Dr Som answers

Full text of Dr Som's answers

That’s a smart choice especially if you are active and willing to stay on the move. The job of a fitness instructor is a tough one for you not only need to motivate clients but you also need to maintain your own fitness if not improve more.

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Personal training demands one to possess leadership qualities and guidance ability as you need to organise activities for self and others besides offering technical solutions of non-routine and contingency nature.

Evaluations and analysis of current practices, developing new criteria and procedures for performing current practices and provision of some leadership and guidance to others in the application and planning of the skills are some of the broad range of skilled applications required. Taking responsibility as you are working with a variety of different client groups with different body types.

Basic skill and knowledge includes:

Planning a programme for fitness industry clients.

Utilising the knowledge of exercise science principles in fitness training

Undertaking postural appraisals to evaluate client’s posture, functional range of movement, muscle strength and weakness while preparing the exercise programme

Using, maintaining broad range of fitness equipment

Providing exercise for low-risk clients with common medical, injury and health conditions

Analysing human behaviour and suggesting strategies that can be safely adhered by exercises

Providing basic knowledge of healthy nutrition and designing exercise plans to thus reduce body fat and gain muscle mass

Planning and developing exercise plans to accommodate special groups or population like clients with disabilities

Ability to incorporate suitable and innovative activities that help improve functional capacity

Ability to effectively educate and communicate with clients regarding life-style modifications

Possessing knowledge of exercise physiology, kinesiology, functional anatomy nutrition, program administration , psychology and injury prevention and the effect of exercise bio-mechanics on human body and mind.

It is very important for a person aspiring to become a personal fitness trainer to have a passion for fitness him or herself, going through the grind of working out and combine that practical with theoretical knowledge.

There are various institutes imparting knowledge on this subject and most of all certification is a pre requisite if you want to land up with great pay scales and some interesting opportunities.

Indian institutes like Indira Gandhi Institute of physical education and sports science, Vikas Puri, New Delhi is one good option.

Some online courses from international institutes are as follows:
American Council on exercise.
Website: support@ace fitness.org

International sports science association
Website:webmaster@isaonline.com

American college of sports medicine
Website: www.acm.org