A Personal Trainer’s Guide to First Aid Qualifications
Let’s face it, a first aid qualification is not exactly a personal trainer’s dream, as it will not get you more clients on its own and is not something that people are necessarily paying attention to when choosing a personal trainer. However, getting first aid training is absolutely essential if you are serious about your business and this article will tell you why.
Why is getting a First Aid Qualification a Good Idea?
Although it’s not the most exciting training you may choose, first aid is one that arguably provides you with the most highly valuable skills that you hope you never use. The reality injuries and other physical difficulties are an unwanted part of sports and fitness activities.
Accidents occur all the time and if you are looking to make a career in the industry, you can count that some of your clients, or people sharing the gym while you are there, will get injured or into physical difficulty. That is inevitable, and the only question is not “if” but “when” that happens, will you be able to help?
Learning how to deliver emergency first aid will give you the expertise and necessary calmness that will enable you to help the person in need immediately after the injury happens.
Plus, although injuries happen in the gym, they occur outside of it too. So this type of qualification transcends your career and is a tool for life, enabling you to help people in need as you go about your day to day life which can save lives.
Do I Need to be First Aid Trained to be a Personal Trainer?
There is a misconception that you are required to be a qualified First Aid training to be a Personal Trainer. While this isn’t entirely the case, there are a number of positives to having a first aid qualification.
From the perspective of gym owners or health clubs, they require a certain number of first aid qualified Personal Trainers on each shift to fulfil their Health & Safety obligations so if you are already qualified, you have an immediate advantage at the interview stage.
Furthermore, you would like to think that every professional Personal Trainer has an adequate fitness insurance policy. From the insurer’s point of view, you are a lower risk if you have the first aid qualification, and this can result in offering slight better rates which save on your overheads.
Finally, we’ve already mentioned that it’s a qualification for life. That means that your clients will feel in safe hands when they’re with you – which is a big selling point, particularly in specialist populations demographics – but also that you’ll feel confident in what you need to do in an emergency.
How To Become A First Aid Specialist?
Completing a one day Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work qualification will teach you all the necessities, allowing you to be ready if something unpredictable happens in the gym. This CPD applies to people who are not personal trainers, too, as it has no prerequisites so anyone can enroll.
You will learn some essential life-saving skills such as how to recognize if a person is having a heart attack, stroke, or is choking. You will also learn anatomic principles of breathing and circulation and how to make primary and secondary assessments. And, of course, you will learn how to prevent and treat injuries on the spot.
Conclusion
First Aid is a qualification that will equip you to handle emergency situations safely, calmly and confidently, which are desirable qualities for professional Personal Trainers. Having this expertise will boost your employability, allow you to work at sporting events and in health and fitness clubs as a designated first aid specialist.
Therefore, having a first aid qualification in your resume will help you find more work, and is undoubtedly a valuable addition to any freelance personal trainer skillset. First Aid is one of those certificates that will instill confidence in the service that you offer, and investing in your training shows prospective employers and customers that you take the safety of your clients seriously.
