9 Personal Trainer Items you should own!

Sport Cones are an excellent training tool that every personal trainer or coach should have in their kit. There are numerous ways a trainer can utilize them to optimize the training time they spend with their clients such as speed and agility drills. One of my favorite uses for these is during circuit training sessions. I have various cones labeled with different circuit exercises. I'll then place them along a route and as the client comes to the cone they perform the exercise. You can stretch your cones further by placing multiple exercises on the cones. This allows you to shift the position of the cone to the choice exercise for the client or have the client cycle through the exercises as they repeat the route. The variations on this technique are as many as your creativity will allow. The link here provides you with the absolute best deal I've found around for this excellent training aid.

A handheld tally counter is a critical piece of equipment as any training knows that has ever lost count while correcting form. I highly recommend the Sinddy version. They come in assorted colors and are great quality. If you don't already have one grab yours now!

Not as glamorous as some of the trainers' tools, but still an absolute necessity. Skinfold Body Fat Caliper Set, Care Touch Measure Tape allow the trainer the ability to get accurate initial measurements as well as continually monitor progress.

As any trainer or coach knows a stopwatch is a must. There are many good ones on the market and you can get by with a basic model. I personally like the ProCoach Successor. It's an excellent watch at an affordable price.

Exercise Balls are used abundantly in the fitness field as well as the medical field. It is important that you as a trainer have a ball with an adequate burst rate. After all, it's a bad day when you have the ball collapse under a client during some core work. Unfortunately, most of your off the shelf store balls are typically only rated for a few hundred pounds (even though they typically cost as much as the high burst rate balls). The good news is a professional grade 2,200 lb rated ball is a click away.

Foam rollers are a great way to perform self-massage. Many trainers actually start their workouts with their client's using the roller. I personally don't ( I like to spend our time on more advanced initiatives), however, I do like to teach them the basics and recommend they purchase one. Additionally, I use my rollers for personal use. One note I would add is that I recommend against an overweight (obese) client using a roller as it is often awkward for them and painful due to the added pressure from their body weight.

The massage roller stick is a great addition to the foam roller and a great alternative to offer to your overweight clients. It will still allow the benefits of self-massage and mitigate the issues with a foam roller for the heavier individual.

As all personal trainers know, one of the great challenges is to keep the client coming. There are many pitfalls that contribute to client's dropping out, and one of those is the typical muscle aches that accompany a workout program. This is especially true for someone who has had a relatively sedimentary lifestyle. The Thera Cane is an amazing tool for working out those tight muscles, and I love to promote it to clients. I personally use mine practically daily. Of course, you want to ensure that as a trainer you don't cross into the area of 'medical advice' and you always encourage your clients to address medical issues/pain with a qualified professional, however when it comes to working out the normal muscle kinks the Thera Cane is # 1 in my book.

Additional Note: I'm not associated or sponsored by Thera Cane, I just really love the product!

The stretch strap is an awesome piece of creativity. Absolutely simple in design and profound in use. This simple stretch will allow you (or clients) to stretch in ways you never thought possible. If you're crafty and have a sewing machine you can make one yourself with a cargo strap, or you could just buy one for about the same cost and a lot less work.