“A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul,” says the great thinker Francis Bacon. Today’s generation is becoming more conscious of the notion underlying this time-tested statement. People are becoming more aware of the tactics to stay fit and healthy. With millions of people eager to get in shape and stay fit, Fitness Training is one of the fastest growing careers in the health and fitness industry today. Gone are the days when only the professional athletes used to have personal fitness trainers. In the recent days, with the growing consciousness and social tagship, people from all walks of life – from celebrities to masses and senior citizens to youngsters – are keen to achieve guidance from personal trainers who can help them to learn how to exercise, lose weight, maintain all round fitness and adopt a healthier life style. The demand of professionals like aerobics instructors, yoga instructors and personal and corporate trainers is catapulting upwards. If you have a penchant for contributing your mite to the stream of efforts being made to keep the society healthy and fit, you should not give a second thought to choosing Fitness Trainer as your career destination.
It is wisely said, “A healthy mind resides in a healthy body.” Being fit has never been so popular or as necessary as it is today. Till a couple of years ago, working out in the gymnasium or going for fitness training was considered the job of sportsmen or amateurs. But nowadays, more and more people are adopting the fitness culture. People are on the lookout for professionally qualified fitness instructors who can help them deliver the right and healthy physical life. As the fitness culture is a growing rapidly, the industry is burgeoning and set to expand more.
Unofficial estimates show that a present the fitness industry is worth Rs. 2,000 Crore. This is due to the “fitness fad” that has caught up with people who have either recognised the value of a healthy lifestyle or want to look slimmer and better. The need for professionally qualified fitness trainers has been growing day by day. The fitness freaks should make their entrance into this sector in order to avoid unscrupulous and fake trainers lapping up the numerous opportunities thrown up by the industry while it is still in its nascent stage.
Aptitude
You should be a believer in the maxim that healthy individuals make a healthy world. Hence, one should be ready to work for realising that concept. You should be experimental enough to try out various kinds of fitness regimes apart from having specialised in one or two of them. As a fitness trainer, you have to train people in different aspects of physical fitness. One has to help the obese and sedentary get into shape. You have to instruct or coach groups or individuals in various exercise routines. You also have to monitor their progress through methods such as BMI (Body-Mass Index) and cardiovascular levels. If required, you will also give them basic advice on health and nutrition.
Your professional training and experience will also equip you to design specific programmes for different people where you have to keep various aspects in mind including age, lifestyle and health parameters. An elderly man or a woman won’t have an exerting routine as compared to an athlete or a football player.
To get employment as a fitness trainer is not vary tough. Fitness trainer has the provision to get an opportunity to work in gyms, big hotels, health clubs, fitness centres, spas, tourist resorts and even cruiseliners. After gaining some experience, one can choose to run one’s own fitness centre. Nowadays, big MNCs are giving exphasis on physical fitness of their employees. They are offering their employees the facilities of a well-equipped gym within the organisation where a fitness trainer will assist them to stay in good shape.
Here are some of the different kinds of work one has to do as being a part of the fitness industry :
You are required to have a keen concern for people who have been afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases and should be able to understand the individual problems of every client. Needless to say, one should be strong enough and fit oneself with and be able to work out rigorously since the job calls for training together with clients.
Fitness trainers must be able to assess their clients’ fitness levels, athletic ability, the amount of time they have, and various other factors which can help to decide the perfect fitness routine for the client. The routine should help the client to improve their exercise techniques. A Fitness Trainer should also keep the records of his clients’ exercise sessions to analyse their progress in fitness aspect.
Personal trainers work with clients on a one-on-one basis with celebrities and others who like privacy while they work out – either at a gym or at the client’s home. The workout is specially tailored to suit the client’s specific health and fitness requirements. Sports instructors organise, instruct, train and lead athletes specialising in indoor and outdoor sports or self-defence training such as judo and karate. Using their expertise in sports, the sports instructors evaluate the fitness level of the athlete and the athlete’s opponents to devise a competitive game strategy.
Courses
Master’s degree in Physical Education (M.P.Ed.) is offered by good institutes like Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Delhi. This institute also provides B. Sc. Degree and Bachelor of Physical Education degree. Besides, other institutes provide courses like exercise, physiology and aerobics. A comprehensive list as to where you can get a course in physical training is provided herewith.
A number of other governmental universities and private institutes also provide degree/certificates in physical training where physical education courses include anatomy, physiology, physical education, kinesiology, aerobics, swimming, weight training and exercise prescription.
After getting done with a course in physical training, the candidate has to keep a few things in mind in order to be successful.
A successful consultant or trainer must take into consideration, the health aspirations of every individual client and plan a suitable fitness regime for him/her with his/her age, medical history and nature of work in consideration. Secondly, you should keep yourself abreast with the latest developments in fitness tools like gym equipments, etc. Last but not the least, you should maintain professional ethics of keeping physical and emotional distance from your client because the nature of the work brings the trainer and the trainee into close physical and emotional contact. These norms are required to be observed in order to be successful in the long run.
Prospects
Graduates and postgraduates find employment in government schools and colleges. They can join health clinics or gyms. They can also join five star or seven star hotels which have their own fitness trainers in their gyms. They can also start their own health clinics/gyms or act as consultants to several national and state-level sports teams.
As mentioned earlier, fitness training programme in India a whopping Rs. 2,000 Crore industry, is also taking big leaps in the private sector. Moreover, be it at home or at the fitness centre, having a qualified trainer has become the ‘in-thing’.
Employment in the fitness industry is expected to grow faster as people now spend more time and money on staying in shape. However, those who want to get into the filed have to face considerable competition, simply because this field attracts so many aspirants. For many people, exercise is a favourite pastime and this is one of the ideal careers, since this profession can help to earn money. Certified trainers with good customer-relations skills will have the best chances.
In fact, fitness trainers may do everything from leading callisthenics at a nursing home to designing a weight-loss programme for a middle-aged client to working with clients who have special health issues, such as a bad back or sore knees. They can also help world-class athletes prepare for the Iron Man Competition.
Eligibility
The basic requirement to be a fitness trainer has to be 10+2 as to have good knowledge of human anatomy, diet, nutrition and other health and fitness related matters. Understandably, the first essential for this profession is an athletic body and loads of energy.
You also need to be innovative enough to vary the exercise routine to avoid monotony and boredom. Make sure you introduce an element of “fun”, taking care to devise an upper and lower body workout that exercises all muscle groups uniformly.
Remuneration
A postgraduate degree can easily fetch you Rs. 6,000 per month. If you join a fitness club or a reputed gym as a trainer, you can be paid anything above Rs. 10,000. However, five-star hotels and seven-star hotels are known as the good pay masters. Reputed soccer clubs and national level sports teams, like the Indian Cricket team, pay very good salaries to trainers. Once you have acquired a reputation, you could also be conducting one of the numerous fitness programmes or health shows on popular TV channels. Besides boosting your popularity, it will also augment your clientele. If you start up a range of fitness clubs like Vandana Luthra’s VLCC, well, you can be the entrepreneur of a multi-crore industry!
WHERE TO STUDY
* Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal
Amravati-444605, Maharashtra (affiliated to Amravati University)
Website : http://www.sgbau.ac.in/
* Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Sciences (IGIPESS)
(affiliated to University of Delhi), B-Block, Vikaspuri, New Delhi-110018
* Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education
Shaktinagar, Mela Road, Gwalior-474002, Madhya Pradesh
* The Sports Authority of India, Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports
Old Moti Bagh, Patiala-147001, Punjab
* The Sports Authority of India, NS Eastern Centre
Salt Lake City, Sector-III, Kolkata-700091, West Bengal
* The Sports Authority of India, NS South Centre
University Campus, Bangalore-56005, Karnataka
* Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy
61-65, Institutional Area, Janak Puri, New Delhi-110058
Website: http://www.ccryn.org/
It is wisely said, “A healthy mind resides in a healthy body.” Being fit has never been so popular or as necessary as it is today. Till a couple of years ago, working out in the gymnasium or going for fitness training was considered the job of sportsmen or amateurs. But nowadays, more and more people are adopting the fitness culture. People are on the lookout for professionally qualified fitness instructors who can help them deliver the right and healthy physical life. As the fitness culture is a growing rapidly, the industry is burgeoning and set to expand more.
Unofficial estimates show that a present the fitness industry is worth Rs. 2,000 Crore. This is due to the “fitness fad” that has caught up with people who have either recognised the value of a healthy lifestyle or want to look slimmer and better. The need for professionally qualified fitness trainers has been growing day by day. The fitness freaks should make their entrance into this sector in order to avoid unscrupulous and fake trainers lapping up the numerous opportunities thrown up by the industry while it is still in its nascent stage.
Aptitude
You should be a believer in the maxim that healthy individuals make a healthy world. Hence, one should be ready to work for realising that concept. You should be experimental enough to try out various kinds of fitness regimes apart from having specialised in one or two of them. As a fitness trainer, you have to train people in different aspects of physical fitness. One has to help the obese and sedentary get into shape. You have to instruct or coach groups or individuals in various exercise routines. You also have to monitor their progress through methods such as BMI (Body-Mass Index) and cardiovascular levels. If required, you will also give them basic advice on health and nutrition.
Your professional training and experience will also equip you to design specific programmes for different people where you have to keep various aspects in mind including age, lifestyle and health parameters. An elderly man or a woman won’t have an exerting routine as compared to an athlete or a football player.
To get employment as a fitness trainer is not vary tough. Fitness trainer has the provision to get an opportunity to work in gyms, big hotels, health clubs, fitness centres, spas, tourist resorts and even cruiseliners. After gaining some experience, one can choose to run one’s own fitness centre. Nowadays, big MNCs are giving exphasis on physical fitness of their employees. They are offering their employees the facilities of a well-equipped gym within the organisation where a fitness trainer will assist them to stay in good shape.
Here are some of the different kinds of work one has to do as being a part of the fitness industry :
You are required to have a keen concern for people who have been afflicted with lifestyle-related diseases and should be able to understand the individual problems of every client. Needless to say, one should be strong enough and fit oneself with and be able to work out rigorously since the job calls for training together with clients.
Fitness trainers must be able to assess their clients’ fitness levels, athletic ability, the amount of time they have, and various other factors which can help to decide the perfect fitness routine for the client. The routine should help the client to improve their exercise techniques. A Fitness Trainer should also keep the records of his clients’ exercise sessions to analyse their progress in fitness aspect.
Personal trainers work with clients on a one-on-one basis with celebrities and others who like privacy while they work out – either at a gym or at the client’s home. The workout is specially tailored to suit the client’s specific health and fitness requirements. Sports instructors organise, instruct, train and lead athletes specialising in indoor and outdoor sports or self-defence training such as judo and karate. Using their expertise in sports, the sports instructors evaluate the fitness level of the athlete and the athlete’s opponents to devise a competitive game strategy.
Courses
Master’s degree in Physical Education (M.P.Ed.) is offered by good institutes like Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Delhi. This institute also provides B. Sc. Degree and Bachelor of Physical Education degree. Besides, other institutes provide courses like exercise, physiology and aerobics. A comprehensive list as to where you can get a course in physical training is provided herewith.
A number of other governmental universities and private institutes also provide degree/certificates in physical training where physical education courses include anatomy, physiology, physical education, kinesiology, aerobics, swimming, weight training and exercise prescription.
After getting done with a course in physical training, the candidate has to keep a few things in mind in order to be successful.
A successful consultant or trainer must take into consideration, the health aspirations of every individual client and plan a suitable fitness regime for him/her with his/her age, medical history and nature of work in consideration. Secondly, you should keep yourself abreast with the latest developments in fitness tools like gym equipments, etc. Last but not the least, you should maintain professional ethics of keeping physical and emotional distance from your client because the nature of the work brings the trainer and the trainee into close physical and emotional contact. These norms are required to be observed in order to be successful in the long run.
Prospects
Graduates and postgraduates find employment in government schools and colleges. They can join health clinics or gyms. They can also join five star or seven star hotels which have their own fitness trainers in their gyms. They can also start their own health clinics/gyms or act as consultants to several national and state-level sports teams.
As mentioned earlier, fitness training programme in India a whopping Rs. 2,000 Crore industry, is also taking big leaps in the private sector. Moreover, be it at home or at the fitness centre, having a qualified trainer has become the ‘in-thing’.
Employment in the fitness industry is expected to grow faster as people now spend more time and money on staying in shape. However, those who want to get into the filed have to face considerable competition, simply because this field attracts so many aspirants. For many people, exercise is a favourite pastime and this is one of the ideal careers, since this profession can help to earn money. Certified trainers with good customer-relations skills will have the best chances.
In fact, fitness trainers may do everything from leading callisthenics at a nursing home to designing a weight-loss programme for a middle-aged client to working with clients who have special health issues, such as a bad back or sore knees. They can also help world-class athletes prepare for the Iron Man Competition.
Eligibility
The basic requirement to be a fitness trainer has to be 10+2 as to have good knowledge of human anatomy, diet, nutrition and other health and fitness related matters. Understandably, the first essential for this profession is an athletic body and loads of energy.
You also need to be innovative enough to vary the exercise routine to avoid monotony and boredom. Make sure you introduce an element of “fun”, taking care to devise an upper and lower body workout that exercises all muscle groups uniformly.
Remuneration
A postgraduate degree can easily fetch you Rs. 6,000 per month. If you join a fitness club or a reputed gym as a trainer, you can be paid anything above Rs. 10,000. However, five-star hotels and seven-star hotels are known as the good pay masters. Reputed soccer clubs and national level sports teams, like the Indian Cricket team, pay very good salaries to trainers. Once you have acquired a reputation, you could also be conducting one of the numerous fitness programmes or health shows on popular TV channels. Besides boosting your popularity, it will also augment your clientele. If you start up a range of fitness clubs like Vandana Luthra’s VLCC, well, you can be the entrepreneur of a multi-crore industry!
WHERE TO STUDY
* Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal
Amravati-444605, Maharashtra (affiliated to Amravati University)
Website : http://www.sgbau.ac.in/
* Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Sciences (IGIPESS)
(affiliated to University of Delhi), B-Block, Vikaspuri, New Delhi-110018
* Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education
Shaktinagar, Mela Road, Gwalior-474002, Madhya Pradesh
* The Sports Authority of India, Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports
Old Moti Bagh, Patiala-147001, Punjab
* The Sports Authority of India, NS Eastern Centre
Salt Lake City, Sector-III, Kolkata-700091, West Bengal
* The Sports Authority of India, NS South Centre
University Campus, Bangalore-56005, Karnataka
* Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy
61-65, Institutional Area, Janak Puri, New Delhi-110058
Website: http://www.ccryn.org/
