Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching Lesson 2.1 – What does a personal trainer do? Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Step 1 – Lesson objectives In this lesson we’re going to look at what a personal trainer does and what knowledge, skills and attributes you will need to develop to become a highly skilled professional. This lesson will enable you to: Identify your responsibilities as a personal trainer Summarise the qualities you need to be a good personal trainer State the knowledge and skills you require Identify the sort of people who will use your services Explain what your clients will expect of you Step 2 – What do you think? Before we take a close look at what personal trainers actually do, here’s a question – which of these statements do you think is incorrect regarding your role as a personal trainer? Select the most accurate option. 1. I will design and supervise exercise programmes that enable my clients to reach their health and fitness goals 2. I will provide motivation and encouragement 3. I will act as a resource for the latest information on health and fitness 4. I will be a friend and companion Feedback: Your clients are paying for your expertise, not your friendship. As a personal trainer, you’ll help clients to reach their health and fitness goals by designing safe and effective exercise programmes for them, providing motivation and encouragement, and acting as a resource for the latest information on health and fitness. This is a reasonably good description of your role as a personal trainer but we now need to look at a more detailed picture of the knowledge, skills and attributes you’ll need to be a successful personal trainer. Step 3 – What are the responsibilities of a personal trainer? Your main responsibility as a personal trainer is to develop an exercise programme for each of your clients that is safe and effective, and to supervise them as they go through this programme. However, you also have other essential responsibilities which are perhaps less obvious at first sight. Keep clients properly informed - Make sure your clients know what you are doing and why you are doing it. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 1 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? For example, when you are noting their medical history or assessing their fitness, this is sensitive personal information. You should make sure they are completely clear about why you need that information. Comply with health and safety rules - Before any training can take place, you’ll have to make sure that the venue where you are working is not only suitable for what you are doing but also safe. This is usually just common sense, but it also means that the place where you train your client must comply with health and safety rules. Ensure qualifications are updated - Your client relies on you to know what you are doing. You should make sure that your knowledge and qualifications are kept up-to-date. Be professional - Being a personal trainer is a business like any other - you need to be professional if you want to be successful. That’s why you should always keep your appointments diary up-to-date, so you know who you are supposed to be seeing and when. You should also be careful to keep all records of client payments in good order, so you know who has paid and who hasn’t and can follow up if you need to. Lastly, make a point of paying your business debts, from rental fees to income tax, promptly, so you always know your business’s financial position. Store information securely - It’s easy to forget that all the information you hold about your clients is covered by government legislation - the 1998 Data Protection Act. The Act says that you must store their information securely. You can stop your client information getting into the wrong hands with a few simple precautions - such as keeping client documentation out of sight in a locked drawer, and storing computer files in a folder that is password protected. Client respect - You should try to treat all your clients in a courteous, caring and respectful manner. Apart from anything else, this makes good business sense, but it’s not always easy, as you will see a little later! Step 4 – Knowledge check As a personal trainer, you are running a business. What are your key responsibilities to make your business run smoothly? Select the most accurate option 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Keep your appointments diary up to date Keep records of your clients’ payments Pay your business debts promptly Get some personalised note paper printed See what you can get on expenses Put your fees up January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 2 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? If you want to be successful, you should keep your appointments diary up-to-date so you know who you are seeing and when, keep your records of client payments in good order, so you know who has paid and who hasn’t, and make a point of paying your business debts, from rental fees to income tax, promptly, so you always know your business’s financial position. Step 5 – What you need to know as a personal trainer We’ve discussed some of the responsibilities that you’ll have as a personal trainer. Now we’ll take a look at the practical and theoretical knowledge that you’ll need. Prescribing exercises - Your clients will expect you, as a personal trainer, to prescribe safe and effective exercises for them. To do this you need to have a sound understanding of the theoretical basis of exercise prescription. You also need to have a practical working knowledge of how each exercise is performed and what equipment is required. And when you have to train clients in their homes, you need to know how to do this safely without sophisticated gym equipment. Exercise physiology - Exercise, like anything else, is subject to many fads and fashions. However, as a personal trainer you have to be aware of the deeper physiological knowledge that underpins the subject. When you assess your clients you will obtain a lot of physiological information about them. This will enable you to prescribe appropriate exercises and monitor the way they respond. Understanding normal and abnormal physiological responses, and how the body adapts to exercise, will help you ensure your exercise prescription is safe and effective. Kinesiology - As a trainer I need to understand kinesiology, which is the study of anatomy, physiology, and mechanics in relation to bodily movement. When you develop an exercise programme you have to understand the muscle activity and biomechanics involved in each exercise so that you can adapt and progress it to suit your clients’ needs and abilities. Your knowledge of kinesiology will be essential in reducing the risk of muscle imbalances, postural problems and even injury to your client. Step 6 – Skills Now we’ll look at the skills you’ll require in addition to knowledge of anatomy and exercise. These are a distinct set of activities you’ll need to carry out for every client. They’ll enable you to give them a service that takes account of the whole person. They are: health screening, fitness assessment, behavioural management and lifestyle coaching, and stress management. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 3 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Health screening - As a personal trainer you will encounter all sorts of clients with varying needs and abilities and health statuses. Some may even be starting to exercise as a way of recovering from an illness. You’ll need to know accurately the health status of all your clients before you can start to prescribe exercise programmes for them. To assess their health, you need to be able to administer health-screening questionnaires and use the results when prescribing exercise. In some cases, you may need to refer them to the doctor to get medical clearance that it’s safe for them to exercise. Fitness Assessment - Most of your clients will come to you because they want to be fitter. It’s your job to test how fit they are to start with so that you can create appropriate programmes for them and measure their progress. To assess a client’s fitness requires you to be able to select and conduct a variety of fitness tests. Behavioural management and lifestyle coaching - Your clients will only enjoy the benefits of their exercise programmes if they’re able to keep to a regular routine. However, for many people, making such a lifestyle change can be very difficult for a variety of reasons. If your client seems to be having difficulties of this sort, you should try to discover what sorts of barriers are preventing them from making progress. You can then suggest strategies for overcoming these and motivate them to deal with their problems. This is such an important topic that Future Fit have developed a dedicated course on the subject called 'Behaviour Change Coaching' which you will complete as part of your diploma. Stress management - Most people have suffered from stress at some time in their life. The Health and Safety Executive estimate that nearly 9.9 million work days were lost in 2014/2015. Some people claim to thrive on it, but for many it’s unwelcome. Its effects range from anxious feelings and stomach churning to reduced immunity and serious illness. As part of the general package of fitness measures you prescribe for your clients, you will also review their stress levels. If they are raised, you will be able to suggest strategies for stress reduction. We’ll look at stress in more detail later on in the course. Step 7 – Marketing In addition to understanding client-centred skills, you’ll need to think about marketing. This is important for letting people know about the existence of your business, and the services you offer. It’s easy to think that the world will beat a path to your door, but in general it won’t, however brilliant a trainer you are. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 4 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? The role of marketing is to tell people who you are and what you do. You can use a variety of methods to draw people’s attention to your services. You can learn more about this in our Building your Fitness Business course. Step 8 – What services are required from a personal trainer? Clients come in all shapes and sizes - they also seek your services and advice for all sorts of reasons. Seeking advice - All your clients will want general advice about how to get fit and lead a healthier life. However, many clients will also have individual health and fitness concerns and challenges that they want your advice about, and no one is ‘typical’. Managing weight - Obesity is a major medical concern in today’s society. You can help your client change their sedentary behaviour habits and manage their weight by getting them to enjoy regular exercise. Achieving goals - Some clients want to achieve specific goals with their training, such as increasing muscle mass or improving their athletic performance. Getting motivated - Clients may have difficulties in keeping to their fitness regimes, and so may need you to provide support and motivation to help them overcome their difficulties. Rehabilitation - Some clients may engage your services to help them get back to full fitness after illness or injury. These clients can seriously test your knowledge of anatomy and your ability to prescribe suitable exercise programmes. Step 9 – What other services are required from a personal trainer? Clients will seek your services and advice for other reasons as well. Correcting posture - Clients may need you to help them address postural problems caused by the specialised and limited activity patterns of modern living, such as commuting by car and sitting in front of a computer all day. Improving athletic performance - Improving athletic performance is a highly specialised area. You will need specific knowledge and experience gained from further courses to help your clients with this. Managing stress - Many clients need assistance with managing stress. Along with obesity, stress is one of the common problems of modern life. If unchecked it can seriously affect people’s health. Fortunately, you can help your clients with specific stress-reducing exercises. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 5 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Medical referral - Medical referrals can be a good source of new clients for any personal trainer. Remember this course does NOT qualify you to take on clients referred by a GP. You will need to pass our Exercise Referral for Health Management course to be able to do this. Step 10 – Knowledge check See if you can match the type of service you need to give with the way your client behaves. Your client is hunched when they sit down because they work in a clerical job in front of a computer Your client always appears agitated and seems worried when you describe an exercise you want them to do Your client is referred to you by a doctor Correcting posture Managing stress Medical referral If your client is hunched when they sit down because they work in a clerical job in front of a computer, they need you to help them correct their posture. If they seem generally anxious, you should help them to manage their stress by prescribing stress-reducing exercises. If a doctor refers a client to you, you will not be able to work with them unless you have passed our Exercise Referral course. Step 11 – Who requires personal training? Anybody can decide they need a personal trainer, from an athlete in peak physical condition to an elderly person who wants to retain mobility and fitness. Nobody is ruled out from wanting to improve their fitness, and all types of clients may end up consulting you. Maggie and Nick have a wide variety of clients ranging from poorly motivated, deconditioned beginners to highly motivated amateur athletes. Clients who are deconditioned - When Gerald came to me it soon became apparent that he had a lot of problems that needed sorting out. Some of his problems are physical – he’s very overweight, he’s on medication and his lifestyle isn’t helping. His doctor sent him to me and indicated there was a family history of heart problems on his father’s side. Gerald also has problems with motivation. Like many people, he doesn’t like the way he is, but he isn’t particularly motivated to do much about it. It will be a challenge for me to help him discover that regular exercise will really make him feel better about himself. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 6 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Clients who are highly motivated - When I met Matt, I was impressed by his keenness and fitness. In his job he probably builds up a head of steam and running is one way to burn it off. I immediately knew I would have no difficulties with motivation as he had money riding on a bet with a colleague that he could beat him over 10 km. My main task now is to build him up from running 5 km to running 10 km. By the time we have finished, I hope he will be fit for even longer distances if he wants to have a go. Clients who want to tone up - As soon as I met Andrea I really liked her enthusiasm and willingness to learn. She has had a really good experience by losing two stone since she first started going to the gym a couple of years ago. Now I guess she wants to up her game, which is where I come in. She wants to be toned up and is really interested in resistance training. I am looking forward to helping her with this. Step 12 – What clients expect from you It goes without saying that clients expect a PT to be able to teach safe and effective exercise. In addition to this, there are certain other less obvious things that clients want from a PT. Let’s now look at the other qualities a client has a right to expect from a personal trainer. Professionalism - You should be professional about all aspects of your business, from the way you present yourself to how you communicate your knowledge and skills. Being professional also involves knowing your professional boundaries, and when clients should be referred to a health care professional. Every client you train should have a professional experience from start to finish. Consistency - Your clients will expect the same high quality of service from you during every session. Whatever you feel inside, you can’t afford to have good days and bad days. Regardless of what is going on in other aspects of your business and personal life, your clients have paid their fees and are entitled to a consistent level of service from you. Enjoyment - Unless you are working with professional athletes, exercise is normally a leisure activity for your clients, so you should try to make sure that they enjoy what they are doing. Clients find it harder to stick to an exercise programme if they find it dull and boring. However, you can make it enjoyable by the way you interact with them and January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 7 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? take on their exercising likes and dislikes. For example, if your client enjoys using the cross-trainer but hates running, then let them use the cross-trainer, provided that it’s appropriate for them. Results - The bottom line is that clients want results. Every client will have a goal of some sort that they want you to help them to achieve. Typically, they will want to be able to see increased fitness or some other physical change such as a reduction in body fat or increase in muscle. Your effectiveness and reputation as a personal trainer will be judged by your ability to help your clients achieve their goals. Your professional reputation will attract new clients and make the ones you already have stay with you. The more clients you have, the more successful your business will become. So, if you want to be successful, make sure your clients get results! Step 13 – Knowledge check What qualities should your client expect from you? Select 3 correct options: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Professionalism Consistency Enjoyment Good sense of humour Charisma Leadership Your clients should expect you to show professionalism and consistency and give them enjoyment and results. Step 14 – Less obvious qualities that clients expect from you Clients will expect you to be genuinely committed to helping them achieve their goals and keep them motivated. They’ll want you to provide inspiration and be honest with them at all times. Inspiration - Many clients look to their personal trainer to provide honest feedback and advice. They also want you to be a source of motivation and inspiration and yet make them feel relaxed. This requires you to be dynamic and passionate if you are to successfully motivate your clients to achieve their goals. Integrity - Although being a personal trainer is your job, clients don’t want to think that your only motivation for training them is their money. We have all experienced being served by a bored waiter or seen by a doctor who can’t wait to go and play golf, and it’s not a good experience. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 8 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Your clients want to work with someone who cares about them and is enthusiastic about what they are doing. If you aren’t involved, this won’t just be reflected in the quality of your work—it will result in the speedy departure of your clients. Honesty - While you should be as positive as possible with your clients, if you feel they are not trying, you need to let them know in a tactful and timely fashion. Most clients can tell if you are flattering them or holding back what they need to know. In return for your honesty, you will gain their trust and respect. Discretion - You will be receiving a lot of sensitive data about your client and so this will need to be handled correctly. You will learn more about this in the next steps. Step 15 – Complying with the 1998 Data Protection Act As soon as you have documented your client’s information, this is called a personal record and is subject to certain legal requirements. In dealing with client records you have a legal responsibility for their confidentiality. The 1998 Data Protection Act specifies your responsibilities for storing and using, or ‘processing’, your clients’ data. This section describes the eight principles of good information handling which you have to comply with. You’ll also find out about the types of client information that are regarded by the law as ‘sensitive’. There are stricter rules governing this sort of information. Step 16 – Rules of good information handling Here are the first four principles or rules of good information handling as described in the 1998 Data Protection Act. Only process data fairly and lawfully - The first principle states that your client’s data should be processed ’fairly and lawfully‘. This means that you should maintain the integrity of your client’s data. You must ensure that it isn’t used for any other purpose than that for which it was gathered. By ‘processing’, the law means ’obtaining, recording or holding the information or data‘. It also means ‘adapting’, ‘altering’, ‘retrieving’, ‘consulting’, ‘using’, ‘disclosing’, ‘combining’, ‘blocking’ or ‘erasing’ the data. Only use data for its intended purpose - You should only ‘process’ data for specific and lawful purposes. This means that you should not use your clients’ data for any purpose other than prescribing suitable exercise programmes for them. For example, you would not January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 9 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? give their addresses to anyone who might send them advertising material without their permission. Only keep relevant data - The law states that the data gathered about your clients should be ’adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which it is processed.’ As a personal trainer, you’ll be collecting the data to help you assess your client’s fitness. Some of the data you collect might be the sort of thing your client would feel sensitive about, such as medical information, so keep your notes to a practical minimum. Keep client data accurate and up-to-date - It’s important to keep your clients’ records accurate and up-to-date. You can then follow their fitness and progress accurately. The law does not permit organisations to keep inaccurate, out-of-date records, as these could be misleading. Step 17 – Rules of good information handling Here are the final four principles of the 1998 Data Protection Act. They are all common sense measures and should be straightforward to work with. Don’t keep client records for longer than necessary - You should not keep your clients’ records for any longer than is necessary. You should destroy a client’s record when they cease to be your client. Treat clients’ data in line with their individual rights - Client data should be processed in a way that respects their individual rights. When you are doing anything with their data, from viewing it on your computer to printing it, you should be careful not to leave it lying around, or to leave a computer screen showing client details unattended or open for longer than necessary. Protect client data against accidental loss - It’s your responsibility to keep your client’s data secure against mishaps and disasters. These include possibilities such as losing data through computer failure or losing your laptop. You also need to take precautions to ensure your client data is safe in the event of disasters such as fires and burglaries. Be careful if you are sending data abroad - In case you need to send your client’s data outside of the European Economic Area, make sure you check first, to see if appropriate data protection applies to the country concerned. Step 18 – Sensitive data The Data Protection Act considers some sorts of personal information to be more sensitive than others. ‘Sensitive’ data is data that could possibly be used to discriminate against an individual. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 10 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Although we are listing these types of information here, it’s worth remembering that you will only be recording information that directly relates to their training. If you learn of any information that isn’t relevant to physical training, you have no reason to record it. Physical or mental health - As we’ve seen, gathering information about your clients’ physical and mental health is an essential part of your profession as a Personal Trainer. The act considers this information to be sensitive, so ensure you take special care when handling and storing it. While people may not mind others knowing about a broken leg, they may feel very nervous about a mental health problem becoming more widely known. Racial or ethnic origin - Any data you record that relates to a client’s race or ethnicity should be handled carefully and kept away from people who may use it for discriminatory purposes. Political opinions, religious beliefs and trade union membership - The act lists political opinions, religious beliefs and trade union membership as being ‘sensitive’ data. Although you are unlikely to need to use such data, it’s useful for you to be aware of this category. Sexual life - Information about a client’s sex life isn’t relevant to training purposes and so you won’t need to record it. Offences or alleged offences - Information about criminal offences, real or alleged, committed by a client are not relevant to their training and therefore do not need to be recorded. Step 19 – Your clients’ rights relating to their data Your clients have certain rights with regard to their data. Here are the things are they’re legally entitled to ask about their data, some or all of which may apply to your business. Who is processing their information - Your clients have the right to know whether you, or someone else on your behalf, is processing personal information about them. What information is being processed - Your clients have the right to know what information about them is being processed, why it’s being processed and to whom it may be disclosed. Where the information came from - Your clients have the right to know about the sources of the information you hold about them. Receive a copy of personal information - Your clients have a legal right to receive a copy of any personal information you hold about them. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 11 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? In order to obtain access to this personal information, clients must send either a written or an electronic request for you to provide it. You can charge a fee for this if you wish, and the maximum amount is set by the law. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 12 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Step 20 – Informing the Information Commissioner’s Office Apart from the way you deal with your client data, you have some final extremely important legal responsibilities. These involve assessing whether you need to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office about the way you process data. Submitting details - The Data Protection Act requires businesses to notify the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) about the way they process personal data, unless they are exempt. This information is included in a public register. Details of exemptions - Subject to certain conditions, exemption is available for organisations that only process personal information for the following purposes: Staff administration - including payroll Advertising and marketing for their own business Accounts and records Contacting the ICO - Most PT businesses would probably be exempt from having to give details of the way they process data to the ICO. However, to ensure that you fully comply with Act, we recommend that you obtain further information from the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.gov.uk. Possible penalty - Even if you are exempt from notification you must still comply with other provisions in the Data Protection Act, including the eight data protection principles. And remember that if you fail to notify the ICO when you are required to do so, it’s a criminal offence. Penalties for non-compliance or contravention of the Act can be considerable. Step 21 – Activity: What makes a good personal trainer? Many different types of people become good personal trainers. You can be almost any shape or size, but you will need to be fit. You can be almost any age and continue for as long as you want to. You can be funny or serious, or somewhere in-between. Take a moment to write down what qualities you think a good personal trainer needs. Maggie - When people ask me what special qualities a good personal trainer has, I always say that it’s the fact that we accept a high level of personal responsibility for our clients. That means I do my best for them throughout their training programme, and they can rely on me completely. Nick - As a Personal Trainer I am always completely professional. I listen to my clients’ wishes, as well as assessing their needs in the effort to give them a service that’s individually designed for them. And that’s not all - my service is based on achieving results. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t manage to achieve the results I aim for at the beginning of each programme. It’s worth remembering in January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 13 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? this context that as a personal trainer you earn about five or six times what you would get as a fitness instructor on an hourly basis. SkillsActive - ‘Personal trainers must establish and maintain an effective rapport with their clients through the length of their prescription. They must be able to clearly and accurately define their roles and responsibilities as a personal trainer and their commitment to the client in line with the Ethical Code of Practice. They must ensure that they administer the most effective and appropriate means of testing to record information on the client’s physical, emotional and psychological well-being.’ If an issue or condition is highlighted outside of the personal trainer’s qualifications, experience or understanding then the personal trainer must refer the client to an appropriate health care professional. Step 22 – Lesson assessment 1. Is the following statement accurate? Your client does not need to know what you are doing when you assess their health and fitness, as it will only worry them. 2. As a personal trainer, you must know about kinesiology. What is kinesiology? The study of physiology, anatomy and mechanics in relation to human movement The study of the way training equipment works The study of the health implications of a set of exercises The study of the movement of small mammals 3. Which of the following are services a personal trainer might NOT be expected to offer? Select the most accurate option Psychological counselling General advice on fitness training Weight management Help with specific training goals Motivation and support Compliance with the 1998 Data Protection Act and take appropriate precautions with data that it classes as ‘sensitive’ Step 23 – Lesson summary Now you have completed this lesson you will be able to: Explain how a personal trainer has a responsibility to be courteous, supervise and develop safe exercise programmes in an environment that is fit for purpose January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 14 of 14 Level 3 Exercise Programming and Coaching What does a personal trainer do? Assess client fitness and screening, maintain qualifications and administer your business in a professional manner Develop a sound understanding of the theoretical basis of exercise prescription as well as its practical application Define the different kinds of client you will be working with Summarise what clients expect from a personal trainer including professionalism, inspiration, consistency, honesty, integrity as well as providing fun and getting results Clarify what knowledge, skills and attributes are needed to be a personal trainer The next lesson looks closely at how to develop an effective working relationship with your clients. January 2016 © Future Fit Training, 2016 Page 15 of 14
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