Personal training has become a billion dollar industry, and it continues to evolve. It means there are plenty of opportunities if you want to make it your career. It can be a very flexible occupation, with plenty of opportunities to work for yourself. It’s an exciting job and it can be very rewarding. So what does it take to be a personal trainer? First, let’s explain what the job entails.
What Does a Personal Trainer Do?
A personal trainer is a qualified professional who works on a one-to-one basis with clients, developing and implementing a fitness regime. The regime is designed to help them lose weight, become stronger, improve their physical fitness and stay healthy. Using their client’s personal goals, current ability, and needs, they develop a series of individual exercises. The industry is changing and evolving, so it’s essential for a trainer to keep up with the latest trends and industry thinking. There are many benefits to choosing this for a career, including:
- Helping people achieve their goals
- Stay healthy
- Turning your passion into your job
- Flexible hours
- Good career opportunities
There are several different types of personal trainer, so the first step is to decide whether you want to specialize or be a general personal trainer, the kind that you’ll see in your local gym.
What Type of Personal Trainer do You Want to Be?
In general, there are four types of personal trainer. The generalist is the typical trainer you’d find in your local gym. They are able to help anyone with their training goals. This is the easiest to study and certify for. It’s even possible to study, gain your qualifications and certification online. There are several different companies, such as OriGym, that offer online certification.
An athletic personal trainer works with amateur or professional athletes. They can sometimes be affiliated with a school, sports team or athletic center. This role will require additional certification and qualifications. These would be relating to optimizing performance, preventing injury and rehabilitation.
There are opportunities for carving out a niche market by specializing in specific areas such as yoga, martial arts, powerlifting, and other intensive training activities. More experience and specialized certification and qualifications will be required.
Finally, there is the rehabilitation personal trainer who works in medical centers, rehabilitation centers and hospitals helping clients recover from injuries and surgery. Additional study will be required.
Where Do You Want to Train Your Clients?
This is another crucial factor to consider, and again, there are several options. Most people will think of making an appointment with a personal trainer at a local gym. It’s possible to rent a space in a local gym or work as a full-time employee. Generally, you’ll be helping everyday people achieve their fitness goals and get in better shape.
It’s also possible to go direct to your clients and work in their home or in your own. It’s a little bit harder when you first start out because you’ve got to attract new clients. You’ll need to create your own website, work on producing marketing material, network and sell your services. You also need to know the ins and outs of running your own business.
Technology can also be used to build a successful personal training career. Using a website, apps, videos and more, it’s possible to work with clients online. As well as being an experienced personal trainer, you’re also going to need to be a marketing expert and be good at building your brand.
Other opportunities are also open to you including:
- Hospital therapy programs
- Corporate fitness facilities
- Rehabilitation centers
- Community centers
- Cruise ships
- Elderly facilities
- Vacation resorts
Other Factors to Consider
You’ve gained your qualifications and certification, you decided on an area you want to work in and are ready to take the next step. Before you can start delivering your service, you’ll need to get insurance. It will cover general liability, professional liability, damage to premises, products you sell and sexual misconduct liability.
Now you’re all set to start practicing, but you’ll first need some clients! To find the right ones, there are certain things you can do. Make sure you’re in tip-top condition, so your clients can see you know what you’re talking about. Think about how you can make yourself stand out from others offering similar services. It’s also a good idea to create your own program templates as this will save you time in the future.