Identifying the Goals and Needs of the Typical Health-Club Member

A successful personal trainer must have the ability to decipher a member's goals and, from that, determine his or her needs. You may hear many descriptions related to why someone joined the club or what they hope to accomplish with help from you as their trainer. For example, you may hear goals that relate to appearance such as a desire to tone, firm, shape, sculpt or build. Perhaps a member has functional goals such as increasing strength and energy, moving more efficiently or reducing pain while moving. Or you may hear a member express the desire to enhance a sports-related goal such as playing more tennis or competing in strength or endurance-related sports. As a trainer, you must listen carefully to a memher's goal, determine the needs associated with the goal and proceed to qualify him or her before designing an exercise program. You then must present the training program to the member in a manner that's easy to understand and simple to learn . Finally, you should identify when a member is ready to progress and provide him or her with the proper progression sequence to match his or her goal and physical capability. Personal training requires an abundance of knowledge placed into a logical thought process ,and presented in a simple, non-threatening fashion. It's the objective of this manual to providc you with the most relevant, cutting-edge information available to teach you how to master these techniques. We've categorized all the science and practical information into three main goals and delivered this information only as it pertains to servicing members in a health-club environm ent: to improve daily activities, enhance performance and change appearance . When devising an exercise program for these goals, it's important to begin with a person's ability to perform normal, everyday, functional movements. These actions require the neuromotor abilities of balance, coordination, flexibility and strength. However, to have a true understanding of these abilities in relation to movement, an understanding of the kinetic-chain concept must first be explored.