Continued Education for the Personal Trainer

For the purposes of this article, “personal trainer” can be used as a blanket term for online coaches as well.

Continued education is an important, usually expected, aspect of nearly every industry. That said, requisite criteria may vary wildly in each field. Some might be as simple as maintaining current certifications whereas others may require annual accumulation of “continued education credits” from various accredited sources (fieldwork experience, workshops, conventions, etc.).

While classically the wild west in terms of quality control and standard of practice (see: unregulated and often no enforcement of standards), many commercial and local gyms have answered the call by promoting ongoing trainer development within their ranks. Maintaining first aid and an entry level personal training / coaching certification are now on their required list for hire.

There are always more skills to learn, and many larger gyms have started to invest in trainer development through seminars, courses, and presentations. But what is continued education for the personal trainer, really?

An interesting, and often paradoxical problem within the fitness industry, is that the degree to which one maintains or progresses their skills is almost exclusively determined by their own willingness to physically train. Yes, I mean actually engage in the activity they promote to their prospective clientele. In an industry where there are literal gains attached to your professional development, an uncomfortable number of trainers still elect to not pursue their own training.

So again, I ask, what is your continued education?

Continued education is doing. It’s practice.

Practicing a skill.

Developing a craft.

Teaching or being taught.

The return on investment for certifications, courses, degrees, and acronyms almost exclusively begins and ends with warranting a job interview from business owners or prospective clientele. The personal trainer virtue signal that you superficially care enough to pass a test.

Physical training acts as the vehicle to add appreciative value to the rest of your knowledge base. There is a difference in knowledge acquired from textbooks and the knowledge acquired from scars. But they needn’t be mutually exclusive, and often, have the capacity to act synergistically.

Therein lies the true definition of continued education.

If you don’t love it enough to struggle and fail, how can you claim to love it enough to help others?

You don’t have to be the strongest, the fastest, or the leanest in order to help others. You have to own the desire to improve. Progress is the literal bedrock of our industry. Invest in a training program, a coach, or an experience. Learn from the trenches. Practical application is primary form of continued education in the fitness industry. Don’t just exercise, choose a direction, be present, and train for something.

Best,

Eric