Personal Training Courses: Career Guide & Expectations

So you’re interested in becoming a Personal Trainer but not too sure what to expect from a Personal Training course? Australian Institute of Fitness NSW Fitness Coach, Kevin Troeger, shares what you should expect from your fitness education!

The fitness industry is a vibrant, outgoing and energetic career. It’s often a very personal career choice that is based around wanting to help people reach their goals and deliver effective and fun training while being safety and result orientated.

This sets the tone for what you should expect from entering, and building a career as a Personal Trainer. A course should be a place to learn all the tools of the trade, but also where you are able to build your confidence and competence. These two go hand-in-hand; being competent builds confidence in your abilities and as your confidence grows it will allow you to become more competent.

Courses should cater to all skill and experience levels from those who have never been into exercise or the gym, to the advanced trainer who’s been training at a high level. The course should be structured and layered to give the student the best opportunity to gain the skills needed to be successful as a PT.

A good PT course should have elements of theoretical and practical learning. This will allow the student to gain an understanding and develop skills in a safe and controlled environment. Having theory, and confirming this knowledge practically is a great way to learn. Get the knowledge in the classroom and then head out to a skills centre to put this into practice is a highly effective learning tool.

Every person learns differently and at different paces but a successful PT course will empower you to succeed. All modalities of learning should be addressed in regards to visual, audio and kinaesthetic (doing) learning styles. The presenters, or coaches, should have experience in the industry that is current and on-going and be open and willing to help.

The course content should comprehensively cover all aspects of personal training. Certificate 3 covers basic anatomy and physiology giving you fundamentals, directional and movement terminology enables you to navigate around the body. Goal setting, fitness testing & programming guidelines then allow you to induct, design and guide a client successfully.

Once competency is gained you move to Certificate 4 and this is when the real fun starts. We now discuss more advanced training ideas and get much more practical in regards to developing the tools to put in your toolbox of PT exercises and get you ready to impress the public with your professionalism and skill.

Courses should be fun, interactive and entertaining while giving all students the best opportunity to develop and grow in a secure learning environment to build the confidence to be successful as a Personal Trainer.

• Bio

AIF

The Australian Institute of Fitness

The Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF) is the largest and longest established fitness training organisation in Australia, with dynamic training methods and expert course coaches nationwide - spanning fitness, massage and nutrition. The AIF qualifies more fitness professionals than any other provider in Australia, as well as offering a broad range of continuing education courses (CEC), upskilling resources and partnership programs for existing industry.