First workout When you're a personal trainer, the first workout can set the tone for the relationship that you have with a client. You want to create a firm relationship between you and your client right from the beginning in order for both of you to make the most of the time that you do have together. Provided that you already talked with each other about the exercises that you will be doing in this first workout or at least the kinds of exercises that your client might expect, you are ready to get started on the first workout as a team. One of the best ways to give the best impression on the first workout is to make sure that you're on time and establishing a time policy for your client as well. You might want to set up a late fee that pays you for the time that you have to wait and also makes sure that the client calls if they're going to cancel. This is something that you might be a little lax about for the first few workouts, but then make sure that you give the client the rules for your time and the time that you spend together. However, if you're not a good example of this policy, how can you expect them to follow it too? Next, you will want to begin with a sort of warm up routine to make sure that your client is ready for working out and getting loose for their training. Try something like jumping jacks or a slow jog on a treadmill to get started. This first workout should begin slowly if the client is someone that is not accustomed to working out and can begin a little more rapidly if the client has a history of working out and has expressed a desire to push their limits : within your guidance, of course. You'll want to do a few simple stretches as well to help prevent injuries and muscle strains before the first workout as well. If you'd like, you can instruct the client as to what they should do before they come for a warm up in order to maximize your time together. The next part of the first workout can begin with aerobic work, strength training, or some combination of the two. Try to keep the tempo of the workout steady and even in the beginning, then work your way up to a harder pace that challenges your client without being too difficult for them to complete. Talk with the client as they are performing their aerobic routines to see if they are having troubles breathing and need to slow the pace down a bit. The client should be able to complete a sentence, but should not be able to sing as they are working out. The key to a successful first workout is to make sure that you are targeting all of the areas that the client wants to target, as prescribed by your fitness assessment and training plans. You will want to make sure that you are doing things that your client has indicated they want to do as well as things that you have already told them that you want to do. This isn't the time for surprises or anything innovation; that can be left for later workouts. Right now, your client is trying to see if they are feeling results and if they are happy with the level of training that you are providing. After you have hit a higher tempo in your first workout, you will want to start to slowly bring the pace down in order to come to a stopping point. Try to create a cool down routine that includes moderate aerobic exercise that allows the heart rate and breathing rate to slow until they are nearly normal. This will help the client have fewer injuries and problems with stopping their training. You might want to offer water or a sports drink, if they brought those drinks with them as well. In fact, you can even have short water breaks during the workout time in order to keep your client hydrated and able to continue. Because this is your first workout, you may want to set aside time to talk about what worked for the workout and what did not. This will allow you to find out what you might want to change for your client and your client will be able to feel as though they can speak up if there are any problems. The only thing that you need to watch out for is a client that wants to continuously decrease the intensity at which they are working out; your clients should be improving with each workout. And that's where your motivating personality will shine.