Most people that dream of working in the fitness industry assume that the most important factor to success as a personal trainer is fitness, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Yes, fitness and a love for exercise are important if you want to help other people achieve their fitness goals, but more important than your physical performance is your mental performance and the mindset that propels your career.
At PT Academy, we train future and current fitness professionals to become better, more confident trainers and coaches attracting clients from every walk of life and every corner of the globe. In addition to preparing our students for the physical demands of working as a personal trainer, we work with students to prepare them for the mental and emotional work of helping people change their lives through fitness. Mindset is everything, and if you know how to harness your own mental conviction, you will be that much more effective when training your clients.
What Is ‘Mindset’?
As professionals working in the fitness industry, our minds are not always at the forefront of our attention, even though it is our mindset that propels everything. It would not have been possible for you to earn certifications or degrees in fitness without having the right mindset, nor would it be possible for you to have undergone your own fitness journey without the power of your mind behind the process. Your mindset is how you think about the things you do and the way you live, and can either help or hinder your success.
Your frame of mind is key to interpreting your journey, as it is for your clients who may experience major mental hurdles as they begin to exercise for possibly the first time in their lives. Many people that struggle to begin a fitness journey struggle with a limiting fixed mindset, one that tells them that they are not good enough or that a challenge is something to be avoided. An open, accepting, growth mindset understands how challenges help the individual to grow, and one that is ready to learn new skills and tools to improve their lives.
How Mindset Can Hold You Back
As a personal trainer, you will go through many phases of your career and may find yourself facing difficult or challenging times. Clients coming and going, slow periods or sudden periods of rapid growth, changing trends, and the many other stressors that come with a career as a personal trainer can shake even the strongest resolve, so it is important to be prepared with a positive, open mindset if you want to make it through the ups and downs of your career.
Preparing yourself to meet challenges head-on and see them as opportunities for growth can enable you to accept the things that will improve your career, and help you to recognize when a challenge is helping you to become better versus when a challenge is due to a bad situation. Wanting to try new things, accept feedback, and learn from your mistakes will help you to advance and reach your goals, whereas keeping your mind closed will cloud your judgment and hold you back.
Mindset & Clients
It isn’t unusual to come across clients that struggle with mindset when it comes to their health and fitness, which is another reason it is so important for you to have an open, positive mindset yourself. By demonstrating to your clients how challenges can be growth opportunities, you can help them to overcome their self-doubt and fear to try new things that could change their lives. The more tools you have in your mental toolkit the better, and the more support you’ll be able to provide to clients at every level of their fitness journey.
Improving Your Mental Performance
Breaking out of limiting thought patterns can be difficult, especially when it comes to health and fitness. In a world where many people feel discouraged by societal norms regarding fitness, beginning a fitness journey can be extremely stressful, made more so by the fear of failure. People with limiting mindsets often struggle with self-doubt, which can make it near impossible to take on challenges or make lifestyle changes, even for the better.
As a personal trainer, you need to learn how to recognize and break free from those mental blocks to advance your own career and to help your clients with their own limiting beliefs. Learning to break down these barriers isn’t something that just comes naturally, it needs to be taught, which is why we offer our Mindset Performance continuing education credential to help fitness professionals discover new ways to help their clients overcome doubt. The Mindset Performance coaching course helps to give you the tools to be confidently curious and open to change, the same skills your clients will need if they want to transform their lives.
Enroll in the Mindset Performance Coach credential program when you visit PT Academy online today!
