Common mistakes that personal trainers make - FitWell Content

The Most Common Mistakes Fitness Professionals Make

Blog Business tips Reading Time: 7 minutes
BY: jacob wildman

Why do some trainers make a rapid step forward while others do not achieve the desired result no matter how hard they try? What to do? “Work more,” they answer. No, you shouldn’t live in a gym!

To become successful, it is enough not to make the following mistakes:

  • Everything is template and standard. “I offer the services of a fitness coach. I guarantee results and an individual approach” – are you attracted by such an announcement? Of course not! A person wants to know: what kind of program, how quickly, and why to choose you? Be specific and move away from the patterns of other fitness trainers.
  • Striving for certification. What’s bad about it? Be focused on the balanced development of your theoretical knowledge and practical skills. So you will become a certified personal trainer who athletes are willing to go to for training and who is recommended to friends.
  • No customer focus. Think about why people go on fitness training? Just to relax? No, they lead a healthy lifestyle, adhere to proper nutrition, and strive to achieve the desired body shape. So give the clients what they expect from you, be interested in their success, and do not forget praise!

If you want to succeed in your scope, join FitWell Content. FitWell Content is an assistant for fitness trainers, coaches, nutritionists, wellness professionals, and others. Interest among your clients will grow at the speed of light, and you will not have to spend time creating content yourself.

Mistakes that a fitness coach needs to avoid

Being a coach is a huge responsibility. In striving for impressive results, the main thing is not to harm. It would help if you also observed subordination while at the same time being sincerely involved in the process. It requires enormous moral stress, due to which unfortunate miscalculations sometimes occur. We hope this article will help you eliminate mistakes and become a great coach.

Even professional coaches sometimes make mistakes. And if some mistakes are invisible, others can lead to injury. When taking care of your professionalism and the health of your clients, it is better to study the most common mistakes of fitness coaches.

fitness training

An exercise in punishment

Each coach should have their own well-developed personal training program. A good specialist can use many ways of planning and varying exercises to achieve a particular result. Suppose the coach punishes his client with additional squats or runs one day. In that case, this calls into question his professionalism. And there are many reasons for that: 

  • Do you want to be feared? A person should enjoy the gym, and such punishments are unlikely to please him.
  • Increased stress on specific muscle groups can lead to overwork or even injury.
  • Endurance work interferes with strength. It is necessary to see the line between the optimal and maximum training power. Plan more varied loads to work all muscles to avoid injury.

Imposing your views

The client should not be imposed not only on your athletic ambitions but also on your views on fitness goals. 

Our task as fitness trainers is to give a person everything that he aims for. Later, when a trusting relationship is formed, you can gradually convince him that there are other aspects that are worth paying attention to. In this way, you will be able to reach a much larger proportion of customers and increase your income. In this way, you will be able to reach a much larger proportion of customers and increase your income.

The best fitness coaches give their clients an excellent physical shape. There is even a formula for such a mentor and training with him: 60% is strength, 20% is rigor, and another 20% is the correct ratio of all components.

No specialization or individuality

Your task, as a coach, is to understand what the future athlete wants: to get back in shape, lose weight or take gold at international competitions. According to this information, you will plan the personal training program.

Each person is unique and individual in the structure of their body and its requirements. Accordingly, everyone should have:

  • their program for warming up all muscle groups; 
  • their strength training program;
  • approaches to the main loads, according to one or another feature.

There are no two people with the same fitness training programs. Everyone deals with stress and fatigue differently. Someone needs more time to restore strength and energy, and someone less.

Of course, suppose the coach works with many people at once and does not have time to work on each individually. In that case, the system of available loads, the same for all, may be successful. But it does not suit everyone and does not always give 100% results. The system can be universal, but a positive impact is achieved much faster with a more detailed study of each separately.

Follow strict diets

The main rule for compiling a diet during fitness training:  must be balanced! It must contain both proteins, healthy fats, and slow carbohydrates. Their percentage depends on your fitness goals: lose weight, gain muscle mass, or stabilize weight. You should adhere to this golden rule and share it with your clients.

The calorie content of the diet is also essential. It must be calculated individually, considering the body’s characteristics and daily physical activity. Ideally, to maintain a stable weight, your clients should burn as many calories as they consume. And if they lose weight, the calorie intake should be in short supply, but no more than 15% of their usual.

personal training

Turn a client into an athlete

Two categories of people come into the profession of a fitness coach:

  • Former athletes come from a professional sports environment.
  • Those who do not have a sports background but are seriously interested in fitness.

The first category of coaches often projects their professional experience onto their trainees. But most fitness club clients do not prepare for competitions. They do not need to set sports records.

What to do? First of all, find out the goals of the client. If his goal is health and physical activity, adjust the personal training process to achieve this goal.

Disrupt the sequence of the training process

Novice coaches sometimes forget about the training process sequence and, due to inexperience, violate the principle of “from simple to complex”.

And the last tip: write every important thing down! A coach needs to record all the stages of working with a client. So, you will not forget important details, health features, or the dynamics of everyone’s progress. Don’t rely on memory. Such records will become not only the basis for a sharp correction of the fitness training process but also a storehouse of your coaching experience.

Have a fear of expressing yourself

Novice coaches are sometimes afraid to draw attention to themselves. The client needs to see that he is paying a professional: 

  • Do not be lazy to share knowledge with clients. 
  • Do not be afraid to stay for 5 minutes after a workout to explain to the client the basics of proper nutrition and the importance of controlling calories consumed.
  • Participate in gym events. 
  • Work for the recognition and reputation of a high-class coach. 
  • Keep your blog to attract more customers and expand your audience.

Do not be lazy to explain the basic principles of the fitness training process. Start with simple and acceptable loads. Increase the load depending on the individual client adaptation process.  

Our FitWell Content experts could provide beneficial fitness advice to make coaching more effective for your clients.

FAQ

A good coach is a person who:

  • loves his job
  • knows and can do what he teaches in the training
  • loves people (at least – friendly to people)
  • energetic
  • positive
  • knows how to improvise
  • is an exciting storyteller (possesses oratory skills)
  • Required knowledge and skills
  • Physiology, anatomy, and sports biomechanics.
  • Medicine, sports, and security control.
  • Organization of proper nutrition, understanding the basics of nutrition.
  • Effective exercises.
  • Diagnosis of the client’s condition and understanding of their psychological needs.

The trainer should always find time to analyze the lesson and pay special attention to problem areas. If you do not investigate, then you are just guessing. The analysis is carried out according to the following indicators: breath, pose, general movements, the correct spine position, vertical jumps, jumping to the side, statistical test, squats, pull-ups, etc.

Continuing education is not compulsory. But this investment is confirmed by any successful person. To make money, you need to spend money. The more money you spend on education, the more you will earn. You will be convinced of this very quickly when you try it.

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