WHAT IS REQUIRED TO BE A GREAT PERSONAL TRAINER
A lot of people are training others these days. I have seen generations upon generations of “trainers” come and go. Some understand the requisite skills and others never seem to understand that training someone is a service first and foremost. I maintain that one must have trained for something to fully understand this practice. Doctors and Lawyers study and study and study some more but they are not replete possessing knowledge alone. These businesses are called practices with good reason. No two clients’ needs are the same. A great personal trainer or coach must be able to think on their feet. I say intelligence is the ability to compare the current topic with all of one’s experience and knowledge.
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| Great personal trainers... |
Skills are great; a great coach must be proficient, experienced, and beyond on a case by case basis. All of these skills are founded solidly on the substance of integrity:
1. Service oriented
2. Socially perceptive
3. Well spoken
4. Well read
5. Active listener
6. Intelligent in decision making
7. Coordinated
8. Exceptional time managers
9. Persuasive
10. Critical thinking
Ø Integrity – this means being trustworthy, honest, truthful (logic), reliable, and dependable. Do what you say and say what you do in action. Everybody says they will “do their best” while their actions speak to the truth of the matter. If you make a mistake, admit it. Correct the action and keep working on the solutions.
Ø Service oriented – means we must be aware and adjust according to the group or individual we are dealing with. Psychology, sociology, sales, and marketing all fall under this category. If one ignores psychology or sociology sales and marketing are for nothing. Deal with people on a case by case basis and the sales and marketing efforts will follow. Make certain you are dealing with the wants and needs of your clients. Care what they want. They will trust you if you care.
Ø Socially perceptive – a great coach mirrors their athletes to a large degree. If one reads the unspoken cues given by the athlete both are better off. Social cues may be in the form of body language, questions, and statements. Many athletes have asked me questions over the decades I have spent coaching and in the early years, I addressed them as simple Q & A delivering more information. I later learned to seek the root of the questions. Why did the athlete ask me that question tells me more about the services I am or should be delivering than the answers I may have provided? This doesn’t mean we should not answer the questions. Gain perspective and look at the solutions through your clients’ eyes. It will pay off in results.
Ø Well spoken – means we must take care with our words. My favorite movie scene is from The Princess Bride. I paraphrase here, “You keep using this word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Strength is a great example of words used by trainers which mean something completely different than the scientific definition of the word. Strength is the ability to produce a maximal force. If a coach uses a different definition of the word strength I am happy. Because someone has to come in second place. The literature used this definition when the best research was done. Recently the personal trainer faction that has taken over strength and conditioning swaps strength, endurance, strength endurance, and muscle size interchangeably. We cannot find high-quality products at a swap meet.
Ø Well read – this should go without saying. When I started training folks in 1987, I used MUSCLE & FITNESS, FLEX, and IRONMAN magazines as my sources of substantiation. While I may have gained evidence on how to sell those publishing companies’ nutritional supplements I most certainly did not gain any scientific insight. I gained this from institutional sources. These sources are not without fault, certainly not. But the data is available for analysis. I now understand that Mr. Olympia is not going to give the world his training plan if he wants to remain the top contender. The Internet is classified the same way the old magazines were. It is hearsay. Those writing and posting on the Internet are selling something, including me. I have given hundreds of articles and posts to prove my earnest desire to help you make good decisions in training. Make certain the sources you “buy’ from are doing the same. A great coach reads and understands materials while making beneficial decisions on your behalf before sharing this information with you or anyone else.
Ø Active listeners – listen and silent use the same letters. If your trainer interrupts or ignores your questions find another trainer. Listening is more than 85% of communication. I talk during training sessions. former coworkers have told me to “shut up when you're training people”. I understood where this person (not a trainer) was coming from. He may have believed I was not allowing my clients to share in the conversation or concentrate on a set of repetitions. I never speak within a set unless it is a simple cue or to tell someone to STOP for safety purposes. This ties in with being socially perceptive closely. Most of these qualities tie in together just like all knowledge ties together equating with intelligence. Listen and make adjustments accordingly to be a great coach or trainer.
Ø Intelligence and decision making – intelligence is the ability to compare data with everything one knows. It is not just a matter of possessing information. It is a matter of relating information to a situation. Decision making is the reasonable application of knowledge. I can tell the story of strength all day and if I do not understand the changing leverages within the first and second pull on a clean or snatch with regard to limb length the strength factor never applies. Intelligent doesn’t (does not) mean knowing it all. Intelligent means being present and making problem-solving decisions within one’s current limits.
Ø Coordinated – means everything I have just written. Gain new knowledge, listen to your athletes, make good decisions, study, practice, do not use bad information, pay attention, use non-verbal cues, and always be aware of your environment. Coordination is intelligence in a nutshell.
Ø Exceptional time management – means doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done. I hope at this point everyone reading this can see how this all ties in with integrity. If I am still actively motivating the barbell upward during a pull I cannot possible reverse under the bar to receive it, right? The amortization phase does not matter if I am behind in the timing. This applies to meeting people where they are in a fitness category also. Lets’ say I am in the gym and need three more clients to pay my bill. If I am stressed about the bills and in a bad mood I may turn someone off in our first meeting. Focus on what you are doing. Multitasking is physiologically impossible. There is a very good reason the SA Node exists. If we were responsible for thinking about our heart rate, we would not survive. Anyone saying they multitask well is talking about switching quickly and possible effortlessly between tasks. Nobody can do two things at once. Be on time and keep looking forward because changes do not happen in the past.
Ø Persuasive – means convincing someone to do something they are resistant to or unwilling to try. We all have comfort zones. A lot of Americans live in this zone. This is why so many American are overweight, pre-obese, obese, and morbidly obese. When I was competing in powerlifting my Body Mass Index (BMI) was in the mid-thirties. This index does not apply to athletes but if someone is not an athlete it is useful in making changes in their approach to life. If I had been in an office, eating my worries away, and going home to a twelve pack every day with a BMI of 35 someone would have needed to educate me on the wear and tear of the extra weight on my cardiac muscle and the circulatory issues I was sure to experience. This would have required a very persuasive person. I have been called stubborn and it is accurate. I am stubborn. Most weightlifters and powerlifters are stubborn. My name is William. I am willful. Persuading someone to do something they have not done or are fearful of doing requires trust. I hope we all see the pattern of harmonization by now.
Ø Critical thinking – is the essence of problem-solving. One’s ability to analyze the situation, sift through possible solutions and choose the most reasonable plan is a combination of inborn, cultivated, and multiparty abilities. Critical thinking is fostered. It is a matter of intelligence, cooperation, and education. One’s critical thinking does not matter if they are not listening.
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| Lifting weight is complex. |
This list is only ten factors long. I could write until my abilities fail. Failure is not productive in the present. We must study the reasons for failure and adjust the plans accordingly to avoid failure. We must not invite failure to the party. Training to failure is training to fail. Make the systems adapt without the homeostatic data that failure makes you stop and save energy. Stop a set with 1-2 reps left before failure or form breakdown occur. This is training. It may take longer to build muscle training this way but the gains will be more permanent and injuries far less likely. Strength is only partially about muscle anyway.
Ø Doc
GET STRONGER
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