How did you decide which area of fitness was the best for you?
Hello all!
I recently passed my CPT exam and I am both excited and overwhelmed by options out there for someone just getting into the field. I got lucky because at my current job I work with people in a pool giving them workouts to improve balance, strength, and overall health. However, as much as I love my job in the future (I am calling it my five year plan) I hope to maybe open my own studio and offer classes etc. that way. I also have an addiction to trying to learn and be certified in various areas. I guess my big question is how did you decide which area you wanted to work in and how did you go about getting there? I currently feel pretty lucky knowing both an owner of a small gym and an owner of a studio in my area and I feel like I should get in with them. (It’s about who you know right?) What can I do to eventually work my way into both someone who is full of expertise in the field but also someone who runs a successful buiness?
(I should mention I am currently eight months pregnant and probably the only person who recieved their certification while six months pregnant. Not being able to just hop right in there right now is driving me crazy!!)
Consider your life up until now. The things that have brought you the most joy in your pre-fitness life might bring you equal joy as a personal trainer. Plus, going into an area you already know gives you credibility; even though you’re new to training, you’re not new to that activity / population / sport.
For example, have you:
Played a sport
Volunteered for a nursing home
Worked with kids
Danced
Cycled
Run
Had a medical condition or someone in your family with a medical condition that you’re passionate about helping improve the quality of life for?
Whatever it is,k I hope it is joyous for you. There is sometimes internal and external pressure as a new trainer to go into a specific field that your employer needs, whether you like it or not. That might be OK in the first few years of your career to get experience under your belt, but over time, I’ve been the most successful when I’ve headed in the directions of the things that brought me the most joy, because that motivated me to learn more about them, be good about them, be passionate about helping my clients in that arena.