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Tips
for NEW Personal Trainers
by Rozel Gonzales
So, let me guess... You just
finished your personal training certification course... you have no
experience and no clients... WHERE DO YOU START? If this is your
situation, I would suggest that you find an association where you
can get some experience doing volunteer work. Try your local YMCA, a
community center or even your school! Doing volunteer work is great
practice, and typically if people are getting a service for free,
they will not be half as demanding as paying clients. It is also a
fantastic way for you to make contacts and meet potential clients!
Once you feel comfortable with your capabilities, you can then
venture out and start building your own clientele.
Building a clientele just like
anything else takes time and hard work. Try recruiting clients by
posting an ad at your gym, in your newspaper or by putting flyers in
people's mailboxes. Use your contacts! If you work at a company with
a gym facility, why not recruit at work! All you need to do to get
started is make ONE person happy. Usually if this happens, word of
mouth will help you out.
Always make sure that your client is
happy. You need to TEACH them about fitness. Do not just quickly
show them a program and let them fend for themselves. Be available
for questions and tips. You are their fitness consultant. Help them
in any way that you can. Good Luck!
Rozel is a YMCA, CanFit Pro
and Schwinn certified instructor. She is also a Fitness
Presenter, Group Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. You
can reach Rozel at rozel@fitmoves.com
or at her website, www.fitmoves.com.
Teaching
Tips
1.
Face your class!
If you don't already do it, begin
today to face your class during the warm-up and cool-down. Now-a-days, teachers are forced
to face the mirror (away from our students) during the aerobic portion of class due to
their creative choreography, turning combo's and space limitations.
Take advantage of the warm-ups and
cool-downs to hook your students on your smile. Facing your class during these times will
help you connect with them in the first few minutes THEN re-connect before they leave your
class. There have been times that I didn't teach as well as I would have wanted to, but,
smiling directly at them at the end covered it up. (oops, now you know my secret) They
left with a good taste in their mouth because the last thing they say was an eye to eye
contact smile.
Also, the new students in your class
will usually determine whether they like you in the first 5 minutes. Make sure you're
looking at them "eye to eye" while they're making that important decision.
This tip
courtesy of Christi Taylor,
CEC Provider for the American Council on Exercise, and the Aerobic
& Fitness Assoc. of America. Visit Christi's
website for more information on her workshops and masterclasses.
2.
Smile!
One day some years back, I caught a
view of myself in the mirror while teaching a class. I noticed how dreary my face looked.
Right away, I looked around the room and notice my whole class looking the same way. This
encouraged me to do an experiment. The next class, I forced myself to smile from beginning
to end. Needless to say, my face was exhausted. Half way through the class, I looked
around the room and noticed that 50% of my students were smiling back at me. It gave me
such a wonderful, warm feeling to see their smiles. That was when I realized something.
If it gave me a wonderful, warm feeling (and I was the one doing the experiment), then it
must be doing the same thing to their hearts. This brought me a lot of joy and I decided
that from now on, I was going to smile NO MATTER WHAT! As an instructor, we train the
muscles of our body to perform particular movements with high energy. Why not do the same
with the muscles of our face.
3.
Cueing
Skills
If you are concerned about the quality of your
cueing, here is some advice. Recite this phrase to the tune of "one, two,
buckle my shoe."
1, 2 educate and woooo!
3, 4 motivate some more
5, 6 cue your leg picks
7, 8 elaborate
Using the beats of your music, here is how it
works:
1 & 2 EDUCATE & WOOOO, you have time to
use words like; "pace yourself", "roll your heel down" or "lift
your abdominals"
3 & 4 MOTIVATE SOME MORE, you have time to
use words like: "you're doing great", "this is fun", or "your
form is wonderful"
5 & 6 CUE YOUR LEG PICKS, you need to cue
your up-coming movement. It's only 2 beats so you will need to use what little time
you have wisely. Always cue the leg movement first then cue the other necessary
areas such as; travel, rhythm, style & arms movements. If the legs land
correctly, your students will feel successful. If the arms mess up, it's no big
deal. BUT, if their arms are right and their legs mess up, they will stand out in the
crowd and feel unsuccessful. They may even run into someone. So, Legs First!
7 & 8 ELABORATE, you have time to use words
like: "move forward", "arms up", or "sweep around"
Try it, it really works!
These tips courtesy of Christi
Taylor, CEC Provider for the American Council on Exercise, and the
Aerobic & Fitness Assoc. of America. Visit Christi's
website for more information on her workshops and masterclasses.
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