Have you been considering a career as a Personal Trainer but really have no idea what it entails and the benefits that come with it? Well hopefully this will help to identify why it is a great career path.
First and foremost, the fitness industry is not ageist. You can become a trainer from the age of 18 or 40 and remain a top level sought after trainer until you are battling those grey hairs.
The most important thing a trainer has to do is exude passion, compassion, knowledge and whatever the clients goal….a realistic pathway of reaching their goals and ultimately, seeing results.
The first decision having completed your Level 3 Personal Training qualification is, do you want to PT within a gym or be completely self-employed and either train outside or at your clients’ homes? Both options have pros and cons. The pros of working within a gym is you have immediate access to hundreds of potential clients, access to top of the range equipment and, gym dependant, you will have the support of advertising. The cons are that you will have the overhead of a monthly rent and you may be restricted on working hours. The pros of training outside or at a client’s home is that you eliminate the overhead of rent, you are not restricted to one location, it can be extremely convenient for your client to train in the comfort of their own home and the hours you work are entirely yours to decide. The cons are that it will be more challenging to increase your client base, you have to source your own equipment, training outside is weather dependant and you have to conduct all of your advertising and marketing which can be costly.
There are massive benefits of being a Personal Trainer. Long gone are the days of a boss breathing down your neck, as you will be your own boss. It is therefore entirely up to you to remain ahead of your competition by constantly up skilling and increasing your knowledge through continued professional development (CPD). Stay motivated, set yourself career goals of where you want to be by a certain period of time. Once you reach those goals, set new ones.
Your working hours are yours to decipher. You should remember that many of your clients will have day jobs, work shifts or be in full-time education and therefore you should be prepared to work early in the morning and in the evening. Peak times! This also means that as a result, during the day you will have time to yourself to train, maybe teach some classes or just enjoy the fact that you are not stuck in an office working a dull 9am-5pm job.
The earning potential as a PT again is totally in your hands according to the amount of hours you are prepared to work and if there is a band in place, if you are gym based, for how much you can charge. Ensure that your hourly PT rate is not the cheapest to help uphold the quality of service you provide. Likewise, be aware of what your competition are charging so that you don’t set your prices too high. Your hourly rate may also be area specific i.e. in London you can charge considerably more than in Bournemouth.
Possibly, the most rewarding benefit of being a Personal Trainer is helping people reach their goals. These goals will vary from weight loss to helping someone recover from a serious injury.
You will meet so many people in your career who you can help, learn from, help you to discover an area of interest that you may like to specialise in…the opportunities are endless…your career as a Personal Trainer is your oyster.