Personal training is one of the most rewarding jobs you could have. Seeing someone transform their body, improve their health, and express gratitude for helping them makes it all worth it. By no means is it an easy job, but if you’ve chosen this path you want to do your best.
As a trainer for the past 5 years, I’ve made a bunch of mistakes but feel that I’m in a good groove now with all aspects of personal training. This includes not only personal training itself, but also making money and overall day-to-day lifestyle.
Personal training is one of the toughest jobs I’ve had. On the surface it looks easy, you just tell people how to exercise, right? But when you train someone, there’s nowhere to hide. You have to be fully engaged with the person at all times. This takes a lot of mental energy. When I had office jobs and didn’t want to deal with anyone, I could just sit at my desk all day.
With personal training that is not the case. Clients will have questions, want feedback, and just engage in regular conversation. Now imagine having 5 or 6 clients in a row; it can be draining.
Regardless, it’s still an overall enjoyable job. There is a sense of pride when you help someone get into shape. Also, you’re improving their healthspan so they can have a more fulfilling life for a longer period of time. You’ll train people that will also become lifelong friends and acquaintances.
To make the road to a successful personal trainer as smooth as possible, here are 7 tips to get the most out of your career.
1. Don’t Overcomplicate Things
In most cases, personal trainers have experience in the gym long before they open up a textbook to get certified. Each of these personal training governing bodies has their way of doing things. But there is no “best” method for structuring workouts that fits for everyone.
What I found myself doing was these ridiculous balancing exercises because that’s how NASM structured their workout programs. After a short period I quickly realized “why am I doing this, I know how to work out!” In addition I realized people have no interest in doing gimmicky bosu ball exercises.
Consider getting certified as a personal trainer a means to an end. A certification is necessary to get a job at a gym. Even if you train independently, you still should have one for legal reasons. You may learn something along the way when studying for the test, but don’t let it deter your thinking if you already have experience working out.
Check out this article that outlines the best certification to get for personal training.
2. Stay True to Your Schedule
When you first start training, you’re excited just to get clients. In your head you likely have a schedule outlined for when you want to work. But if someone wants to sign up for a time outside your schedule, it’s hard to say no. As hard as it is, you should try your best to maintain a consistent schedule to avoid burnout.
This is a mistake I made multiple times. I’d be going back and forth from the gym all day. Another thing you’ll find out as a trainer is that people aren’t very reliable. There were multiple instances where I’d be going back to the gym for one client who would inevitably cancel last minute. Naturally you start to feel anger and resentment which is never a good thing.
By staying true to your schedule you can circumvent this as much as possible. People will obviously still cancel but hopefully it doesn’t throw a complete wrench into your day. While you may be leaving some money on the table, in the long run you will be thankful.
3. Be Flexible Yet Rigid
A personal trainer will have clients of all ages and ability levels. It’s important to adjust the workouts based on this to keep them safe.
At the same time, you are the authority. You shouldn’t let the client completely dictate the workout. There is a balance between injury prevention, making progress, and keeping things fun.
4. Expand Your Knowledge
It’s amazing how much free information there is on the internet. There are countless resources to expand your knowledge with regards to training. While you have to weed out the false information (and there’s a lot of it, particularly with nutrition), there is still tremendous opportunity to learn.
You could also use the internet as a resource when studying for your personal trainer’s exam. I used this a great deal when going for my CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist) certification. Some of the information in the book moved very quickly, so I utilized YouTube to break down some of the concepts for me, especially with cellular biology.
5. Start Building Passive Income
This could easily be its own article, and perhaps I’ll make one down the line, but for now it’s important to grasp the basics of active and passive income when it comes to personal training.
Active income means trading time in exchange for money. It’s how 99% of people in the world make money. For example, if you charge $50 for a one hour personal training session, that is active income. Or, if you are a strength and conditioning coach at a local college and make a $75,000 per year salary, that is also active income.
Active income isn’t a bad thing, but it becomes capped at a certain point. Even if you reach a stage where you can train people for $100 or $200 an hour, it is still limited. There are only so many hours in a day and so many hours you can work.
Passive income does not require you to be present to make money. It is often referred to as making money while you sleep. One example is ad revenue from a website or YouTube page. Once you make the website or video, the work is essentially done. If they grow in popularity and get lots of clicks and views, the money will continue to roll in even though the content is already made.
Passive income doesn’t happen overnight, so it’s better to start as soon as possible. Get a cheap website going and/or a YouTube page and start putting out content. As your audience grows you can then look into other things like ebooks or courses.
6. Look The Part
Now for the non politically correct portion of the article. Years back I wrote an article entitled should you hire a fat personal trainer, which obviously applies here. You don’t have to look like D.K. Metcalf, but I think it’s important to be in shape as a personal trainer.
I always tell clients that I would never put them through a grueling workout unless I’ve done it myself. When I taught group classes, I would perform each exercise with the entire group. This serves two functions. First, to make sure that it’s possible to complete the workout and isn’t something ridiculously hard or unsafe. Second, to demonstrate that I’ve been in their shoes and know what they’re going through.
This applies to not only physical appearance, but performing the exercises. My clients jokingly tell me that I “make it look so easy”, to which I typically reply “would you hire me if I didn’t?”
7. Make it Fun
Unless you are training professional or college athletes, your clients will likely just be everyday people looking to get in shape. At the end of the day, workouts should be productive but still fun. Mix it up a little and try new things. You shouldn’t be limited to what training routine or style. The most important variable for success with clients is consistency. You should try your best to find an exercise modality that your clients like to keep them on track towards their goals.
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