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Common Personal Trainer Mistakes In Your Training Sessions

Written by

Chayan Garg

A trainer may create good plans but yet make significant personal trainer mistakes in achieving their goals. Here are a few of the most regular errors made by them.

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Many people aspire to become a personal trainer. It can definitely be a very lucrative career, especially in today's time when more and more people focus on fitness, health, and well-being, and the fitness industry is expanding at a far quicker rate than ever before.

While the first step to becoming a personal trainer is to get a valid certification, it's not the only factor that ensures success.

A certified personal trainer may be making spectacular training plans for clients but might overlook other crucial factors that are stopping them from getting the desired results.

Here we have outlined some of the most common mistakes that personal trainers make. Let's dive in!

1. Not assessing clients medical history

Many times fitness professionals neglect or fail to obtain the medical history or general health conditions and injuries of their clients.

Being aware of your clients medical conditions before the their first session is of utmost importance. It will give you a fair idea of what exercises can suit your client the best and what other lifestyle changes should they make - e.g. not getting enough sleep, a particular medication they are on, etc.

For example, if you know your client has a history of cardiac difficulties, you'll keep a watchful eye out for warning signs, or if you learn your client has a knee or shoulder problem, you can adapt the workout to avoid putting undue stress on that joint.

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2. Favouring reps over form

Many personal trainers forget to check the clients form, especially when training online via pre-recorded videos or PDFs. A bad form or shape can do more harm than good.

When one's form begins to deteriorate, the body compensates by relying on other sections of the kinetic chain to "complete the challenge." This can result in damage, and the client will not receive the full benefit of the workout or exercise as well.

Maintaining proper form should always be a priority over the number of reps and sets, and as a personal trainer, you should not be making the mistake of not checking your clients form, whether in the gym or online.

3. One-size-fits-all exercise programs

Apart from adapting an exercise program to accommodate medical conditions, as a personal trainer, you will have to truly personalize a client's coaching regime as per your client's fitness level, focus and development, habits, and personal goals.

This is important because physical capacities will vary from client to client, and you will need to track their progress and make suitable progressions. If a client has extremely defined objectives, adopt a method that will assist him or her in achieving those specific objectives.

Bonus Tip: The fundamentals of your training methods can remain the same, but the approach should be tailored to the individual's skill and strength level, as well as any particular concerns and goals of your clients.

4. Missing out on post-workout recovery

One of the common personal trainer mistakes, especially while training clients online, is not monitoring their post-workout recovery.

The single most crucial aspect of any training or fitness program is recovery. Recovery allows you to increase your clients performance, give the body the appropriate time and rest to heal and get ready for the next training session, and of course, to reduce the chances of injury.

All of these benefits enable a client to achieve their goals in a safe manner.

It's important to educate your clients about recovery and regeneration as it will help them reach the recovered state.

A successful personal trainer is one who trains their clients hard but also provides the appropriate tools and knowledge to recover and regenerate.

5. Foggy attention on your personal training clients

In terms of being attentive, two mistakes personal trainers make when training clients are:

(1) Giving the client too much attention - asking too many questions, talking excessively, or obsessing over form.

(2) Paying them only a passing glance or no attention at all.

Clients expect your undivided focus, so it's better to eliminate everything that would distract you while taking their workout sessions. So structure your sessions in the most optimized way.

Before you go!

Being a personal trainer isn’t easy as a lot of things can go wrong in the process to coach your clients. But the good news is that these mistakes are easily avoidable. If you want to get the most out of your trainer relationships and training sessions, it’s crucial to be informed on the common mistakes that trainers make.

Once you know those traits, you can take them into account and adapt your working style accordingly. Use the tips above to ensure that you’re making the most out of their training experience. ‍