Lauren True, Personal Trainer at Rascals Fitness

Kiersten Gruteke

SPT 160, Dr. Smith | September 29th, 2016

 Research

Describe the position: A personal trainer has knowledge of the human body and how to

exercise each muscle group, what foods that are good for the client to help maintain a healthy

lifestyle, how to properly preform an exercise and use equipment and how to work out without

putting a strain on your body. A personal trainer can work through a gym, within their own

business or in their spare time as most personal trainers do. Personal trainers help their clients

set goals to help them achieve a healthier lifestyle, to prep for a marathon, to help their client

get started working out when new to the process and when a client needs motivation. Personal

Trainers are there to help their clients find a way to achieve that goals by motivating and

keeping their clients on track to be successful with their goals. Some personal trainers teach

fitness classes that does not help just one individual but a group of people. Personal trainers

help their clients set their goals, set up a workout plan, an eating plan and to make sure their

clients are sticking with their goal of a healthy lifestyle.

State the specific job responsibility:

Assess the fitness needs of clients

Inform clients on the correct way to preform exercises

Gather exercise programs for clients that target their goals

Motivate clients to work to their maximum ability

Help clients develop realistic goals

Help clients stay on track with their goals

Gives clients diet suggestions to assets their goals

 Knowledge in strength training and stretching

Demonstrate how to preform various exercises

Provide alternative exercise during workout for different skills

Planning what they will be doing in each fitness class

Making sure the class keeps people engaged and coming back to participate

Qualifications to obtain the position:

High School Diploma or GED

National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)

Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)

American Aerobic Association (AAAI)

Intonations Fitness Professional Association (IFPA)

Level 2 or 3 diploma in health, fitness and exercise instruction

Cardio- Pulmonary Resuscitation certification

Automatic External Defibrillator

Personal trainers may also obtain a college degree, what they would need to obtain a

degree in is exercise science, a nutrition major would be extremley beneficial to someone

wanting to be a personal trainer to help their clients have knowledge of what to eat while they

are trying to reach their fitness goal.

Some Other Pertinent Information:

In 2012 there were 267,000 Personal Trainers (Quora).

 Personal trainers are usually paid by the hour or by the class.

As a personal trainer one should look into getting certified in Cardio- pulmonary

resuscitation certificate (CPR), just in case a client passed out during a workout or got

hurt.

Some very useful personal skills that a personal trainer can have would be people skills,

communication skills, good organization skills, enthusiasm and patience.

I interviewed Lauren True who is a Personal Trainer at Rascals Fitness located at 222

East Main Street. Collegeville, Pennsylvania. The number you can reach her at is 610-209-0500

or by email at lauren@RascalsFitness.com. I interviewed her on the phone on September 29th,

2016 and the interview took about twenty minutes.

What does their education background entail? I received her high school diploma and Im

currently finishing her degree in exercise science through Drexel University.

How long have they been a Personal Trainer? I have been a Personal Trainer for four years.

Did they finish an internship? If yes where and when? I did not do an internship but I did get

the chance to shadow other Personal Trainers before I started helping my own clients and

started instructing classes by myself.

What are the qualifications that your interviewee holds? I am certified in AAAi.

What are some of the duties that they must perform as a Personal Trainer: Daily, weekly,

monthly? Daily I will meet with my clients to run through their workout with them. Weekly I

write out the plan for each of my fitness classes and the clients that I have that week. Monthly I
see if my clients are progressing and switches up the programs based on the feedback I receive

from them.

What skills does a Personal Trainer use to be successful in this job? Being open minded to

what your clients goals entail, time management to make sure I am on time for the fitness

classes and communication skills to make sure I understands what each client wants their goals

to be.

How long did it take them to become a Personal Trainer? From when I first started the process

it took about six months, with studying and taking the test.

How long did it take them to build up their client book? It took me about six months or less to

build up my client book, I had help from working at the gym during the process of becoming a

Personal Trainer and building relationships with members.

What is your favorite characteristic you see in a client? When the client is dedicated to their

workouts and trying to achieve their goal and then when they finally reach their goal that they

continue to work to maintain the goal they achieved.

What is the most rewarding part of being a Personal Trainer? When I see clients reach their

goal and to be able to say I did it, also to know that they took knowledge from what I taught

them. Did becoming a Personal Trainer change your lifestyle? Yes, 100%. It helped me

maintain a healthy lifestyle and forced me to get up and go to the gym.

How do you base each workout session with your clients? What is your favorite exercise to

show them? I sit them down to figure out what their desired results are, how often they plan
on coming to the gym, their knowledge on how to use equipment and help them with what

foods they should and should not be eating during this process. My favorite exercise to show

clients is the Sumo Squat, its the most effective workout to sculpt your behind.
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