About PT Skills
We help people passionate about fitness start their careers as personal trainers. Once qualified we nurture their talent and help develop their careers. We’re recognised as “outstanding” by the leading awarding body in the active leisure sector, Active IQ.
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There are no shortcuts when it comes to studying and when exams are looming, well planned revision will really make a difference. Here’s a few pointers to help you build an effective revision plan. Studying to be a Personal Trainer requires time, commitment, and reps, reps, reps! To become a Personal Trainer you will be studying many subjects ranging from anatomy; physiology, health and safety, how to support clients, planning gym based exercise, instructing gym based exercise, nutrition for fitness, planning personal training sessions, and instructing personal training sessions.
Here’s a few tips to help you take control of your revision time and successfully pass your fitness instructor or personal trainer theory exams that include; level 2 anatomy and physiology, principles of fitness, level 3 anatomy and physiology, and nutrition for fitness.
Stock Up
To help keep exam stress levels down, it is important to be organised, make a list of everything you will need then, stock up on everything you need. Coloured pens; highlighters, notebooks, folders, post its, and revision cards are all very useful when you are studying.
Plan Your Day
Planning your revision is just like planning a workout, you will have preferences; special arrangements to consider, complex tasks and easier tasks. Try different durations of study on different subjects; 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or 60 minutes. Mix it up with longer sessions followed by shorter sessions to stop you feeling sluggish and maintain your level of concentration. Choose to complete trickier subjects first in shorter sessions when you are more alert, by breaking the subject into smaller chunks you will begin to builder a bigger picture and understanding of the subject over time.
Have a stopwatch going on your phone to focus your revision sessions and treat them like intervals. As you start out learning a new subject you will only take in a superficial level of information, as you complete more intervals your knowledge will deepen and your knowledge will grow!
Manage Distractions
Everyone has distractions when we have important things we should be doing. The key is to manage them and agree rules for yourself to be able to complete the important aspects, in this case, revision. Distractions can include your phone; friends, family, social media, the internet, TV, radio, or jobs around the house. When revising it will help to stay offline; put your phone on silent, keep the TV off and agree times in your revision plan when you will reply to messages; check your emails, or watch your favourite TV program. If you are going to miss your favourite show, you can always watch it on catch up when your exams are done.
Be Creative
Use a range of learning styles to help you absorb and retain information. Making notes using headings with key words; draw diagrams of muscles, joints, systems, and organs. Create spider diagrams with a key word in the middle and then link up all the things you need to know, for example. The key words could be respiratory system functions, each spider leg would then have the functions of the respiratory system. Reading notes out load will help your brain listen in, the more you repeat the information the more more of the information your brain will begin to store, it’s all about the reps! Make recordings that you can play back on your phone and listen to while you travel is a great way to take advantage of time when you are commuting. You will also build a library of the subjects you can revisit time and time again, this will improve your memory skills too.
Quality over Quantity
Time spent studying should be effective, plan your break times and when you are revising stay focused on the subject. Read your subject and then employ any of the methods above to see what you have retained and where your gaps are, repeat this process until you gain a full picture of the content you need to know. This is a far better way to spend your time than spending hours revising with very little to show.
Set Goals
When you plan your revision keep it SMART just the way you would when planning exercise goals. If you spend 3 hours of revision, reward yourself with something that will energise you, speak with a friend, fit in a workout, or watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones.
Rest
It’s unhealthy to revise 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Giving your mind a well earned rest is essential for effective revision, and the retention of information. Just like exercise we need to take active breaks to allow for recovery and adaptation. This will prevent burnout and ensure you enjoy the revision rather than dread the revision!
Study to Become a Personal Trainer
If you would like to learn more about nutrition for fitness and exercise to turn your passion into career with a personal training qualification, please visit our website for details on our Diploma in Personal Training, fitness instructor qualification, or any of our level 2 awards for Instructing kettlebells, circuits, and suspended movement training.
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Our career guide provides up to date and accurate information about the role of a personal trainer, the educational requirments and the fitness industry. Request our course guide today to make an informed decision about a career in personal training & the fitness industry.
