The fitness industry has diversified quite a lot due to new research and training methods. People no longer have to choose between a gym instructor or a yoga instructor as their two options to reach their fitness goals.
Instead, today, people can pick from a plethora of different options for fitness training. But personal trainers still remain the most in-demand form of training.
The reason is that certified personal trainers have enough credibility to offer different types of fitness training. However, with the changing dynamics in the fitness industry, even personal trainers are struggling to keep up and retain clients. This is where specializations come into play. Trainers with additional fitness specializations can attract more clients and cater to a wider range of audiences.
But before you can learn about specializations, you’ll need to understand what fitness training is. That’s why we’ve created this guide to help you understand the basics of fitness training and how specializations work.
Additionally, you can check out the course catalog at W.I.T.S. Education to get more insights about each specialization.
What Is Fitness Training?
In simple terms, fitness training is a structured activity designed to promote a person’s cardiovascular activity and help them improve their fitness. Fitness training includes various aspects, but the most important is reaching a healthy weight, building strength and endurance, and improving overall health. In most cases, fitness training is combined with diet and nutrition to ensure that the body gets proper nutrition to handle the workouts.
Moreover, fitness training has different elements, but they are designed keeping in mind the person’s current fitness and future fitness goals. Generally, fitness training programs begin with lighter exercises to get people into the habit of doing them. From then, the training progresses to the actual part based on people’s goals and endurance.
What Are The Elements Of Fitness Training?
Stretching
Stretching is the main part of any fitness training. Muscles need to be stretched before they can take on more challenging exercises. Otherwise, the body may end up with muscle fatigue. In stretching, the muscle groups are flexed to improve elasticity. It increases muscle control and allows the body to exhibit a wider range of motions to perform exercises. Stretching also elevates cramps and prevents muscle damage or injuries from working out.
Stretching is essential before and after each workout. Stretching makes it easier to perform exercises, and stretching after a workout allows your body to return to its normal state and prevents any post-workout injury.
Aerobics Training
Aerobic training includes several low or high-intensity exercises that elevate the heart rate and improve cardiovascular activity. The exercises require plenty of oxygen because aerobic workout pups the blood with oxygen to improve blood flow. It also enriches the brain with oxygen improving brain cell activity.
The workouts are characterized by repetitive high or low-intensity exercises that help the body turn carbohydrates into energy. The body utilizes this energy while working out, resulting in a leaner body with higher muscle mass and lower fat count. Some common aerobic exercises include running, swimming, climbing, cycling, and dancing.
Strength Training
Strength training is a form of resistance training and involves exercises that improve a person’s strength and endurance. This training involves weights and resistance equipment such as resistance bands and exercise machines. Strength training comes in various techniques depending on the person’s fitness levels and endurance ability.
The exercises target the tendons, muscles, ligaments, and bones. It also improves joint function and reduces symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. It also increases bone density due to the resistance the body faces. As a result, people can improve their bone health and prevent bone-related issues and diseases.
Specialized Exercises
A workout routine includes stretching, aerobic exercises, and strength training. However, the main part of a workout routine is based on specialized exercises that the client desires. For example, you might train a client for weight loss. So the specialized exercises should focus on losing body weight instead of developing more muscles.
Similarly, if you’re training a bodybuilder, the exercises should help rapid muscle development while cutting down the fat. You can’t recommend the same exercises for weight loss and bodybuilding. That’s why you’ll need to rely on your training and experience as a fitness trainer to design effective exercise programs to meet the client’s requirements.
Rest Period
No exercise program is complete without proper resting time. When designing exercise programs, trainers need to determine the appropriate resting period depending on the program’s intensity and the client’s endurance levels. A rest period is necessary because working out reduces the glycogen levels in the body, which can increase the dangers of muscle fatigue.
Taking proper rest allows the body to replenish the glycogen levels and reduce the symptoms of muscle fatigue. It also helps relax the body and muscles and prepares it for the next workout. Besides that, the rest period also allows the muscle tissue to be repaired and increases the growth of new muscle generation. However, the rest period should be just enough because taking too long will undo the client’s progress.
How Trainers Can Design Effective Exercise Programs?
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors refer to the environment where the fitness training is conducted. For example, if you’re training a client in the gym, you’ll need to have the right equipment to make the training a success. On the other hand, if you’re conducting online training, you’ll need to remember the equipment available for your clients.
Not everyone can have exercise machines in their homes, so your exercise programs shouldn’t rely on them. The same thing is true for outdoor workouts. The key is to make the client feel comfortable when working out so they can achieve better results.
Analyzing The Needs Of The Clients
Since clients look for specific results from their fitness training, it’s important to design programs based on those needs. But before finalizing a program, you’ll need to understand their goals, age, gender, and current fitness level.
The age factor is the most important because younger people can take on challenging workouts as long as they have good health. But older clients won’t be able to do so because their bodies aren’t as strong anymore. Any underlying health issues and injuries should also be considered because if you ignore them, it can worsen their health or cause more injuries.
Intensity Of The Workouts
The workout intensity depends on the exercise choice, the order of the exercise, the reps, the sets, and the resting period. Clients will tell you what they want to form a workout, and you’ll have to determine which exercises suit them best and design programs based on that.
For example, you can designate separate days for upper and lower body workouts. The number of reps depends on the endurance of the client. The reps are lower initially and gradually increase as the client progresses. Finally, the rest period allows the clients to recover and prevent injuries.
Fitness Levels Of The Clients
One of the most important aspects of designing effective exercise programs is to use a personalized approach. Each client has different requirements, and their physical fitness is also different. If you use the same cookie cutter methods on all of them, they won’t see any results, and you won’t earn any credibility.
This is why when designing exercise programs, you need to understand which level the client is on and then work your way up from there. Moreover, the exercise plans should be dynamic. You can’t expect the client to stick to the same workout routine throughout the training. As the client progresses, you’ll need to upgrade the program to meet their needs.
What Type Of Fitness Specializations Are Available?
Medical Fitness Training
Medical fitness combines physical therapy techniques with fitness training. It’s ideal for trainers with a medical background in occupational therapy or health sciences. The exercises are designed for people who have chronic illnesses or certain disabilities. However, unlike regular fitness training, medical fitness training requires close analysis of the client’s physical abilities and endurance.
Designing programs that might be too difficult for the clients can worsen their health. Moreover, the progress is comparatively slower. Besides developing exercise plans, you’ll also be coordinating with the appropriate medical professionals to ensure the training goes smoothly and leads to any bigger issues.
Group Exercise Training
Group exercises are gaining popularity once again. However, unlike in the old times, people want diverse group training. The biggest benefit of group exercise is that you won’t need to design individual exercise programs for each client. Group training is done in one class-like setting where people follow the same exercise routines.
But as a group exercise instructor, you’ll need to keep track of each client’s progress and determine if you need to take your classes up a notch or lower them to keep everyone on the same page. You can offer a variety of group exercise classes such as aerobics, yoga, strength training, or even outdoor workout classes.
Youth Fitness Training
Given the current lifestyle of most people, today’s youth don’t get access to the same physical activities. As a result, their growth and physical health are jeopardized. Parents have started sending their kids to youth fitness trainers so the kids can maintain good health and improve their growth. This is why youth fitness is gaining popularity.
If you like working with kids and designing out-of-the-box exercise programs, youth fitness might be your specialization. This training relies on games and other activities such as interesting sports that won’t make the kids feel like they’re working out.
Wellness Training
A holistic approach to traditional fitness, wellness coaching is gaining popularity among people. The fitness training involves changing the client’s physical and mental well-being and helps them understand their life’s goals by determining their fitness goals. If the clients can improve their fitness levels, they can surely change and improve their lifestyle.
That’s why wellness coaches take on a more hands-on approach when working with clients. Moreover, there’s no straightforward way of offering wellness services, so you can tap different niches and mix different workout programs to create something unique.
Senior Fitness Training
Senior fitness training specialization allows you to work with senior citizens and help them achieve their ideal fitness levels. Since the older population aren’t in their prime, senior fitness instructors should have a good grasp of the health and mobility issues senior citizens face. The exercise programs you develop should be highly specialized and incorporate your client’s unique needs.
For example, if a client suffers from bone issues, your exercise programs should include strength conditioning to improve their muscles and bone density. Similarly, your exercises should help clients improve their muscle movement if they have mobility issues.
Fitness Management
If you want to move in a different direction than regular fitness training, getting a management certification will help you advance your career. Fitness management certifications allow you to take on management roles in a gym or fitness studio, or you can open up your own fitness center.
Both options require proper business and management knowledge and require you to oversee a number of administrative tasks while increasing the business. You’ll also be responsible for marketing activities that derive from the business, along with handling any conflicts and risk management.
Get Your Fitness Specializations With W.I.T.S. Education
W.I.T.S. Education is a fitness training institute that offers several personal health trainer programs to those looking to advance their careers in the fitness industry. Their courses include certified personal trainer courses, medical fitness courses, group exercise instructor courses, youth fitness courses, and many more.
You can enroll in a fitness management course to start your own fitness business. Their teaching mode includes interactive online classes with 5-star instructors and practical in-person labs. Their labs are located all over North America.
Besides that, their courses are accredited by the N.C.C.A. and the American Council of Education, allowing students to earn course credits. Their network of universities is one of the largest in the country, and they offer job placement opportunities to their students after completing their courses. So hurry up, take a look at their course catalog and get yourself enrolled today!