How to become a personal trainer

The fitness industry is constantly developing and growing, with new career options appearing all the time. To create a fantastic new career, you need to select a job (or combination of roles!) that suits your skills set, personality, financial goals, current lifestyle and position, as well as looking at your career path. In the second part of this mini series, we will be looking at becoming a personal trainer. Personal training can be a lucrative and rewarding career, but there is an incredibly high turnover rate in the industry. We'll look at your expected earnings, what qualifications you need to do and whether your personality would suit the job. If you want a more in depth look at the fitness industry as a whole, why not enrol in my free course "how to kickstart your fitness career in less than 60 minutes?"

Minimum qualification needed

- Level 3 Personal Training

Necessary start up costs

- Qualification: between £800 - 1500 depending

- Public Liability Insurance: between £50 and £80

- Membership to REPS or CIMPSA: £30 per year

Average pay per hour

Pay as a personal trainer can vary wildly depending on where you operate and how you market yourself. If you work in a commercial gym, such as Virgin Active or David Lloyd, you will probably be employed and the price you are paid per session will be set by the employer. If you work in an independent gym you will have to pay monthly rent to the facility but can set your own prices. Average earnings for a personal trainer can be between £19,000 a year to £60,000 a year, according to Payscale.

This translates to around £10 - £45 per session in a commercial gym or £20 - £75 as a freelancer.

Day to day running costs

- Transport to and from your places of work: up to £400 a month

- Equipment needed for sessions: upfront cost

- Marketing materials: up to a few hundred pounds per month

- Resources for gifts for clients: up to £50 a month

- CPD courses: average £200-500 a year

- My PT hub subscription: £20/£49 a month

- Calendar/Scheduling software: ~£10 a month

Benefits of being a personal trainer

- Low barrier to entry

- Low day to day running costs compared to other businesses

- High earning potential

- Make a direct impact to people's lives

- Help clients achieve their goals

- Every day is different

- In control of your earnings and when you work

- Can be done as a full time or part time job

- Spend time talking about and doing what you love

- Can work in a wide variety of places

- You can even work from home/online!

Drawbacks to being a personal trainer:

- Long and sporadic hours

- Mainly working during unsociable hours

- Lots of time spent programming

- Signing clients can be challenging

- Fluctuating income depending on how many sessions you deliver each month

- Standing for long periods of time on the gym floor

- Late cancellations and no shows

You would be a good personal trainer if you:

- Are sympathetic and empathetic

- Are a good listener

- Are Patient

- Can explain things well

- Role model great technique

- Are passionate about training and educating people

- Want to continuously learn new things

- Love helping people achieve their goals

If you think personal training could be the right career for you or just want to learn more about careers in the fitness industry as a whole, sign up to our free course "how to kickstart your fitness career in less than 60 minutes!"

If you have any questions or comments then please get in touch with me on chloe@gftcourses.com

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