At a high level your job as a personal trainer is simple: to guide your clients toward their fitness goals. Your methods will depend on both the client and the goals, but no matter the means, you’ll need the necessary equipment.
Some personal trainers will offer their services in partnership with a commercial gym and therefore have access to much of the training equipment they need. Others will choose to reduce their reliance on another business, and offer standalone training services, whether from their home, from a dedicated site, or in public parks and spaces.
In this guide we’ll look at the essential personal training equipment you’ll need access to in order to offer a high-end service to your clients. If you’re blazing your own path, these are the items that it’s wise to invest in. If you partner with a gym, there are likely a number of items in this guide that you should consider owning yourself.
What personal training equipment do you need? What is the best gym equipment for personal training? Read on to find out.
A guide to the equipment needed for personal training
Before we get into our list, it’s important to differentiate between personal gym equipment and commercial gym equipment.
Don’t let the name fool you: personal gym equipment isn’t built for personal trainers – it’s built for relatively light home use. As a personal trainer making constant use of your equipment, it’s far wiser – and in the long run, far cheaper – to invest in commercial grade equipment. Brands like Circle Fitness, Body-Solid, Concept 2 and Force USA build long-lasting commercial equipment that can handle regular use by a wide range of users.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the equipment that a personal trainer will need to train their clients.
Admin
Some of the most important personal training equipment isn’t for exercise at all! The following admin items are a must if you are to provide a complete service to your clients.
- Stopwatch: A smartwatch or phone may do the job, but a dedicated stopwatch minimises distractions.
- Weight scale and measuring tape: For tracking client progress.
- Paperwork: You need all the necessary client forms, and should keep a client logbook to track their progress.
- First aid kit: Intense exercise brings with it inherent risk, and you need to be prepared.
- Kitbag: To put all these odds and ends in.
Basic equipment
Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective. The following items may be basic and budget-friendly, but they can help you deliver real results as a personal trainer.
- Resistance bands: Bands can reduce the need to lug around heavy weights, particularly if you train in public spaces or at a client’s home.
- Training ropes: These simple items offer a wide range of exercise, from the intense cardio of skipping ropes to the muscle burn of battle ropes.
- Hand weights: From full barbell sets to smaller kettlebells, dumbbells and weighted balls, there’s no better way to build muscle than to lift heavy things.
- Bodyweight equipment: Chinup/pullup bars, roman rings, sliders and steps turn a client’s body into a self-transporting set of weights.
Cardio equipment
If your clients are looking to increase fitness and drop a few kilos, it’s wise to invest in dedicated commercial cardio equipment that can help them reach those goals faster.
- Treadmills: Grant your clients the ability to run in rain, hail and shine. Treadmills are also perfect for pre-workout warmups and post-workout cool downs.
- Exercise bikes: Exercise bikes come in a range of styles to suit different needs, including spin, air, upright and recumbent bikes.
- Rowing machines: Rowers offer exercise that many fitness professionals view as the ultimate full-body workout.
- Step machines: Steppers and climbers place a never-ending hill in your personal training studio.
- Cross trainers: Condensing multiple cardio workouts into the one machine, cross-trainers help your clients get to where they want to be sooner.
Weights and strength training equipment
If you want to cater to clients who are looking to build strength and muscle, you’ll need to offer the right strength training equipment.
- Lifting racks: Squat, power and half racks are designed to build up the strongest muscles in your body: those in your lower back and legs.
- Smith/cable machines: The freedom of movement offered by cable machines means they can work muscles that most other gym equipment simply can’t.
- Workout stations: This category encompasses a wide variety of equipment, including power towers, weight benches, leg and ab machines, and multi gyms.
Recovery equipment
While many personal trainers will say goodbye to their clients at the end of a session, offering recovery equipment can help you to pick up clients by forming a nice point of difference.
GymQuip: a personal trainer’s one-stop shop
At GymQuip we’ve spent three decades offering the best personal training equipment – the type you need to help clients meet their goals.
Along with robust and high-end yet great value commercial gym equipment (including personal training equipment packages), we also offer an end-to-end service that takes the stress and pressure away from the task of creating your own gym.
Our expert team has the knowledge and expertise to identify the equipment you need. We can also design a layout, deliver your equipment (five days a week, and for a flat fee of $99 if you’re within 20km of our store), and even install and maintain it (additional charges may apply). Check out our complete gym fitout service for more information.
We’re home to Australia’s largest fitness showroom and we offer an even more extensive range of commercial gym equipment online. Visit us in-store, browse our website, or let us come to you to conduct an on-site consultation! Get in touch with our friendly team today.