Successful Personal Training

When people think about the profession of personal training, they tend to think the most important aspect of the job is to be knowledgeable about how the body works and how to exercise properly. Though this is a crucial factor in personal training, it is actually not the most important. The most important key to being a successful personal trainer is having outstanding communication skills. As a personal trainer, the main objective is to motivate your clients. How can one motivate though, without the ability to communicate effectively? Frank Stuart, hall of famer at the Australian College of Physical Education, provides an excellent fact when he states, “If you can’t communicate effectively with your clients, then you won’t be able to achieve …show more content…
By building strong relationships with clients, it increases the satisfaction of each training session for them because they feel their trainer truly cares about them and their fitness goals. This increased satisfaction will keep the client coming back for more sessions, which means more business for the trainer. According to the American Council of Education, there are four stages to the client-trainer relationship. The first stage is the rapport stage. The ACE Personal Training Manual by Cedric X Bryant and Daniel J. Green describes the rapport stage as, “The foundation for the entire relationship between you and your client” (Bryant and Green 391). During the rapport stage, the client and trainer begin to build trust with one another and connect on a personal and emotional level. In order to build trust with a client, a trainer must exemplify the three basic, yet crucial qualities that anyone in the helping profession must have, which are empathy, warmth and genuineness (Bryant and Green 391). These three qualities will help a trainer seem …show more content…
The nonverbal spectrum of communication can have an immense impact on a training session with a client. A personal trainer must convey positive facial expressions and gestures throughout the entire duration of the session with a client. Demonstrating positive facial expressions such as smiling, or nodding in approval, will help a client feel that they have earned the trainer’s approval and are correctly performing each exercise. Nonverbal cues are actually more effective than verbal cues, according to the ACE Personal Training Manual. “Nonverbal feedback is far more effective than verbal feedback. Clients tune into facial expressions and gestures” (Bryant and Green 404). It is also crucial for a personal trainer to be able to read the nonverbal cues of a client as well. A trainer needs the ability to recognize the look of discomfort or dissatisfaction while working with a client. If a trainer is not able to do so, the result could be a devastating injury to the client. Along with demonstrating and picking up on nonverbal cues, a personal trainer must also be an excellent listener if they are to be successful. Being a great listener will assist with being able to read certain nonverbal cues of clients. An article titled “Why Personal Trainers Need to Have Good Listening Skills” by Love Fitness Education explains, “Good listeners also