Introduction to Fitness Courses
Fitness in whole encompasses the mental and physical state of one’s mind. It refers to being in a state of mental happiness and feeling great of one’s physical appearance. Fitness leads to the release of Dopamine which is a feel good hormone that helps a person in daily functioning. In the world we live in now, fitness is an aspect that is lacking from individual to individual. Which definitely impacts help and longevity of life.
Physical Fitness is basically the ease with which one can do daily tasks with ease and efficiency, as well as trying to do recreational activities without fatigue or risk of injury.
It comprises components such as cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and BMI(body mass index).
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help in cognitive functioning, memory health.
Getting into fitness is not achieving a dream physique, it’s about inculcating habits that provide a support for lifelong health and vitality.
Pro's of Fitness Courses
You should know before you start
- Enhanced Quality of life: Adopting a fitness lifestyle leads to many health benefits, like better sleep quality, increased self confidence, basically overall sense of well being.
- Weight Management: Weight management plays an important role in a person’s life, as being obese can lead to lots of health risks in life. Fitness helps maintain ones weight by helping in burning calories, increasing lean muscle growth and a better metabolism. In addition to that you get a balanced diet which helps to maintain the weight.
- Knowledge and Expertise: Fitness courses provide you with comprehensive knowledge about exercise physiology, anatomy, nutrition, and various training methodologies. This expertise can help you design effective workout programs tailored to individual needs.
- Career Opportunities: Completing fitness courses can lead to various career opportunities such as personal trainer, group fitness instructor, wellness coach, or strength and conditioning specialist. The fitness industry is growing, and there’s a demand for qualified professionals.
- Personal Development: Learning about fitness doesn’t just benefit others; it also improves your own health and well-being. You’ll understand how to optimize your workouts, prevent injuries, and make healthier lifestyle choices.
- Networking: Fitness courses often provide opportunities to connect with other professionals in the industry and even multiple clients who can also get you more clients.
- Job Satisfaction: Helping others achieve their fitness goals can be incredibly rewarding. As a certified fitness professional, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re making a positive impact on people’s lives.
- Financial Rewards: Depending on your level of expertise and specialization, fitness careers can be financially rewarding. With experience and a solid client base, you can potentially earn a lucrative income through personal training, coaching, or owning a fitness business.
Con's of Fitness Courses
You should know before you start
- Time and Commitment: This is the biggest con to fitness that an individual faces. Trying to find the time to work out in a professional’s life is not easy. Trying to balance work, family life and social life can be a huge task.
- Financial Burden: Joining a gym can be an issue for people like students or people who can’t afford a membership. Then comes personal training, buying supplies and needs for working out can cost a lot.
- Risk of Injury: Working out can in the long run cause fatigue to the body which inturn will lead to injuries that are painful. Even before performing an exercise warming-up the body is essential, if not done so will also lead to an injury occurring.
- Body Image: In some cases fitness industry can cause insecurities about one’s self. Which might lead to mental stress and torture. Like body dysmorphia.
For the majority of people, the advantages of fitness greatly exceed the risks, notwithstanding the possibility of certain disadvantages. You can enjoy the many mental, emotional, and physical benefits of leading an active lifestyle if you approach fitness with mindfulness, moderation, and an emphasis on your general health and well-being.
Facts About Fitness Courses
- Regular physical activity is required for overall health: Engaging in regular exercise has proven to show improvement in immune function, enhanced mood and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and types of cancer.
- Fitness is achievable to any age: It is never too late to start a journey in fitness. Like they say age is just a number. We have multiple examples of old people working and leading a happy and healthier life with less known medical issues to counterparts that don’t workout.
- Nutrition plays a significant role in fitness: Exercise alone is not enough to maintain a healthy life, eating healthy also plays a key role. Following a fixed and flexible diet that one can enjoy is also necessary. A nutritious diet helps to build broken muscles, better digestion and much more.
- Rest and Recovery: Resting and recovery is a key element to fitness as a whole. It helps to optimise muscle growth, reduce risk of injury and optimises performance during working sets.
- Resistance Training is crucial: Not only cardio is required for the betterment of life, also lifting weights. Lifting weights help in building strength, muscles and bone density as we age.
Myths About Fitness Courses
- Spot Reduction is possible: People believe that hitting a workout for a certain muscle group will reduce the fat in that immediately. Which is a myth, spot reduction never happens. The body tends to lose weight/ fat in a generalised manner, through a combination of balanced diet and workouts.
- Cardio is the only way to lose weight: While cardio focused exercises tend to burn calories and support weight loss. It is not the only approach to losing weight. Even lifting weights help burn calories that are counted in a whole to weight loss.
- You have to be in pain to see results: People blindly believe that if you’re not in pain or muscle soreness you are not making progress. While getting muscle soreness at that beginning of the workout experience, once adapted to a workout cycle there is no such thing as pain to see results.
- Fitness is only about physical appearance: Achieving a certain physique is a dream for few people, not everyone who takes up fitness needs to have a good body. It encompasses overall strength, health, flexibility and mental well being.
Career Options After Taking Fitness Courses
- Personal Trainer: Personal trainers are ones that work one-one with clients and ensure to provide all their attention to them. They are catered to designing fitness programs, provide instructions, create custom diet plans and offer motivation and support during the course of their clients achieving their desired bodies.
- Fitness Coach or Wellness Coach: Are ones that basically work with individuals and provide them the necessary support that is required to grow or achieve their dream physique.
- Fitness Influencer: In this new era of online trends, fitness influencers tend to be more on the rise. The main job of an influencer is to make a reel or a post on how a workout is done or what to eat for weight loss or gain. Trying to reach audiences all around the world.
- Strength and Conditioning Coach: These people mainly work with athletes and sport teams who are playing regular games day in and day out. Their job is to make sure the athletes strength and condition is up to the mark and even to make sure that they are not injury prone.
- Exercise Physiologist: They basically study the effects of exercise on the body and develop exercise prescriptions for individuals with various health ailments. They usually work in research institutes and corporate settings.
- Fitness Director or Manager: The one who oversees the working of facilities such as gyms, health clubs or corporate fitness centres. They are responsible for the staff, maintenance and membership satisfaction.
- Physical Therapist or Rehabilitation Specialist: These guys help in the rehabilitation of players or people who have muscle injuries. Rehabilitation is done through exercise, muscle therapy and other interventions. Main job is to reduce pain and get back muscle to its old working self.
- Nutritional Consultant or Dietitian: Becoming a nutritional consultant now holds a huge scope in life, as lots of people are looking towards adopting a healthier lifestyle. This is where a dietitian comes into play. By providing meal planning and guidance in ones journey to a certain weight goal.
- Fitness Writer or Blogger: Fitness writers or bloggers create content related to exercise, nutrition, health, and wellness for online publications, blogs, magazines, or social media platforms. They may share workout tips, healthy recipes, motivational stories, or product reviews to inspire and educate their audience.
Certification's
ACE: Is the most renowned certification in the world.
National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
International Sports Sciences Association
National Strength and Conditioning Association
Indian Association of Fitness Professionals
National Institute of Fitness and Sports.
People to Follow
Chris Bumbstead
He is the main man and the current face of the fitness world. He is now dubbed the legend of the sport, winning multiple bodybuilding titles. He has his own brand, website and youtube channel. Through which he provides insights on workouts and dietary needs to build muscle and maintain it.
Jen Selter
She is a fitness influencer based out of New york and is one of the top female influencers right now. She started working out in her early college days and has gained lots of love and appreciation for all the knowledge and work she puts out everyday.
Simeon Panda
He is also a popular fitness influencer who gives us knowledge of how a workout should be done. He even has a subscription available to the general public where he caters to all individually to help them achieve their fitness goals.
Ulisses Williams
He is a highly regarded fitness buff. He gained popularity because of his physique and dedication towards bodybuild. He also has a subscription plan and an instagram page where he gives out knowledge for free.
Andrei Deiu
Is one of the top and upcoming bodybuilders from the UK. He started working out at the age of 17 and has achieved many accolades which gathered him fans and network as well. Like all the above mentioned people Andrei has a youtube channel and instagram page where he gives out knowledge for free.
Scope of this Course
A fitness trainer’s potential and future are bright because of a number of factors listed below.
Growing Health and Fitness Awareness: As the value of maintaining a healthy lifestyle becomes more widely recognized, more individuals are looking to fitness trainers for advice and assistance in reaching their fitness objectives. It is anticipated that people would continue to prioritise their health and wellbeing in this way.
Demand for Personalized Fitness Programs: People are looking for more individualised fitness solutions that are catered to their unique needs and objectives. As a result, there is a growing need for qualified fitness trainers who can design unique workout regimens and offer one-on-one training.
Growth of the Fitness Industry: In order to meet the growing demand for fitness services, new gyms, health clubs, boutique fitness studios, and online training platforms are opening up.to a range of interests and preferences among consumers. Fitness instructors now have the chance to work in a range of environments and specialisations thanks to this expansion.
Technological Developments in Fitness: New technologies are changing how people connect with fitness trainers and obtain fitness services. Examples include virtual reality, smartphone apps, wearable fitness gadgets, and online coaching platforms. Future success is likely for fitness instructors who use these technologies and change with the times.
Opportunities for Career Advancement: Fitness instructors with experience may be able to move into positions as managers, fitness directors, instructors, or business owners. To further strengthen their qualifications, they might also pursue more certifications, graduate degrees, or specialised training.
Possibilities for Specialisation: By focusing on particular areas like functional training, sports conditioning, corrective exercise, pre- and post-natal fitness, senior fitness, or corporate wellness programs, fitness trainers can set themselves apart and improve their chances of landing a good job. Trainers that specialise might draw clients with particular requirements and preferences and cater to niche markets.
Freelancing Opportunities After Finishing Fitness Courses
- Personal Training: Offer one-on-one personal training sessions to clients either in person or online.
- Online coaching: Provide virtual coaching services to clients worldwide through video calls. Online coaching allows professionals to have a relaxed life and help clients from remote places.
- Group Fitness: Hosting group classes helps a fitness professional to finish training multiple people at once and allows him/her to go about with more professional things in life.
- Nutrition Coaching: This allows a professional to help clients from remote locations, because nutrition doesn’t require a person to be face to face to give a diet.
- Fitness Writing and Content Creation: Freelance as a fitness writer, blogger or content creator. Basically writing articles, blog posts, ebooks or creating videos and posting them on social media to gain growth.
- Corporate Wellness Programs: Partnering up with businesses to offer corporate wellness programs. This includes online sessions, face to face sessions and workshops.
- Event and Retreat Hosting: Organising events and workshops on a regular basis.
- Fitness Consulting and Education: Offering consulting and educational classes to business, gyms or health clubs.
- Fitness Product or Service sales: Partnering up with fitness brands can also help as a freelance work, because it doesn’t require you to officially sell the products. You can endorse the products and market it from your end which will generate revenue.
Salary Expectations
- Entry level Fitness trainer: Here in India the entry level fitness trainers typically earn around 20-25 thousand. The salary might go up and down depending on the location of the gym and number of customers it’s able to get.
- Mid level Fitness trainer: Fitness trainers with few years of experience can typically earn around 35-40 thousand here in India. In this phase even getting personal clients can boost the income of a trainer.
- Experience or Specialised Fitness trainer: These guys can earn anywhere around 2-4 lakhs a month. This is because of the clientele they have managed to achieve. An example would be fitness trainers for actors and other celebrities who tend to earn the most money.
- Freelancing or Self employed trainers: The income in this is limitless as the trainer can have multiple clients all over the nation and he doesn’t need to be in person to train the client. He can do everything that is to give instructions for workout and diets through calls.
DO's
- Set realistic and achievable goals: Setting goals that are realistic is very important, because achieving a dream physique is done overnight. It is all about the long run. Make sure that these goals help you also stay motivated to continue this for life.
- Do warm ups before: This is really important because if the muscle is not warmed up or stretched before the start of the actual workout it can lead to injury or muscle tears which can halt the progress of your fitness goals.
- Do listen to your Body: Pay attention to your body, make sure that the body is fine while doing any workout or even when it requires rest. Maintaining mind muscle connection is key in fitness.
- Prioritising form and technique: Main focus should be on proper form and technique, if this is not adhered to injuries occur.
- Staying hydrated: Don’t go behind the myth that water will get you fat while working out, staying hydrated during each set of a workout is key because the muscle needs to recover as well as you need to recover for the next round of workout.
- Rest and Recovery: Allow the body to rest and recover as much as possible, there is no need to over do anything. Recovery only will help broken down muscles to grow back stronger and bigger.
Don'ts
- Don’t skip warm up: Like said before, warm up is not something that is to be neglected.
- Don’t neglect proper nutrition: Proper nutrition is key to help the muscle recover and grow. Nutrition also helps to keep the body healthy and strong from the inside. Like taking care of your gut will help drastically in weight balance.
- Don’t ego lift: Ego lifting can lead to lots of issues, like injuries, muscle tears and rare cases of death. Try to lift weight only that your body can, don’t look at someone lift heavier than you and duplicate that.
- Don’t push through pain: Pain in the body is a way of it signalling that something is wrong. So please pay attention to it and address the problem at the beginning itself to avoid making it worse.
- Don’t overdo it: While it is important to challenge yourself during workouts. It is also important to note that overdoing or pushing the body to extremes can cause serious issues immediately or in the long run.
- Don’t neglect recovery: Emphasised all over the blog recovery is important as nutrition in fitness. Never neglect it.
Conclusion
I would like to end this blog by saying embarking on this journey of fitness is an investment to your health and well-being in the long run. Which provides multiple benefits and helps you live and love life to the fullest. By including all such exercise in a person’s day to day life can help achieve happiness. Remember fitness is not about the destination but it is about the complete journey it takes to reach that destination. So stay committed, stay motivated and remember every step you take is for a better and healthier tomorrow.