Personal Training

Alternative Job Titles for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

• Aerobics Instructor
• Fitness Instructor
• Fitness Specialist
• Fitness Technician
• Fitness Trainer
• Group Exercise Instructor
• Group Fitness Instructor
• Personal Trainer
• Private Trainer
• Yoga Instructor

Job Tasks and Activities for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

• Administer emergency first aid, wrap injuries, treat minor chronic disabilities, or refer injured persons to physicians.
• Administer first aid.
• Administer therapeutic massages.
• Advise clients about proper clothing and shoes.
• Advise customers on the use of products or services.
• Advise participants in use of heat or ultraviolet treatments and hot baths.
• Conduct therapeutic, recreational, or athletic activities.
• Demonstrate activity techniques or equipment use.
• Develop educational or training programs.
• Distribute resources to patrons or employees.
• Enforce rules or regulations.
• Evaluate capabilities or training needs.
• Evaluate individuals' abilities, needs, and physical conditions, and develop suitable training programs to meet any special requirements.
• Explain and enforce safety rules and regulations governing sports, recreational activities, and the use of exercise equipment.
• Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
• Instruct participants in maintaining exertion levels to maximize benefits from exercise routines.
• Maintain client information or service records.
• Maintain equipment inventories, and select, store, or issue equipment as needed.
• Maintain fitness equipment.
• Maintain supply or equipment inventories.
• Massage body parts to relieve soreness, strains, and bruises.
• Monitor participants' progress and adapt programs as needed.
• Observe participants and inform them of corrective measures necessary for skill improvement.
• Offer alternatives during classes to accommodate different levels of fitness.
• Organize and conduct competitions and tournaments.
• Organize recreational activities or events.
• Perform basic equipment maintenance.
• Plan physical education programs to promote development of participants' physical attributes and social skills.
• Plan routines, choose appropriate music, and choose different movements for each set of muscles, depending on participants' capabilities and limitations.
• Promote health clubs through membership sales, and record member information.
• Promote products, services, or programs.
• Provide medical or cosmetic advice for clients.
• Provide students with information and resources regarding nutrition, weight control, and lifestyle issues.
• Sell products or services.
• Teach and demonstrate use of gymnastic and training equipment, such as trampolines and weights.
• Teach exercise or fitness techniques.
• Teach health or hygiene practices.
• Teach individual and team sports to participants through instruction and demonstration, using knowledge of sports techniques and of participants' physical capabilities.
• Teach proper breathing techniques used during physical exertion.

Interests for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

• Social
  Helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others.
• Realistic
  Designing, building, or repairing equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors.

Skills for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

In order of importance

• Instructing
  Teaching people how to do something.
  Importance: 75/100
• Service Orientation
  Looking for ways to help people.
  Importance: 72/100
• Speaking
  Talking to others.
  Importance: 63/100
• Learning Strategies
  Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
  Importance: 56/100
• Active Listening
  Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
  Importance: 56/100
• Monitoring
  Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
  Importance: 56/100
• Social Perceptiveness
  Understanding people's reactions.
  Importance: 56/100
• Judgment and Decision Making
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
  Importance: 50/100
• Persuasion
  Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
  Importance: 50/100
• Coordination
  Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
  Importance: 50/100
• Active Learning
  Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Critical Thinking
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
  Importance: 50/100
• Reading Comprehension
  Reading work-related information.
  Importance: 47/100
• Time Management
  Managing your time and the time of other people.
  Importance: 47/100
• Complex Problem Solving
  Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
  Importance: 47/100
• Writing
  Writing things for co-workers or customers.
  Importance: 44/100
• Management of Personnel Resources
  Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
  Importance: 35/100
• Systems Analysis
  Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
  Importance: 35/100
• Operations Analysis
  Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
  Importance: 35/100
• Systems Evaluation
  Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
  Importance: 31/100
• Negotiation
  Bringing people together to solve differences.
  Importance: 25/100
• Quality Control Analysis
  Testing how well a product or service works.
  Importance: 22/100
• Troubleshooting
  Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
  Importance: 22/100
• Equipment Maintenance
  Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
  Importance: 19/100
• Management of Material Resources
  Managing equipment and materials.
  Importance: 19/100
• Operations Monitoring
  Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
  Importance: 19/100
• Mathematics
  Using math to solve problems.
  Importance: 19/100
• Technology Design
  Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
  Importance: 19/100
• Operation and Control
  Using equipment or systems.
  Importance: 19/100
• Equipment Selection
  Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
  Importance: 16/100
• Science
  Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
  Importance: 16/100
• Programming
  Writing computer programs.
  Importance: 6/100
• Repairing
  Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
  Importance: 6/100
• Management of Financial Resources
  Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
  Importance: 3/100

Knowledge for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

In order of importance

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  Importance: 75/100
• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Importance: 69/100
• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  Importance: 63/100
• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  Importance: 53/100
• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  Importance: 44/100
• Medicine and Dentistry
  Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  Importance: 39/100
• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  Importance: 37/100
• Therapy and Counseling
  Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  Importance: 36/100
• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  Importance: 35/100
• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Importance: 32/100
• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  Importance: 31/100
• Administrative
  Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  Importance: 31/100
• Public Safety and Security
  Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  Importance: 30/100
• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Importance: 29/100
• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  Importance: 28/100
• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Importance: 25/100
• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Importance: 25/100
• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Importance: 20/100
• Physics
  Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
  Importance: 20/100
• Telecommunications
  Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Importance: 18/100
• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Importance: 18/100
• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Importance: 18/100
• Fine Arts
  Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  Importance: 18/100
• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Importance: 17/100
• Chemistry
  Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
  Importance: 14/100
• Transportation
  Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Importance: 11/100
• Engineering and Technology
  Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  Importance: 11/100
• Food Production
  Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  Importance: 11/100
• Foreign Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
  Importance: 11/100
• Philosophy and Theology
  Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
  Importance: 10/100
• Geography
  Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
  Importance: 8/100
• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  Importance: 7/100
• Building and Construction
  Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
  Importance: 4/100

Physical Abilities for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

In order of importance

• Extent Flexibility
  Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  Importance: 75/100
• Oral Expression
  Communicating by speaking.
  Importance: 72/100
• Gross Body Coordination
  Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
  Importance: 72/100
• Stamina
  Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
  Importance: 72/100
• Speech Clarity
  Speaking clearly.
  Importance: 69/100
• Trunk Strength
  Using your lower back and stomach.
  Importance: 66/100
• Dynamic Strength
  Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
  Importance: 60/100
• Static Strength
  Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
  Importance: 60/100
• Dynamic Flexibility
  Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  Importance: 56/100
• Oral Comprehension
  Listening and understanding what people say.
  Importance: 56/100
• Originality
  Creating new and original ideas.
  Importance: 53/100
• Information Ordering
  Ordering or arranging things.
  Importance: 53/100
• Problem Sensitivity
  Noticing when problems happen.
  Importance: 53/100
• Speech Recognition
  Recognizing spoken words.
  Importance: 53/100
• Far Vision
  Seeing details that are far away.
  Importance: 53/100
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  Keeping your balance or staying upright.
  Importance: 50/100
• Manual Dexterity
  Holding or moving items with your hands.
  Importance: 50/100
• Inductive Reasoning
  Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
  Importance: 50/100
• Category Flexibility
  Grouping things in different ways.
  Importance: 50/100
• Selective Attention
  Paying attention to something without being distracted.
  Importance: 50/100
• Near Vision
  Seeing details up close.
  Importance: 50/100
• Fluency of Ideas
  Coming up with lots of ideas.
  Importance: 50/100
• Deductive Reasoning
  Using rules to solve problems.
  Importance: 50/100
• Multilimb Coordination
  Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
  Importance: 47/100
• Time Sharing
  Doing two or more things at the same time.
  Importance: 47/100
• Written Comprehension
  Reading and understanding what is written.
  Importance: 47/100
• Written Expression
  Communicating by writing.
  Importance: 47/100
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  Keeping your arm or hand steady.
  Importance: 44/100
• Explosive Strength
  Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
  Importance: 44/100
• Memorization
  Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
  Importance: 35/100
• Finger Dexterity
  Putting together small parts with your fingers.
  Importance: 31/100
• Auditory Attention
  Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
  Importance: 28/100
• Visualization
  Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
  Importance: 28/100
• Speed of Closure
  Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
  Importance: 25/100
• Flexibility of Closure
  Seeing hidden patterns.
  Importance: 25/100
• Perceptual Speed
  Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
  Importance: 25/100
• Speed of Limb Movement
  Quickly moving your arms and legs.
  Importance: 25/100
• Number Facility
  Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
  Importance: 22/100
• Depth Perception
  Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
  Importance: 22/100
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
  Importance: 22/100
• Spatial Orientation
  Knowing where things are around you.
  Importance: 19/100
• Response Orientation
  Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
  Importance: 19/100
• Peripheral Vision
  Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
  Importance: 19/100
• Mathematical Reasoning
  Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
  Importance: 19/100
• Rate Control
  Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
  Importance: 19/100
• Hearing Sensitivity
  Telling the difference between sounds.
  Importance: 19/100
• Visual Color Discrimination
  Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
  Importance: 16/100
• Control Precision
  Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
  Importance: 16/100
• Reaction Time
  Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
  Importance: 16/100
• Sound Localization
  Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
  Importance: 6/100

Tools and Technology used by Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

• Balance beams or boards or bolsters or rockers for rehabilitation or therapy
• Cross trainers
• Exercise balls
• Exercise trampolines
• Fitness weights
• Jump ropes
• Lower body resistance machines
• MP3 players or recorders
• Medical tape measures
• Mercury blood pressure units
• Microphones
• Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
• Mobile medical services first aid kits
• Notebook computers
• Pedometers
• Personal computers
• Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
• Pilates machines
• Portable stereo systems
• Resistance bands
• Resistance tubes
• Rowing machines
• Skinfold calipers
• Stair climbers
• Stationary bicycles
• Step aerobic equipment
• Treadmills
• Upper body resistance machines
• Accounting software
  • Intuit QuickBooks
  • MYOB BusinessEssentials
  • Sage 50 Accounting
  • Sage Simply Accounting
• Calendar and scheduling software
  • Appointment scheduling software
  • DaySmart Software Appointment-Plus
• Data base user interface and query software
  • BioEx Systems Exercise Expert
  • DietMaster Systems DietMaster
  • ICTraining
• Desktop publishing software
  • Visual Health Information The Trainer's Exercise Toolbox
• Electronic mail software
  • Email software
  • Microsoft Outlook
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • EZFacility Trainer Management System
• Instant messaging software
  • Blink
• Internet browser software
  • Web browser software
• Medical software
  • BioEx Systems Nutrition Maker Plus
• Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office software
• Presentation software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
• Project management software
  • BioEx Systems Fitness Maker
  • Online River Software Personal Trainer Pro
• Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel
• Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word

Employment Industries for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

• Fitness and recreational sports centers
  193,900 employed
• Civic and social organizations
  25,100 employed
• Other schools and instruction; private
  25,300 employed
• Local government, excluding education and hospitals
  12,300 employed
• Other personal services
  8,100 employed