In our series of finding more about people and their jobs we interviewed a personal trainer and ask him about his job.
CourseFeeder (CF): Hi, what is your name and what is your job title?
Dan Power (DP): My name is Dan Power an I'm a personal trainer and nutritional advisor.
CF: How long have you been a personal trainer?
DP: 4 years
CF: What made you want to be a personal trainer?
DP: My own personal passion for exercise, nutrition, and health has had a positive and enriching impact on my life. I wanted to make my passion my job, so I did. I believed there was a big gap in the industry for coaches who are goal focused but do so with a flexible approach that first and foremost focuses on overall health and longevity. For me this is the ultimate goal of it all, living a happy and healthy life.
CF: What relevant personal trainer qualifications do you hold?
DP: Reps Level 3, Level 3 Kettlebell instructor, UK Strength and Conditioning foundation, and a Business Degree.
CF: How long did it take you to qualify as a personal trainer?
DP: 2 Months
CF: What qualities do you have that make you a good personal trainer?
DP: Passionate, patient, enthusiastic, open-minded, optimistic, organised, trust inspiring, non judgemental, flexible in approach, good listener.
CF: What does a typical day as a personal trainer look like for you?
DP: I wake up and prepare breakfast. Here I look through my diary for the day and make notes on what else I want to achieve with any time I get throughout the day (write programmes etc). I get to the gym early to sit down and answer emails from clients and to post on my own social media. I have clients in the late morning and early afternoon after which I train myself and eat. I then have late afternoon and evening sessions to about 8 or 9pm. I make my way home and try and set some goals for the next day after which I put down my job to relax in the evening.
CF: What is the best thing about being a personal trainer?
DP: I love the ability to control your schedule to suit your own personal productivity and lifestyle. I also take pleasure in personal training being a very honest industry where people vote with their feet. If I am not delivering a valuable product of high quality then people will choose other trainers or perhaps not to train at all. This motivates me to continue learning, growing, and developing as a coach which I find beneficial. The rewards with personal training come with hard work and consistency to be better yourself.
CF: If you weren't a personal trainer, what would be your dream job and why?
DP: An entrepreneur. Because I am passionate about ideas and working flexibly on projects. I also like the thought of working anywhere in the World.
CF: What do you do in you down time?
DP: Read, learn, hang out with people I like, cooking and eating great food, day dream, and travel.
CF: For someone looking to be a personal trainer what advice would you give them?
DP: I would advise someone to master the basics of training and nutrition before majoring in the minors which you see so often in gyms all over the country. The basic foundations are there for a reason and I've never needed to diverge from them too much to get great results for a wide range of clients. Be flexible in your ideas because sometimes you will be wrong and remember your job is to help guide the client towards their goals, not force them there at all costs.
Oh and, "Rome wasn't built in a day"
CF: What other jobs have you had in the past?
DP: An accountant, shop assistant and bar work.
CF: How does being a personal trainer compare to your previous jobs?
DP: It's not a job as much as it is me doing what I should of been doing all along. I followed my passion, I encourage everyone I meet to do the same.
For more information about Dan Power and his personal training advice visit PowerBodyMind.com. To read Dan Power's Facebook blog visit facebook.com/powerbodymindonline
For information about how to become a personal trainer please visit our personal training course channel.
