8 Tips On Becoming a Fitness Coach In Bangkok
Are you looking to start a career in fitness?
Helping people get strong, healthy, and hit their goals is the best part about being a fitness coach.
Jack Thomas, the CEO and Founder of BASE, offers 8 tips to help you become a great fitness trainer in Bangkok.
Being a fitness coach can be one of the best jobs in the world. You get to work closely with people and it’s a very positive industry to be in. You really feel like you’re having a strong, positive impact on people’s lives and that really does feel great.
It’s not an easy job – being a personal trainer or a coach can be quite mentally tough. You have to really be there for people. You have to really listen to their problems, really help them get through it. But nothing worth doing in this life is easy. And being a personal trainer is no exception.
If you are looking to get into the fitness industry, these are 8 biggest tips to help you become a top personal trainer in Bangkok and to really make a success of a move into fitness:
TIP 1 – TAKE THE JOB SERIOUSLY
So, number one tip – take the job seriously. We have a lot of responsibility as coaches to get our clients the results that they want and often the results that they need.
Some clients come into BASE because they just want to look in good shape or they have a holiday or a wedding coming up, but many of our clients come in because they have serious health problems. They might be very overweight or they might be pre-diabetic, so we have an absolute obligation to do the very best that we can as coaches to make sure they get the results that they need. That’s something that should be taken seriously and that will help us really show everyone the fitness industry is important, it’s professional and it really does essential work, especially with the current crisis that we’ve had around the world in 2020.
I think people now are starting to realize that being healthy, fit, and strong really could be a matter of life and death. And the fitness industry plays a very important part in that. You should understand and respect that if you are choosing a job as a coach. So number one take that move seriously.
TIP 2 – GET YOUR FULL CERTIFICATIONS
Fitness coach tip number two is to get qualified.
There are two places that you can do your personal training qualifications in Bangkok. There is FIT Thailand. They’ve been running for a long time offering ACE, which is the American Council of Exercise.
There’s also the Evolution Way, which runs out of New Moves in Bangkok. They run the NASM course, which is another American accredited qualification.
Now, it’s very important that you get that foundation of knowledge, which ties in nicely into tip one. If you are qualified with an internationally recognized certification, people will know that you are taking this job seriously. The truth is there are good coaches that don’t have qualifications and they’re also qualified coaches that are not that great and haven’t really built up the experience yet. But by getting your certification, you are showing any potential clients and you’re showing yourself that you are taking this job seriously and it’s important that you have that foundation of knowledge.
TIP 3 – COMMIT TO A JOURNEY OF DEVELOPMENT
Personal trainer tip number three – once you have that certification, it really only is getting your foot in the door to being a coach. You need to be on a constant journey of development after that – whether that’s doing extra certifications or whether that’s doing your own research. There’s some fantastic YouTube resources out there, so get learning.
Experience comes with time. The more clients that you coach, the more experience you get, the easier that role becomes and the more effectively you can help people. So get qualified – that is super important – but understand that this is only the first step into the industry. In summary, tip number three is always be learning.
TIP 4 – WORK SOMEWHERE THAT WILL INVEST IN YOU
Coach tip number four – find somewhere to work that really values your development. It’s one of our values at BASE that we should always be learning, always be developing. We shouldn’t just be improving our clients, we should be improving ourselves as well.
Once you make that step into being a coach and getting your qualification, make sure you find a place to work that values your learning and development and is going to invest in you. There are many great gyms and studios out there that tick this box.
When you are interviewing with a gym, with a studio, remember, it’s a two way process. It’s not just them deciding if they’re going to give you the job. You need to decide if this is the right environment for you to grow, learn, develop and become the best coach that you can be.
TIP 5 – TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND DEVELOP
Once you find that place and you start working there, grab every opportunity to learn that you can. Do every class, talk to every client, observe the good coaches as much as you can and don’t be afraid to ask them questions.
If you’re in a gym or in a studio that has the right environment, they should be very happy to share their knowledge and share what they’ve learned with you. If you’re working at a quality establishment, there should be many opportunities to learn each and every day just by looking around you and observing what those top coaches do.
How do they cue their clients? How do they talk them through the movements they’re prescribing? How do they connect with them? How do they make them feel motivated and ready for a great workout? What kind of programming do they do? What kind of training do they do?
Surround yourself with the right people, take every opportunity to learn and good things will happen.
TIP 6 – NICHE DOWN
At the beginning of your coaching career you’ll find you’re working with many different types of clients. That’s usually what new coaches do. They’re not quite sure which kind of clients they want to work with but it’s good, over time and with more experience, to realize exactly the kind of clients that you would like to work with.
Perhaps it’s males, perhaps it’s females, perhaps of a certain age group or another demographic, or maybe it’s clients with specific goals such as weight loss, perhaps people that want to build muscle or do bodybuilding. Maybe you want to help the elderly population stay fit, healthy, strong, self-sufficient, going into old age. They are definitely an underserved market at the moment. Maybe you want to work with athletes. That’s what most coaches want to do. They find it’s fun to work with athletes. Unfortunately, there’s not that many solid jobs in Thailand for coaches wanting to work with athletes, so whilst it’s a fun area to get into, there are not as many opportunities as other areas.
Whichever kind of client you want to work with, that’s your decision. That’s something for you to work out. You don’t need to know straight away, but it’s something to think about during your first six to twelve months on the job. There are a lot of coaches out there. There are a lot of trainers. So if you can reach down to a specific area, it’s also a lot easier to get clients if you just train anyone. It’s going to be hard to find people that that really resonates with. If you choose to work with, say, prenatal mums, then you might find you’re the only coach, the only trainer that works for that particular group. And so it becomes easier to build up your client base.
TIP 7 – DON’T BE AFRAID TO PROMOTE YOUR SERVICES
Number seven, don’t be afraid to sell your services. As we’ve already discussed today, you play an important role in helping people stay fit, healthy and strong. So when you meet someone, don’t be afraid to tell them what you do. Don’t be afraid to tell them how you can help them.
Unfortunately, in our industry, we don’t really sell our services very well. We often shy away from those conversations. You don’t need to be ‘salesy’, but you do need to tell people how you can help them. Remember being healthy, being strong, being fit, at the very least improves your quality of life. Or it could be even more important. It could be something that causes serious health problems down the line. So don’t be shy, don’t be afraid to talk to people about what you do, to let them know how you can help them. That is the right way to sell to them – not to force them into buying a package, not to pressure them, not to guilt trip them, but just let them know how you can help them in a confident manner. That is a big tip that I would give to any coaches coming in the industry.
TIP 8 – CONNECT WITH YOUR CLIENTS FOR BEST RESULTS
I appreciate that a great coach will find a way to connect with the people they help. You can have the best programming in the world. You can know the exact exercises that person needs to do to hit their goals. You could be amazing at putting together the exact nutritional approach that they need for optimal resutls. But if you can’t inspire that person, if you can’t connect with them, if they don’t enjoy working with you, it’s going to be very difficult to help that person get results.
For me, the best coaches in the industry are the ones that know how to program, they know about exercise, they know about nutrition, but they also have an amazing way to connect with the people that they work with. They make their clients feel good about themselves. They make their day a little bit better. They make sure that hour of their day is something their client really looks forward to. And they really care. They show their clients that they care. They connect with them outside the session. They follow up on the days off to make sure they’re doing the right things. Those truly are the best coaches. So make sure you are one of those if you’re coming into the fitness industry.
PERSONAL TRAINER TIPS SUMMARY
I hope that helps you take a step into the fitness industry or you send it through to a friend who is considering a move into fitness.
If you are interested in becoming a coach at BASE, we are always looking for great coaches that either have experience, but also we love working with people that are brand new in the industry. We work hard on making sure that everyone that comes into BASE, follows those eight tips and is really coming into the industry for the right reasons.
If you’re interested in becoming a coach at BASE, send your resume and full cover letter to [email protected]
