How to become a fitness trainer?

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-03-25

Let's assume you are a workout fanatic. You train long and hard. And many people like this start to think: "Maybe I should start training myself?" It's a good thought, of course. But you don't need to be exceptionally intelligent to understand that personal experience alone is not enough. You need something else...

Commercial fitness clubs, in general, do not care much about whether you have any special education or not. In other words, you can become a fitness trainer without any education at all. They will hire you if they see that you have a good physique and knowledge in this area.

Overall, the criteria vary among different clubs. Therefore, I will share my criteria which, in general, apply to most clubs.

Thus, to become a fitness trainer, it is desirable but not mandatory to:

1. Have sports achievements, medals, and titles.
2. Have a special education. By this education, I mean a physical education university or, at the very least, some training courses for trainers.
3. Have a good physique.

So, if you have no sports achievements, no education, and no good physique, you can still become a trainer!! Yes, indeed. I know personal cases like this. Of course, with such qualifications, you will be refused in quite a number of clubs. But there will be clubs that will take you. These are unlikely to be elite clubs, but you can start your training career in such conditions.

Personally, I believe that theoretically, it is possible to be a good trainer without possessing all three of these qualities. I know such cases, though they are rare. That is why I classified these qualities as desirable but not mandatory.

Now I will tell you what is absolutely necessary to be a fitness trainer, again in my opinion.

1. Knowledge of physiology
2. Knowledge of anatomy
3. Knowledge of psychology
4. Knowledge of biomechanics
5. Knowledge of pharmacology
6. Knowledge of sports medicine and traumatology
7. Knowledge of dietetics
8. At least a few years of personal training experience

As you guessed, all this knowledge can be obtained through self-education. There are plenty of books, textbooks (and videos too) available nowadays. Besides, you don’t need to know psychology as well as a psychologist or know traumatology like a traumatologist. Basic knowledge in each of these disciplines is sufficient. Of course, the more you know, the better. But I have highlighted for you the 7 most crucial areas in which you should continually develop.

Now let me explain why I divided these qualities into 2 categories (desirable but not mandatory and mandatory). Suppose you are a Master of Sports with an excellent physique and possess a Physical Education University diploma that you purchased without attending lectures. In this case, you have all the desirable qualities, but you lack the mandatory ones (the knowledge). I have observed such situations too. I know a couple of awesome athletes with diplomas and great physiques, but I would never go to them for training.

Conclusions

If you want to become a trainer, then:

1. Study the disciplines I listed. They are all important.

2. Continue to train and experiment on yourself. You will later transfer that experience to someone else. From my own experience, I can say that when I don’t train myself, I train worse.

3. It is advisable to enroll in a physical education university (for example, a correspondence department). Or, at the very least, complete some course for trainers named after Ben Weider. Such courses usually last several months. There you will learn something interesting and receive some sort of certification.

4. Engage in a specific sport, rather than just training. This could be bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting, fitness bikini, kettlebell sport, or arm wrestling. A trainer with sports achievements often has greater authority among their students. Additionally, they can train not only at an amateur level but also prepare athletes professionally for competitions.

5. And finally – get a job as a trainer. Go to some small gym and tell them that you are not a mega-cool trainer but want to become one. Ask to work as an assistant trainer for a nominal salary. I worked as a trainer for 20,000 rubles a month for 3.5 years. It's not much money, but I gained a vast amount of knowledge during that time.

So, if the thought of becoming a trainer has firmly settled in your mind, take the advice from this article. I know what I’m talking about. Good luck!