Personalized Training Service: The Influence of the Personal Trainer on Client Motivationâ??A Systematic Review

RESUMO

Dioneide Pereira da Silva*, Juliana Carla Mendes de Melo, Gertrudes Nunes de Melo, Tiago José do Nascimento Caetano, Glêbia Alexa Cardoso, Iraquitan de Oliveira Caminha Correio, António Fernando Boleto Rosado, Paulo Jorge Martins

The relevance of motivation and motivational coaching in the context of personalized training services (PTS) has been the focus of increasing research. However, due to the scarcity of studies consolidating available information on this topic, this study investigated the scientific literature on the influence of personal trainers (PT) on clients’/practitioners’ motivation to use PTS. This systematic review was conducted using the following databases: Web of Science, the National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE) via PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. Three studies meeting the inclusion criteria were identified. Each study was assessed for quality, and results were thematically analyzed through meta-synthesis. The findings highlighted that intrinsic motivation was more prevalent among CrossFit practitioners than PTS clients, who exhibited health-related motivations. Motivational coaching strategies have been reported to enhance intrinsic motivation, which is associated with higher levels of competence and challenge perceptions. The importance of intrinsic motivation, motivational coaching, PTS quality and the trainer-client relationship was emphasized regarding clients’/practitioners’ engagement and satisfaction. Future research is needed to address gaps in understanding motivational mechanisms and to generalize findings to different training contexts, aiming to optimize PTS outcomes and promote practitioners’ well-being.