Personal Fitness Trainer Interview Questions

1. What is the role and responsibility of a personal trainer?

The role of the personal trainer is to design safe and effective fitness programs for their clients. They need to assist people to achieve their personal health and fitness goals.

Here are a few things which the personal trainer has to take care of:

i.) Should have the working knowledge of human anatomy and should understand the concepts of functional exercise and basic nutrition.

ii.) Should possess an ability to design and execute fitness programs for individuals and group as per the needs of the clients and have attainable goals.

iii.) Conduct client screening and client assessment.

iv.) Help clients reach their health and fitness goals through appropriate exercises.

v.) Ability to motivate and encourage clients towards improving their overall fitness and health.

vi.) Maintain personal integrity, client confidentiality and professional standard.

vii.) Focus on self-development, self-improvement, continuous learning

viii.) Passion to work and create a healthy atmosphere.

Video : Personal Fitness Trainer Interview Questions and Answers

2. What do you know about our gym?

To answer this question you need to do some research before the interview. Check their website and their careers page. Read online reviews of the clients and employees testimonials. Check if they have any current promotions going on and their ongoing events. Try to know about their mission statement, their vision, and their core values.

To answer this question you can say something like: "ABC Gym provides a complete and all-inclusive approach for the well being of its members and follows globally proven fitness training module with state-of-art infrastructure. It caters to the needs of all the members’ whether they need to burn fat, build muscle strength, increase flexibility etc, it is the right place for all. Also, the employees get an opportunity to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment which is stimulating and also a fun place to be in."

3. How do you keep your fitness knowledge up to date?

There is always something new coming up regarding health and wellness. So staying updated is really important. With this question, the interviewer is trying to understand, do you understand the value of staying updated and what efforts you take.

To answer this question you can say something like: "Like any other industry, it is very important to stay updated in fitness industry as well. The new studies, techniques and tools can really add a lot of value to our performance.

I like to read a lot about the new trends on Internet. I also come to know about a lot of trends through my colleagues.

The discussion with other trainers about the different training techniques is also a great source of knowledge for us. In addition to this, I have also subscribed to a few fitness journals that help me to stay updated with new studies and techniques.”

This is just a sample answer. If you do anything additional to keep yourself updated to the new developments in the industry, this question provides you the right opportunity to share them with the interviewer.

4. What is BMR?

BMR is the Basal Metabolic Rate. It is the rate which shows the minimum level of energy required to perform and sustain the important body functions such as breathing, digestion, and circulation.

5. What is Metabolism?

All chemical reactions involved in maintaining the living state of the cells and an organism put together are known as Metabolism. It is divided into two categories:

i.) Catabolism - is the breakdown of molecules to gain and obtain energy.

ii.) Anabolism - the synthesis of all compounds required by the cells.

These things may look very minor but knowing how to put them into words is really important in an interview.

6. How many muscles are there in quadriceps?

The interviewer would ask you this question to understand how well you understand the anatomy of the muscles in human body.

There are four distinct muscles that make up the quadriceps muscles.

These muscles are called:

i.) Vastus intermedius
ii.) Vastus medialis
iii.) Vastus lateralis
iv.) Rectus femoris.

So, what’s important is to know the names of various muscles, how they work and how to strengthen them.

7.How would you train a cricket player?

To answer this question satisfactorily, it is very important to know which set of muscles are used most for which sport. And, as I said earlier, you should then, know their names, their function and how to strengthen them. Because, your fitness regimen would depend on the occupation or the requirement of the client.

At times, it could just be a celebrity wanting a particular look for their next movie. Or, a general client wanting to improve a particular feature of their body.

So, until and unless you know the muscle group you need to work on, you won’t be able devise a plan for them.

Ok, so make sure that you go prepared with this technical information to answer this type of questions effectively.

8. What according to you is great customer service?

With this question, the interviewer is trying to understand how you would define customer service. They would like to find out if you could provide true service to the customer and what would you do to go beyond customer's needs.

To answer this question you can say something like: "I always talk to my clients to know what they are exactly looking for. This helps me to understand their requirement and assist them better.

Once I had a client who was always facing trouble doing one particular exercise.I explained to him the right way of doing that exercise but he was not able to do it correctly. I spoke to him and came to know that many years back he had had an injury which he had not told me about. I suggested him another exercise and also told him that it is always better to inform the trainer about any past injury to avoid any problem. The new exercise helped him a lot and he was very satisfied."

9. What exercise would you give a client on their first day?

The interviewer would like to know your approach towards the new clients. They would like to know if you would be able to make a positive impact on the clients and if your demeanor will attract and retain the clients they want.They would like to see if you perform client assessment and evaluation.

To answer this question you can say: "On the first day I would talk to the client and try to understand their fitness goal. I would try to understand their lifestyle and the diet they are following. I would do a proper health assessment. According to their fitness goal, I would prepare a customized plan for the client. I would give them a few stretching exercises and a few cardio exercises so that they become flexible."

10.What are the few things that a personal trainer should always keep in mind?

There are a few things that a personal trainer should always keep in mind. They are:

i.) Never skip client’s health assessment: Always keep in mind, that even if your client is young it is important to conduct a proper health assessment. Keep a check if your clients can handle the given workout regime. Check if they have any hidden health issues. Always keep your clients health your priority.

ii.) Explain the importance of nutrition: The trainer needs to make the clients understand that they need to adapt to healthy eating habits as the hard work at gym would not give results if they do not eat healthy food.

iii.) Do not offer generalized solutions: You need to understand the client’s needs, their capabilities, their body type and level of ability. Keep in mind their specific needs like some might be training themselves for a marathon run, or for some particular sport. You need to look at their requirement and their capability and prepare a personalized routine accordingly.

iv.) Be client focused: As a personal trainer you will have to keep your focus on clients. See how your client's body responds to certain exercise. If a client is unhappy with a certain regime listen to the reasoning behind it. Consider their health, aims and personal requirements.