POLOKWANE – Thabo Ntuli joined the club in July 2015 as a fitness instructor and is already a hit among gym-goers. He studied Sports Sciences at the International Fitness Academy in Sandton. “I chose personal training because I am really into sports, I was a very physical person from an early age,” he says.
According to Thabo, the common misconception that people have regarding personal training is that you don’t need qualifications. “In order to do what I do, you have to have a certificate, a diploma or a degree in sports sciences. You have to go to school in order to learn about the anatomy and how the body functions. The different exercises we do are not made up from nowhere. We actually had to study to be able to create workouts,” he adds.
The average salary for a personal trainer varies from client to client depending on how many clients you have and how many sessions they take. The working hours are also flexible and will depend on what time the clients are available. The different places of employment include gymnasiums and sporting facilities. According to Thabo, studying biology is an important aspect of this industry. “If you study biology in high school, that gives you an advantage when you get to tertiary level. That will increase your chances of understanding the anatomy better,” he says.
Sports sciences is available at most universities and technicons of technology as well. According to Thabo, you have to be passionate if you want to become a personal trainer. “You have to be eager at changing people’s lives. You will not only be their trainer but their psychologist as well because sometimes your client has a bad day and then it is your job to motivate them,” Thabo explains.
