SO YOU WANT TO BE A PERSONAL TRAINER?
YOOOO odds are you’re on this blog for 1 of 3 reasons. You want to know what it takes to be a personal trainer, you have nothing better to do today, OR you just love my writing style and it brightens your day (probably this one, right?!?)
Maybe it’s all three who knows, ANYWAY, I will be covering what is needed to be an effective and successful personal trainer in today’s world. So, bust out the pen and paper for some killer notes on how to pursue the most awesomest profession ever (rated 10 in awesomeness, 3 in ability to spell)
HOW I GOT INTO FITNESS/MY FITNESS BACKGROUND
I get the question “what got you into fitness?” quite often. So, here’s the truth. I was in sixth grade lunchroom (imagine 6th grade me with my big Ole noggin) when my friend Tobias Sultan stands up and says, “hey check out my 6 pack.” He then pulls his shirt up and yes, this dude had abs in the SIXTH GRADE. Not cool. For those of you that know me, you know I’m extremely competitive. I also might have been just a tad bit jealous. So, I did what any other 6th grader would do, 400 sit-ups a night which lead to like a two-week constipation (tmi? Oops). Hindsight that was dumb, but after making a full recovery I fell in love with physical health and fitness. As I grew up, it became a larger portion of my identity. I fell in love with the process of pushing my body to the limits and seeing results. As I progressed through high school I realized it was the only constant I had. I didn’t see value in public education, I didn’t think I was meant for a 9-5 job, I just wanted to work out and learn more about fitness ALL THE TIME.
how happy I am doing what I love EVERY DAY
HOW TO DETERMINE IF PERSONAL TRAINING OR GROUP FITNESS IS FOR YOU
For those of you that have known or followed me for a while, you may know my back story (if not, read it HERE). Basically, I have always loved physical health and wellness, it just took me awhile to make it a profession. Why did it take me so long? Why did I put off making my happiness my profession? Because I listened to some idiot when I was 18 who literally told me this, “I love fishing, but if I went out and fished every day for 8 hours I would begin to hate it.” WHAT!?!?! I listened to that advice, I thought it would ruin fitness for me. So, for 4 years I slaved away at your typical jobs, waiting to clock out and enjoy life. DUMB. Since I’ve become a personal and group fitness trainer, my income has tripled (vs my 9-5 job), I work less, AND I LOVE WHAT I DO (most important). I don’t feel like I’m working anymore. My job is to build relationships, help people build self-confidence, and literally JUST LOVE ON HUMANS AND LET THEM KNOW THEY POSSESS THE POWER TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS (shouty caps so you know I’m serious). It is freeeaakkkiiinnnnnn amazing the things I get to experience.
HOURS OF A TRAINER
The hours of being a personal trainer are certainly unique. Most of the time we work while others don’t. So, expect a lot of early mornings, some late nights, and an abundance of midday naps (blessed). As a trainer, there are a few options as far as the route one should take for the most success. The two most popular options are building your own business, or working for a commercial gym. I’ll measure out the pros and cons of both methods. With building your own business the pros are as follow: Ability to charge own rate and make more money, set your own schedule, and build your own brand. Cons: must build up clientele (can take years), must find a place to train, and must have insurance. For a commercial gym, here are the pros: oftentimes the gym will feed you clients, trainers are protected under their insurance, and it’s a great way to learn from other trainers. Cons: they will take a cut of your pay (often at least 30% sometimes more), most commercial gyms make trainers do floor hours where trainers are scheduled to walk around the gym, and it’s very hard to grow and build a brand. I chose the route of building my own business, but I am sort of a unique case. I am in the situation where my primary source of income is my group fitness classes (Orangetheory), so I have the power to pick and choose clients based on the ones that can meet my rates and can fit into my schedule. If you are just starting out as a trainer and do not have an abundance of contacts and potential clients, I would recommend either the commercial gym or group fitness route. This is a great way to get in front of people, meet potential new clients, and learn from others that have been in the business. If you already have a large number of potential clients, I would recommend starting your own training business. With this, you can charge your own rates, probably make way more, and build your brand the way YOU want to.
KNOW YOUR WORTH
As a trainer, there will be a point in time where you will be asked what your rate is. This is a struggle that I had in the beginning. You see, I am a natural people pleaser, a type of yes man. So, when I began, I wanted to give out discounted services to everyone because it made them happy. DO NOT DO THIS. As a fitness professional, know your worth. We have the knowledge and the ability to take an individual and completely change their life, their body, and dramatically change the way they look at themselves. Do you know how valuable that is!?!?!? The ISSA (my first personal training cert) recommended that all trainers charge a base rate of $50 per session. I personally think this is a great baseline. One huge point to take into consideration is the market. Do research on your area, find the average median income, and find what a normal personal trainer rate is. I’ll use my experience as an example. In Lubbock, Texas where I began, I started by charging $65 a session. I did this because the gym I worked at took a percentage of my pay, and I calculated the median income and $65 made sense. When I moved to NYC, I changed my price to over $100 a session. There’s a few reasons that I did this. I knew the type of clientele I wanted, I am in a position where my time is incredibly valuable due to a busy schedule so I needed to make it worth it, and I know the value that I bring to my clients. I have done my own research, I have transformed my clients body and improved their mindset, and to me that price is a steal. REMEMBER, time is the most important thing we as trainers have. DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT.
WHAT'S NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL
If you leave and only take one thing from this blog, know this; IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW MUCH ANATOMY, NUTRITION, OR FITNESS STUFF YOU KNOW when it comes to being a trainer. If you can’t talk to someone and build a relationship with someone, personal training is not for you. THE NUMBER 1 MOST IMPORTANT THING A TRAINER NEEDS?? Client retention. No retention equals no money, no money equals sad trainer. Are there arguments that one should know tons about fitness before becoming a trainer? Sure, there are. However, the most important thing a trainer needs is the ability to retain clients. When I began training, I knew a little about the fitness world. I had worked out seriously for about 5 years and understood workouts to increase muscle mass and what type of exercises could help with calorie burn if weight loss was a goal. I did not have a lot of knowledge on anatomy, how to work around exercise restrictions, or anything as far as adjusting to serious health issues that can prevent someone from being able to do certain exercises. That is where continuing education comes into play. Personal training is very similar to going from college to the work place. People should know some going in, but a lot of it will be learned with continuing education and experiencing clients and the challenges that come with that.
