Personal training has become one of the hottest career areas to pursue and it’s not hard to see why. You get to set your own schedule, meet amazing people, and help change lives. Make no mistake about it: Getting your online PT course certification to become a professional personal trainer is no small feat. Let’s take a look at the top tips on how you can maximize your productivity, finish your program, and get the most from your certification.

FOUNDATION TIPS

1. Establish the “Why?”

Before you sign up for your certified personal trainer course, you need to understand the “why” behind your motivation. Ask yourself:

• Why do you want to become a personal trainer?
• What makes you want to help people achieve their ideal physiques?
• Are you being realistic in your expectations?
• Do you understand that you will have to build your own client base?
• Are you prepared to work long hours and put in everything you have to be successful?

Being a great certified personal trainer doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t be swept away by unrealistic expectations. You’re going to have to work hard and this will include making sacrifices such as social time. In the end, if you truly want it, you will feel very rewarded.

STUDY TIPS

2. Set Your Schedule

If you know that being a personal trainer is everything you want, that’s great. Now, let’s jump into how you can pass your exam with flying colors.

The first thing you want to do is write down your average weekly schedule. You need to do this so you can spot time blocks where you can dedicate yourself to studying your certified personal trainer material. It’s important to not overdo it though. Most people can only hold their attention with studying for about 45 minutes. If you set aside a block of time that’s more than one hour, be sure to give yourself a break. For example:

• 45 minutes: Study
• 15 minutes: Break
• 45 minutes: Study

3. Team Up

You don’t have to go at this alone. If you have a friend who is also going for their personal training certification, why not team up? It doesn’t have to be someone you know in person; each personal training certification has an online message board and forum. This is where you can meet others who are going through the same process as yourself. Chances are you’ll meet a new friend who will be happy to arrange a Skype study session. When you have someone else going after the same goal with you, you’re more likely to succeed. You hold one another accountable while motivating each other to accomplish the goal.

4. Go Beyond Text Books

Regardless of whether you work with another person, you must be consistent with self-study. This extends outside of the textbook. Each online personal training certification program comes with study tools that you should utilize to the fullest extent. You can also create your own study tools to help you remember all of the information. Flashcards may seem overly simplistic but they are also extremely effective for retaining information.

Make sure you are performing your own research to better understand the material. YouTube is a great resource for this very purpose. If you aren’t sure about a concept in anatomy or you want to understand how to properly perform a specific exercise, there are literally hundreds of videos on the subject waiting for you. You may even want to consider purchasing additional material if you are serious about a specific discipline such as corrective exercise for rehabilitation patients.

PRACTICAL TIPS

5. Coach / Mentor

Working with a Coach / Mentor is one of the best ways to start connecting the material you learned in the book to real-life application. You may already know someone that works in the industry and will allow you to shadow / work with them. This means that you can get all of your questions answered and clear up any confusion from the written text. Contact us to know about the Coach / Mentor program.

6. Put Yourself Out There

At these live workshops, you may have an opportunity to sign up to shadow a professional (become apprentice) during a normal workday. While you won’t be getting paid in dollars, the value of the information you’ll be learning is priceless. This is the best way to see what a real personal trainer does on a day-to-day basis. We can also do some research on the internet and you will find some great list of blogs, books, youtube channels, podcasts and online personalities who are happy to provide mentoring.

Many gyms offer Traineeship or apprentice programs where you work side by side with a trainer as you are studying and preparing for your exam.  The Australian apprentiship network run by the government can also guide you to take the next step.

7. Connect Theory and Practice

Chances are that when your friends and family hear that you are studying to become a personal trainer, they are going to want your advice. This presents an excellent chance to apply what you’ve been learning to the real world. You can invite some of your close friends to a park and give a free gentle session to apply some of your learnings and build your confidence. For legal reasons, you have to disclose that you are not a personal trainer and can only make recommendations. You cannot prescribe programs or dietary meal plans.

When connecting theory to practice, take it slow. Start with the very first thing you learn to do: taking an assessment. Take assessments and see what conclusions you can draw. Write macro and micro training programs that you can choose to provide to your family and friends.

8. Get a practice Buddy

Coming to Practical days and being active in networking both online and offline can help you find another student who is also aiming to become certified in fitness. This allows to do apply the study theory in practice on each other and get the necessary practical experience and confidence. There are plenty of forums and groups online to help you connect with other students or just get in touch with our team at Fit Education and we will try to find a connection.

9. Rest Up and Get Ready

Before you know it, the big exam day will be upon you. One of the most important things that you can do is to take care of yourself. That means getting plenty of sleep the night before. Sleep allows your brain to retain information so instead of cramming for hours the night before, make sure to sleep for 7 to 9 hours. Review in the morning over breakfast then head off to take and pass that test.

Fit Education specialises in sport and fitness courses combining the latest advice with proven learning methodology. Ready to get certified and kick start your journey to your dream job?

If you found this article useful, you may also enjoy reading How To Become a PT,  Know Your Fitness and Gym Lingo, or Why Do An Online Fitness Course?

If you have are interested in studying to work in the Fitness Industry, you can schedule a phone call with our Careers Adviser, just click in the image below.