Learning the Anatomy (for Personal Trainers)
Don’t be intimidated by Anatomy!
There’s a lot to it, yes, but it’s really quite simple for a Personal Trainer.
Considering it’s an integral piece of your service that underpins almost everything you do – there needs to be an emphasis on it.
For you, it is important to understand that this content isn’t something to cram or memorise for the test to get through the course. But actually, it’s something that is NEEDED on the gym floor, in the role, day in – day out. So, take your time with it, learn, understand – and then apply.
The more anatomy you know and understand, the better your PT service will be, and the results of your clients will follow.
Tips on learning Anatomy:
- Break it down
Learn the body in segments. If you study muscle groups and joints individually, they’ll seem much simpler. Dedicate some time on each joint, and the structures involved – then some time on the muscle groups that act on that joint.
- Play off your learning style
Most courses just have diagrams you need to point to and label – but do you really learn that way? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. For example, visual learners – print off some A4 colouring in sheets of joints and muscles, or look up the individual segments on YouTube. Seek methods that will benefit your dominant learning strengths.
- Repetition, Repetition
Anatomy is one of those topics that is objective in nature. There’s generally a direct answer for it. Sometimes the best ways to drill in this type of information is to repeat the process multiple times – even when you’re comfortable with it.
- Use your body as a guide
The good thing about studying anatomy is that you have a cheat sheet wherever you go! Start to associate the study you are doing with your current gym routine. Think about each joint and muscle while training them – ask yourself what action they are completing, which muscles are helping etc.. this will help you out immensely.
This is called making associations, and actually helps solidify the information in your brain by creating new neural connections. This will be huge for the kinaesthetic learners and definitely your Coaching/PT-ing as well!
Apply these same principles when studying the respiratory and circulatory systems!
Be sure to check out sites like VisibleBody.com and GetBodySmart.com to assist. There are also some other great sites that quiz you (like free-anatomy-quiz.com) – which is a perfect way to address point #3 in this article.
Happy Studying!
