Personal Training Ideas

With the market inundated by thousands of workout books, videos and websites, personal trainers must compete by inventing new exercises and routine ideas. When coming up with an idea for new exercises, focus on keeping personal training personal; design exercises around each of your clients' bodies, interests and fitness levels. Help busy clients by creating fitness sessions that combine activities, teaching your clients that fitness does not equal sacrifice.

  1. Parent/Child Workout

    • Despite what you might believe, some clients want to work out with their parents. As clients age, some begin to see the failing health of parents. For these clients, create a workout group for parents and their children. If your clients' workouts tire their parents, create a free once-a-month group session for parents. (Turn some of these parents into regular clients.)

      Explain to your clients that working out with a parent provides more than motivation; it promotes a longer life. After all, Penn State University reports that by the age of 65, without proper exercise, muscle deterioration can lead to an 80 percent reduction in muscle strength.

    Tutor Fitness

    • Exercise increases memory retention, according to Sibley and Beilock's "Exercise and Working Memory: An Individual Differences Investigation." If you perform personal training at a college or work with college students, consider combining exercise with tutoring. While a client exercises, ask her to give you the meaning of each word on a vocabulary list. Or use your knowledge of anatomy to quiz biology students. If your clients don't attend school, play pod casts that relate to subjects of interest for your clients.

    Change It Up

    • Some people claim that muscle confusion encourages the swelling of muscle cells (hypertrophy) and thus swells the muscles themselves. While some scientific papers refute the claims of muscle confusion supporters, mixing your workouts keeps your clients from getting bored.

      To "change it up," vary your location and fitness routine regularly. Combine weightlifting and traditional cardio with dance, sports, hiking and yoga. Change the exercises each session. This serves two purposes: your clients benefit from a well-rounded fitness routine that prevents plateau, and your clients never get bored with your sessions. To show that fitness isn't boring, try switching routines regularly with unmotivated or young clients.