU LOVE
This may seem like a no brainer, but there is a lot of psychology behind this point here.
Let me ask you a simple question and that should help you understand why this is important!
Would you rather go into a gym on your first day and bounce from machine to machine that you have never used or would you rather grab a group of friends and go outside and play a sport or do an activity that you may love or find to be fun?
Most will go with the second option, and that is what I would recommend to you anyway. Start off with something that you love, because then fitness isn’t a chore that you have to do.
At that point, fitness becomes something that you look forward to, that you are excited to do, and that you will continue to do and make time for. When you start to get acclimated to a healthier lifestyle, then you can start to add resistance training into your regimen, but when you are ready.
Fitness is more than just a hobby that you do, it has to be a lifestyle that you should adopt. The reason for this is simple: if fitness is part of your lifestyle, then you are able to live longer and healthier because of it. Our main goal is to be able to do what we love for as long as we can, and the best way to ensure that is to adopt a fitness lifestyle.
Great advise Aaron! You are helping people understand the WHY of exercise and personal health! Good job!