Are there any personal trainers on here?
Amazing1985RSD
Posts: 280
I'm considering getting a personal training certification so I can get a job as a personal trainer. I think this would be a good job for me because I really love working out and am unemployed and need a job. I was just wondering if any of you are a personal trainer, how do you like it?
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I'm not but I've researched it. There are a few people on here who ARE.
The basics are - any certification that is a 3 day class or doesn't require you to study your *kitten* off is a bull**** one. Big box gyms typically will have you get one of these (they run the certifications themselves) and unleash you on poor unsuspecting gym goers.
That said - if you are ready to kick your own *kitten* and study as much as you can on your own, I think you could get one of those and still be a good trainer, but its probably a lot easier to go through a proper program. Last I checked they run roughly in the 1k range? They will also require you to get recertified or maintain your certification, usually that means keeping up your CPR and first aid stuff, and doing some regular learning modules I think.
Those ones will teach you things like planes of motion https://www.acefitness.org/blog/21/planes-of-motion (ACE is one of the reputable organizations I believe) and how to work with people with injuries and physical limitations.
You could talk to Ninerbuff about it, he's been a trainer for years.
I don't think its the easiest thing to be successful at but I do think its probably pretty rewarding -- and also pretty irritating. You'll see people work out for 2 weeks and quit 8 times out of 10. You'll get a flood of clients every January and May and have absolutely no clients in October and March.
Anyway. I'd probably get any random BS job in the meantime (flip burgers or something) and study for it on the side, maybe get a job at a big box gym and experience the high pressured sales side of things (and the absolutely crappy trainers - the ones at my gym are mediocre at best, and some actually piss me off when I see what they tell their clients to do) and get a few hours of experience under your belt.0 -
I have a better income from unemployment. I've been looking at NSCA. I'm not sure if it's one of those three day ones though. I've heard that it's pretty good.
And don't you love those people that don't really know what they're doing? Today one of them forgot the difference between dumbbells and barbells! haha0 -
as a user of personal trainers rather than one, I pity them all. They are people who love fitness and therefore hope to make it their job, but the high pressured sales side of it is a killer. The gym I go to now doesn't employ their PTs, they pay for the privilege of being a PT there - and the cost of that = 2 paying clients a day. They have 3 weeks grace on their fees (50% I think) in order to build up their clientele. How is that supposed to work?! 4 have quit while I have been an active or prospective client of theirs already.. oh and they have to give the gym 20 hours a month to do inductions too (this should be their opportunity to pitch to new members).
So unless you are truly a sales person, it's going to be horrible.
Also 90% of the time you'll be training people who want to lose weight, so you'd better be great at encouraging, not looking bored, and doing a lot of the same thing.
My first PT was awesome, but he was employed by his gym (earned a pittance in commission from doing the PT but at least didn't have to hawk himself out), and he was the specialist there - he was qualified to do PT with disabled people etc. and also took on people looking to do their army or police entrance. So that mixed it up for him.
Personally, I would say if you love fitness and are looking to incorporate that into a job, this might not be the way to do it. Get a job managing a gym where you can do some PT on the side maybe but the life of a PT seems pretty miserable and low paid to me, at least until you build up a loyal clientele...0 -
Iwoodroff, may I ask where you are located and what gym you go to?0
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I'm in the UK, it's a DW gym... and the one that employed their PTs was a Harpers..0
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This website said that a personal trainer working 25 hours a week in London can expect to earn 4500 pounds per month.
http://www.discovery.uk.com/personal-trainer-and-fitness-salary-calculator
Would you not say this is very accurate?0 -
This website said that a personal trainer working 25 hours a week in London can expect to earn 4500 pounds per month.
http://www.discovery.uk.com/personal-trainer-and-fitness-salary-calculator
Would you not say this is very accurate?
It looks like that site sells personal trainer stuff - certs, webpages, etc. That type of resource is ALWAYS going to estimate high.
I'm guessing those 25 hours do not include any unpaid hours or cut taken by the gym. Like in the US if you charge 60 dollars for 45 minutes, and you work 25 hours a week, that's 2000/week, but it doesn't account for hte fact that the gym you are working out of may take 1/3 of that + require you to do some desk time for them, and it doesn't account for the fact that you will ahe a lot of downtime between sessions (plus no-shows and cancellations that burn some of your time and what not) so base you are looking at 8000/month, but then we'll assume that you pay 1/3 to the gym (I honestly don't know, it might be higher), so that's 5k/month, for 25 hours of SESSIONS a week, which means probably about 35 hours of sessions + short gaps in the schedule.
Also, that assumes you can book 33 sessions a week. That means 11 individuals who show up 3x a week consistently.
Is that possible? Dunno. At the very least you will have some months where your enrollment drops and others where its up so you have to factor that in as well. I do suggest you contact Ninerbuff. He's always very willing to answer questions I think and he works in the US (not where you live but it will be more in line with where you are than the UK will be)0 -
Tameko's thoughts on this are awesome.
I talked to my PT about this one day, just curious as to how much of a cut of my sessions she actually got versus what the gym took. You make more depending on the level of certification you have. You start very minimal (for example, if you're teaching a group class, it's $5 a person for that hour) and can move up to something like $15/person/hour.
Individual sessions... I can't remember the exact number she told me, but I think the number the actual trainers take home is very small compared to the percentage the gym takes (they take the biggest part of the cut -- maybe 75 per cent -- because they DON'T charge trainers to train from the gym. They make back their costs per session.
From what I've heard, yes, the sales part is the WORST. And all PTs have quotas that they get hassled about every month (especially when it's slow at the gym). You also have to be cautious about what you're getting into re: sick days, vacation, benefits. My gym provides staff with decent benefits, but sick days and vacation days are from your own personal time... you don't get anything, and if you are sick and another trainer takes over your session, you risk losing that client to them in the future too. Like any job where you work for yourself, you have to manage your time extremely well, be awesome at sales, and resign to the fact that you may not get any time off for a long time, since any time you take is money you're missing out on.0 -
Hoo no I don't think that is accurate! I think my gym charges them something like 400/month plus the 20 hours and they can chargee30/hour. There is a "master trainer" who charges 40/hour but pays 1100/month so no inductions... Not sure how accurate these figs are, but even to build up say 20 clients a week, some will see you once a week for an hour, others once a month, and many more once or twice. You prob have to offer free trials so they see what they are getting with you too... Probably take min 6 months hard sales to get a baseline clientele. The gyms that salary you probably don't pay a huge amount more than min wage, unless you are very qualified/experienced/take on management responsibility. You are then expected to work on reception, clean equipment and do inductions. And they then take 80% or more of the fee for pt sessions. I think more like 90%. But you do at least get holiday etc..
I think it is a shocking industry, the attitude of mgt is "it's leisure, there are plenty more wanting a job" and because the clientele is so transient not a lot of incentive for them to do the right thing. In my ideal world I would employ them 20hrs a month min wage to cover inductions, and split any pt fees 50/50...0 -
I checked out the salary information here on salary.com and think it sounds pretty good.
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/Personal-Trainer-Salary-Details-80249-Denver-CO.aspx
I already seem to know more than a lot of personal trainers at the gym so I don't see how hard it can be.
But I'll probably take your advice and just apply as a service rep at the gym. Then I can be the only one there that can actually answer questions about the equipment!0 -
I checked out the salary information here on salary.com and think it sounds pretty good.
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/Personal-Trainer-Salary-Details-80249-Denver-CO.aspx
I already seem to know more than a lot of personal trainers at the gym so I don't see how hard it can be.
But I'll probably take your advice and just apply as a service rep at the gym. Then I can be the only one there that can actually answer questions about the equipment!
Do that and then you can quietly watch the PT's there, talk to them about it, and see how many hours of training they really get in, that will give you a good idea of if you want to give it a try.0 -
I checked out the salary information here on salary.com and think it sounds pretty good.
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/Personal-Trainer-Salary-Details-80249-Denver-CO.aspx
I already seem to know more than a lot of personal trainers at the gym so I don't see how hard it can be.
I'm all for pursuing your dreams and everything....getting my certification is part of what I want to do within the year as well
BUT
The above is super naive and not planning adequately could be the difference between being successful.....and not......
Just my 2 cents.0 -
Well either way I should really do something or I can lose my house. I've done sales before. I'm not really scared.0
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if you aren't afraid of sales, that is a great start! if it's a question of -having- to earn, rather than pursuing your dream, I'd get your certification, check out which gyms have the least horrible way of employing PTs, and give it a go (although I do like the machine tech idea to sneak a peek first!). You may be able to do both of course, most people want PT services early morning or after work, so you might be able to do something else in 'office hours'.
Of course that is the other side, you might be doing 20 hours a week training, but it's unlikely you'll have a social life!0 -
I live in Australia and many PT's own their own businesses running group and individual sessions outdoors (parks, beaches, etc), I believe their businesses are quite viable, but we have great weather. Some work for a gym as well as the outdoors stuff.0
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I'm a certified personal trainer through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). It is one of if not the best certification out there.
I became a trainer because I wanted to, not because I had not. I do it part time in addition to a full time job. (non-fitness related).
I absolutely love training and aspiring others to lead a healthier livestyle. The downside of the business is the politics of the gym I work at (and many gyms out there). Unless I recruit clients on my own (which frankly I don't have time to do) I am at the mercy of the sales staff to get me clients. Gym takes 60% I get 40%. Unless you get a huge clientele going or work for yourself (which by doing you'll get no benefits), you're not going to become rich doing this. For me personally, it's a passion, not a means to financial gain.0 -
Don't get me wrong. Training is my passion too.0
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I'm a certified personal trainer through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). It is one of if not the best certification out there.
I became a trainer because I wanted to, not because I had not. I do it part time in addition to a full time job. (non-fitness related).
I absolutely love training and aspiring others to lead a healthier livestyle. The downside of the business is the politics of the gym I work at (and many gyms out there). Unless I recruit clients on my own (which frankly I don't have time to do) I am at the mercy of the sales staff to get me clients. Gym takes 60% I get 40%. Unless you get a huge clientele going or work for yourself (which by doing you'll get no benefits), you're not going to become rich doing this. For me personally, it's a passion, not a means to financial gain.
I've thought about doing this but then when do YOU actually work out? Like I was thinking about it and I don't know that I'd have very many hours to train anyone besides me.
I've also thought about setting up my own little gym but I would require more vespene gas for that. I mean. Money. Whatever.0 -
I've thought about doing this but then when do YOU actually work out? Like I was thinking about it and I don't know that I'd have very many hours to train anyone besides me. .
I workout 5-6 days a week. If I'm not training I workout at my home gym.. When I'm training I either workout before or after I'm finished with clients. I would never let me workouts suffer.
Proof that everyone can find time to workout if they make it a priority. 0 -
Don't get me wrong. Training is my passion too.
That's why you should do it! I'd love to do it full time, but have a very good full time job that would be idiotic to quit.0 -
I've also thought about setting up my own little gym but I would require more vespene gas for that. I mean. Money. Whatever.
I'm so glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read that...0
