How to Stay Motivated as a Personal Trainer

As a Personal Trainer, you are the source of motivation to those around you, from clients, family, friends, and colleagues.

There are times in a personal trainer's career when the stresses and demands of the job can have an impact on motivation. These times are a part of the process and are usually out of our control, but there are positive ways to respond to these challenges so you can get back to doing what you love. To help you rediscover your personal training motivation when it dips, try the ideas below.

Set Goals for Yourself

These goals should be both personal and professional.

Personal - this can be health and fitness related. As a PT, keeping yourself engaged in learning new physical skills can increase your enjoyment in your own training. By remaining committed to always learning, you can keep yourself rejuvenated because there is always something new and interesting to be discovered.

Professional - no one ever starts a business with all the skills required to operate it successfully. This is a try, fail and try again, part of life. Conducting a personal SWOT analysis can help you identify how to improve on your skillset as a personal trainer and business owner. Once you identify these traits and work toward them, this in itself becomes a source of motivation as you observe the flow-on effects of personal and professional growth.

Set a Regular Routine

Outside of your set work hours, training your clients, developing programs and completing paperwork, setting time aside for social events is essential. Even a little downtime such as just resting at home and not thinking about your business and clients, allows you to disconnect. This helps you recharge and better enjoy all other aspects of life. If you are happy and content with your life and the balance you maintain, this assists in maintaining the energy required to stay motivated.

Celebrate the Small Things

Gratitude is a significant contributor to keeping yourself motivated. It is important to find things to celebrate. Being thankful for a new client, or maintaining a positive relationship with your existing clients will allow you to appreciate what you do, and understand the positive impact you have on their life. Reminding yourself of these positives help you remember the joy of knowing you do something you love. If you focus on the positives, this in itself is self-motivator as you can see how your are making a difference in peoples lives and meeting your business goals along the way.

Reach Out

As mentioned earlier in the first point, you do not have all the skills and knowledge to operate a perfect business, especially at the start. So do not be afraid to reach out, seek a mentor, or seek support through family and friends. This support can be for mental health, business knowledge, or other services. Reaching out and seeking advice and support from others is a way to connect with those who are like-minded and who can assist in propelling you forward toward your goals.

It can also alleviate tension, knowing others feel the same way as you. Reducing stress, anxiety, and the thought that you are not succeeding will keep you strong. We all go through stages like this from time to time. Interestingly for me, reaching out to other industry professionals and mentors have allowed me to learn new motivational strategies that I will continue to implement in my life.

Let Clients Motivate You

Your clients hired you for a reason. Learning about their story and goals will allow you to create fitness programs that could have a real impact on your client’s lives. But sometimes we forget about the bigger picture and get caught up in day-to-day routines.

So, if you’re feeling unmotivated before a training session, ask these three ‘whys’:

• Why is your client training? E.g., They want to reach a fitness goal.

• Why do they want to reach that goal? E.g., They want to be able to keep up with their kids.

• Why are you there? E.g., You can help them achieve that goal.

When you focus on why you and your client are there in that moment, you’ll realise the importance of your role. After that, personal training motivation will come naturally.

Tip: If your client’s story inspires you, share that with them. That’s empowering feedback for them to hear and will reinforce the value of what they’re working towards.

Refresh your Frame of Mind

Life gets busy sometimes and we all have a lot on our minds. It can be hard putting your personal life out of your mind so you can focus on your job, especially when there are stressful things going on. While it’s possible to go through the motions, not being fully present in your work will drain your motivation.

Practising mindfulness can help clear your mind, leaving you with more energy for finding meaning in your work. Take a couple of minutes before a training session to step outside and be alone. You can sit down and focus on your breathing or go for a walk.

Especially if you train in a gym, finding time to meditate or just take a break will help you refresh and declutter your mind. That way, when you meet with your next client, your fitness motivation won’t be bogged down by heavy thoughts.

The fastest way to lose motivation is to repeat something. It’s the same in PT. If your training sessions with clients are too similar, then it’s a lot easier to lose your personal training motivation.

Learning and evolving the fitness programs you provide is energising. It keeps you on your toes and lets you offer a more customised approach to each client’s training sessions. By changing and adding in new exercises when appropriate, your clients will face new challenges that can increase their fitness motivation too.

If you’re looking for professional learning in your PT journey, consider enrolling in a Health and Fitness Course with AIPT. We’ll teach you the skills you need to excel as a PT - and even start your own business.

Study our Complete Personal Training Course at a Campus near you! Enquire Now to start your fitness career! Call 1300 616 180 today.