A personal trainer (PT) helps create and deliver safe and effective exercise programs for individuals looking to get stronger and healthier. They help their clients with their cardiovascular health, muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility. As fitness professionals, they understand how important physical health is.
However, personal trainers also help their clients improve their mental wellbeing as they support them getting healthier. And, while doing all of this for their clients, PTs can also improve their own mental health and wellbeing – here’s how.
What Is Mental Wellbeing?
“Mental wellbeing” has several definitions and can mean different things to each person. Overall, it means feeling good and positive about yourself and world around you. Mental wellbeing is more than just mental health – it’s the physical and mental connection within the body. It’s also about relationships and interactions with others, contentment, confidence, self-esteem, and enjoying life.
As a PT, you must recognize that your clients will aspire to have this and will likely have goals related to improving their mental wellbeing even if they don’t realize it.
Mental health can also have a massive impact on physical health. For example, someone who is stressed may not be sleeping well, and chronic sleep deprivation is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, and obesity. As a PT, your work will likely focus on a client’s physical health, but you’ll also be playing a significant role in improving their mental health as well.
Impacts Of Exercise on Mental Health
Exercise increases dopamine, serotonin, and endorphin levels in the brain, which are responsible for feeling pleasure, the ability to plan, think, and function normally. Harmful, stress-related chemicals are reduced as we exercise, so physical activity can have a strong and positive effect on mental wellbeing, increasing self-esteem and reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.
Exercise helps alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal while also improving cognitive function, sharpening memory, increasing creativity, and reducing addiction tendencies. It can also lead to greater satisfaction with oneself and improved body image. Overall, exercise has a major impact on metal wellness. It is important to understand this as a personal trainer and understand that this is an important priority for all clients. It is also important to remember your own mental wellbeing and create boundaries for yourself. Make sure you are getting enough rest and achieving a good work-life balance.
How Helping Others Improves Your Mental Wellbeing
Your job as a personal trainer is to help your clients reach their physical health goals and improve their mental wellbeing, allowing them to feel more content, happy, and confident. When they reach their goals, you’re reaching your own goals as a PT.
Additionally, as a PT, exercise is part of your daily routine. This releases those positive chemicals in your own brain to improve your mood, reduce stress, and all the other positive outcomes while also decreasing those harmful chemicals that can have negative effects.
Setting healthy goals and ambitions, like becoming a personal trainer and helping your clients reach their goals, can help you appreciate your growth at every turn and remain motivated to aim higher. Consistent progress with yourself and your clients helps build a system for yourself that brings sense of achievement every time you reach a goal or milestone, helping you to feel more confident in your abilities.
Plus, you’re helping people in need; those struggling with their physical or mental health may find it challenging to exercise on their own, so working with a PT can help them work toward their goals and ensure better mental health in the long run.
How To Become a Personal Trainer
National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) Florida’s curriculum gives students the best knowledge from experts in the fitness industry, offering accredited diploma programs and innovative continuing education programs to help you enter the fitness industry immediately after graduation. We offer comprehensive personal training courses in Orlando and Tampa designed to further knowledge in bodybuilding, exercise physiology, weight management, weight training, and personal training.
Contact the National Personal Training Institute of Florida
Contact us to learn more or start your application today if you’re ready to become a PT in Tampa or Orlando and the surrounding regions and change your and your clients’ lives.
Tags: Mental Wellbeing, Personal Trainer, Personal Training