Is a career as a Personal Trainer right for you?

I meet a lot of personal trainers in my career. Not only do I work on a day-to-day basis with many talented PT’s in Livingston, Scotland, I also get to train and mentor fledgling personal trainer’s as they embark on their journey – all the way from getting them qualified to establishing successful businesses!

It’s given me a good insight into the personal qualities of the people who build the most successful businesses and the ones who enjoy their lifestyles the most.

You really care for people

This is one of the most important aspects of personal training. Having a genuine interest in people’s wants, needs, struggles, emotions, feelings and lives is crucial.

Everyone that comes to you for help will have tried many things, given up and feel hopeless. It’s up to you, not just to help them to their goals for their body- but help them tackle sometimes lifelong problems with food, body dysmorphia, emotional eating and more.

For this listening skills and empathy are a must have. If a client really feels that you care for them and are their whenever they need you, you’ll have a client for life.

You lead by example

By this, I don’t mean you have to be at 4{00c9fc3b0c04b1c5d0a150e1e4af74c5798b192c7044c1cd852c32d3af5e6a7d} body fat all year (that’s just unsustainable) but personal training is a physical job and you need to be in good shape.

In my day I lead classes, demonstrate exercises and carry pieces of equipment to and from the weights area. From my fitness tracker, I walk an average of 6-9 miles every day around the gym (my gym is pretty big), as well as 2-3 exercises classes and countless squat demos. This means you need to eat enough every day and do all the tasks with a smile on your face!

You are self motivated

Generally, personal training jobs are self-employed. Big chains like Pure Gym, Virgin and Nuffield Health will let you set up and run a personal training business within their facility in exchange for you ‘being on shift’ (doing classes etc.,) for a portion of the week. The great thing about this is that there are little overheads when you first get started. The downside is that you are not making any money initially.

This is where the self-motivation comes in.

When I started as a PT, I aimed to get one session a week more than the previous week. At Puregym, the trainers charge between £25-£35 a session. I knew that if I could speak to as many people as possible, tell them what I could do for them and offer them a free session, I knew this was achievable.

By month two, I had 9 sessions a week. By month 6, 24 sessions a week and by month 10, I was full to the brim with clients official site.

This sort of progress is achievable, but it can only be done with self-motivation and a smile!

You love exercise and health

This is one of the more obvious ones on the list, but you have to love exercise and being healthy and be able to transfer that enthusiasm from yourself to your clients.

Having good scientific knowledge (I follow some great people like Brad Schoenfeld, Alan Aragon, Layne Norton, Ben Coomber and Bret Contreras), a finger on the pulse when it comes to fitness industry trends and a good knowledge of exercises adaptations will ensure you’re always getting your clients the results they want!

If you need any more information or help with becoming a personal trainer then just ask us. We have dedicated mentors who can help you with your business, study and life so you can create the lifestyle you want.

Happy training!