Client-Centered
Approach to Personal Training
More info on this course will open automatically
in a new browser window at www.issaonline.com
Exercise and nutritional programs are
at a height in this country. With gyms
and sports clubs becoming more prevalent, the field of personal training has
continued to grow. More and more clients
are turning to the personalized approach to their health and fitness. Along with this growth in personal training
services, certification organizations are continuing to grow in the area of
specialized certification courses. In
2004, IHRSA has begun the process to improve the expertise of health club trainers. Clients are beginning
to seek out professional personal trainers that can meet their unique needs.
However, the majority of personal trainers are not equipped with the
knowledge to effectively assist these clients.
Not only do these clients need personal trainers with the knowledge and
skills to assist them, they also need personal trainers who can communicate
effectively enough to properly understand their unique and dynamic needs.
Personal training certifications, in general,
do not teach personal trainers the skills necessary
to communicate effectively with clients. These skills include:
Developing these; skills will enable the
personal trainer to put every client at ease, and gain his/her trust. This is important, because client retention
is dependent on the client feeling comfortable with the personal trainer. Additionally, accurate assessment of the client’s
CV fitness, past and current injuries, nutritional status, and life balance,
can not be performed unless the client feels comfortable enough to discuss these
topics with the personal trainer. Accurate
assessment, will give the personal trainer the information necessary to design
an exercise and nutritional program that meets all of the client’s needs.
To teach the personal trainer the necessary skills to
put the client at ease, properly assess all aspects of the client that have
an impact on his/her unique needs, and develop a program that meets the client’s
needs as he/she progresses through the program.
The client’s attitude toward exercise
is recognized as an important factor in his/her progression in an exercise and
nutritional program. Many national organizations
are focusing on ways to assess the client’s attitude toward exercise.
The National Strength and Conditioning Association suggests
the “Attitudinal Assessment”, as a means to determine the client’s attitude
toward exercise. While this test may
provide some information to the personal trainer, regarding the client’s attitude
toward exercise, it will not give the trainer a comprehensive understanding
of the specific factors that affect the client’s attitude. Additionally, this test will not provide the
personal trainer an understanding of the client’s attitude toward areas of his/her
life beyond exercise. This will leave
the personal trainer ill equipped to develop an exercise program the truly meets
the needs of the client.
Further, the personal trainer will not
have the information necessary to accurately modify the training program to
meet both the client’s progression, and his/her changing needs (affected by
factors outside of the exercise program). In
order to address this problem, this course includes an assessment test that
provides the trainer with a thorough understanding of the six [6] factors that
determine the client’s attitude toward both positive and negative life events,
including progressions in an exercise program.
This course will teach the trainer how to properly administer and evaluate this test. Additionally this course will teach the trainer how to use the results of this test to design an exercise program that meets the client’s unique, and dynamic, needs. Through this course, the trainer will also learn the skills necessary to modify the exercise program to not only meet the client’s dynamic needs, but also to positively affect client retention rates.