is personal training a "real job/career"?!

[Mr. Intenseone]

I've seen one "older" trainer. He's a guy who's appears to be in his forties. He walks around in a shirt that says "Master Trainer." It's both funny and sad.

Would it still be sad if he was pulling down a six figure income??

[The Squadfather]

Would it still be sad if he was pulling down a six figure income??

more like 8 bucks an hour.

[FLEX N FREAK]

it all comes down to how motivated you are

[Mr. Intenseone]

more like 8 bucks an hour.

If thats the case then yes, it's sad!

[jwb]

If thats the case then yes, it's sad!

Joe is the exception because he is so pro-active and aggressive about being a top trainer...

It is like any small business really...

there are plenty of shit corner stores and yet there are some that stand out because of their owner's service and attitude...

comes down to pride in your work IMO...

[The Squadfather]

i remember when i started lifting "personal trainers" were all the owners of the gym and all huge beyond belief, it was very rare to see someone under 250lbs. training someone, nowadays it's all skinny gel haired geeks.

[legbreaker]

I've seen one "older" trainer. He's a guy who's appears to be in his forties. He walks around in a shirt that says "Master Trainer." It's both funny and sad.

I'm sure the minimum requirements at NYSC in NYC are higher than the la fitness' throughout the country.  I'm also from NY and trained people throughout the city and Long Island.  I would say that the lowest package price for a single session you can get is around 90-100 dollars...and that would be if you bought 20 or more...My friend is getting 100 at 19th street gym....not bad for an hours pay.   You realize that the guy with the "master" on his shirt has that because of the level of his cert and not his years, right?          

[onlyme]

i remember when i started lifting "personal trainers" were all the owners of the gym and all huge beyond belief, it was very rare to see someone under 250lbs. training someone, nowadays it's all skinny gel haired geeks.

I remember when there were no such a thing.  All you had to do is ask someone.  As a kid going to the original World Gym I learned from the best by simply asking.  And in some cases guys would come up and actually show you how to do something without even asking them.  I will always remember doing arms with Ferrigno and him holding my elbows in.  Or dips with Roy Callendar and seating rowing with Tony Pearson. Doing roman chairs next to Chris Dickerson who would literally do sets of 30 minutes non-stop of twisting and roman chairs.  I was just great learning from the best

[The Squadfather]

I remember when there were no such a thing.  All you had to do is ask someone.  As a kid going to the original World Gym I learned from the best by simply asking.  And in some cases guys would come up and actually show you how to do something without even asking them.  I will always remember doing arms with Ferrigno and him holding my elbows in.  Or dips with Roy Callendar and seating rowing with Tony Pearson. Doing roman chairs next to Chris Dickerson who would literally do sets of 30 minutes non-stop of twisting and roman chairs.  I was just great learning from the best

that sounds awesome.

[jwb]

I remember when there were no such a thing.  All you had to do is ask someone.  As a kid going to the original World Gym I learned from the best by simply asking.  And in some cases guys would come up and actually show you how to do something without even asking them.  I will always remember doing arms with Ferrigno and him holding my elbows in.  Or dips with Roy Callendar and seating rowing with Tony Pearson. Doing roman chairs next to Chris Dickerson who would literally do sets of 30 minutes non-stop of twisting and roman chairs.  I was just great learning from the best

don't tell us stuff like that brother we will start to hate you!... that would have been awesome!

[The Squadfather]

don't tell us stuff like that brother we will start to hate you!... that would have been awesome!

can you imagine asking one of these prissy selfish bastard "pros" today for help in the gym, they'd laugh at you.

[Thin Lizzy]

I'm sure the minimum requirements at NYSC in NYC are higher than the la fitness' throughout the country.  I'm also from NY and trained people throughout the city and Long Island.  I would say that the lowest package price for a single session you can get is around 90-100 dollars...and that would be if you bought 20 or more...My friend is getting 100 at 19th street gym....not bad for an hours pay.   You realize that the guy with the "master" on his shirt has that because of the level of his cert and not his years, right?          

I'm dating myself here. But when I was a PT, I worked at the Vertical Club, which was owned by Bally's. They were charging the people $30/hr, and the trainers were getting $8. That's why all of us were making side deals. So, the Squadfather's comment is not that far off the mark. I'm the sure the NYSC, today, charges much more, but I'll bet the trainers are still getting screwed.

It's a Catch 22. Either you work for the big chains and get screwed, or go it alone and have to do all the sales and marketing, which is a big job in itself, because clients come and go. That's why I say it's a bad LONG TERM job.

[Mr. Intenseone]

 or go it alone and have to do all the sales and marketing, which is a big job in itself, because clients come and go. That's why I say it's a bad LONG TERM job.

Thats the fun and challenge of having my own business, like I said, I've had the majority of my clients for at least three years!

[jwb]

Thats the fun and challenge of having my own business, like I said, I've had the majority of my clients for at least three years!

How many times a week are most of these people training with you?

[Mr. Intenseone]

How many times a week are most of these people training with you?

2-3

[jwb]

2-3

example of how trainers can adapt to a less than rich area...

a friend of mine is doing pretty well just training people once a week

he does all their weight training for the week in this session and they do their cardio themselves - these are average joe types btw.

the "once a week" thing is his marketing hook and these people can see value in getting him to train them once a week yet they can't afford to have him more often...

he has a very low drop out rate also...

[mar10s]

The cost for an hour of personal training at the gym i work at starts at 30 bucks an hour.  The trainer takes 15-17 of that in his/her pocket and the rest goes to the gym.  When they are not training, they are suppose to clean the equipment etc. and for that they get 7 bucks an hour.  When trainers first start there, is pretty tough at first untill they get a decent amount of clients.

[jwb]

The cost for an hour of personal training at the gym i work at starts at 30 bucks an hour.  The trainer takes 15-17 of that in his/her pocket and the rest goes to the gym.  When they are not training, they are suppose to clean the equipment etc. and for that they get 7 bucks an hour.  When trainers first start there, is pretty tough at first untill they get a decent amount of clients.

shit that is terrible money...

[Hulkster]

Personally, if it were me, I would do it for awhile until you figure out a more secure long term career goal, and then go for it.

I worked at a large pet store part time through university and college (yes, I went to both - 4 year degree and one year college diploma post grad), and then for a year after while I applied for jobs in my intended feild and tried to figure out what I wanted to do.

In other words, I had a "crappy" job that did not pay well with no benefits, pension, etc etc,.  don't get me wrong - I LIKED it, its just it did not offer good future prospects.

Now I have a "real" job with guarenteed 40 hours per week, good benefits, lots of advancement opportunities in the near future, and guarenteed raises as my level of certification increases. Oh, and it pays 2.5 times as much to start

What I am getting at is that, as others have mentioned, personal training might be great to do on the side, but as a career, it might be difficult to manage.

I would say do it for awhile and have fun, but while you are doing that, keep applying to other jobs that might offer more opportunities for wages, benefits and advancement.

Hope this helps.

[Mr. Intenseone]

Personally, if it were me, I would do it for awhile until you figure out a more secure long term career goal, and then go for it.

I worked at a large pet store part time through university and college (yes, I went to both - 4 year degree and one year college diploma post grad), and then for a year after while I applied for jobs in my intended feild and tried to figure out what I wanted to do.

In other words, I had a "crappy" job that did not pay well with no benefits, pension, etc etc,.  don't get me wrong - I LIKED it, its just it did not offer good future prospects.

Now I have a "real" job with guarenteed 40 hours per week, good benefits, lots of advancement opportunities in the near future, and guarenteed raises as my level of certification increases. Oh, and it pays 2.5 times as much to start

What I am getting at is that, as others have mentioned, personal training might be great to do on the side, but as a career, it might be difficult to manage.

I would say do it for awhile and have fun, but while you are doing that, keep applying to other jobs that might offer more opportunities for wages, benefits and advancement.

Hope this helps.

Ok, ok...hopefully I can put this to rest once and for all, I think it's great to have a 4 year degree, your well educated and have good earning potential, but I'm really tired of hearing that "it's a great side job" bullshit, that just comes from people that are not motivated and want to settle to work for someone and do the same mundane job day after day just to get their yearly salary increase of 10%, if thats your gig...fine, but to say you cannot do that being a personal trainer is just asnine and shows lack of motivation...again, I know I make ALOT more than most with a 4 year degree who is at the top of their pay scale, the people who want to do this (training) for a living needs to get off of thier ASSES and get motivated to act like this is a business instead of a job. Bottomline...if you cannot make at least a $100 grand in this business, you are definatly doing something wrong...or not enough. The choice is yours, is it a job or a BUSINESS??

[gtbro1]

I remember when there were no such a thing.  All you had to do is ask someone.  As a kid going to the original World Gym I learned from the best by simply asking.  And in some cases guys would come up and actually show you how to do something without even asking them.  I will always remember doing arms with Ferrigno and him holding my elbows in.  Or dips with Roy Callendar and seating rowing with Tony Pearson. Doing roman chairs next to Chris Dickerson who would literally do sets of 30 minutes non-stop of twisting and roman chairs.  I was just great learning from the best

That would be cool.

[buffbodz]

The cost for an hour of personal training at the gym i work at starts at 30 bucks an hour.  The trainer takes 15-17 of that in his/her pocket and the rest goes to the gym.  When they are not training, they are suppose to clean the equipment etc. and for that they get 7 bucks an hour.  When trainers first start there, is pretty tough at first untill they get a decent amount of clients.

I give My people 10 bucks plus 2% commission on supps they sell and 20 for every diet they sell that I have to do.  One goal I have is to franchise or open other stores myself with the people that have been with Me for years and have learned the total operation and yea that includes cleaning and keeping the equpt. running smoothly.  With luck I'll have a store in the St. Peters area in Fla within a year.  I invest and get a % of gross sales every quarter, if all goes according to plan.  The thing for me was to get one off and running and use it as a training store for others to run other stores.  Well I dream anyway.  People come in to buy supps and see the training studio and diet services and You've got another client , in about 1 in 10.

[Hulkster]

that just comes from people that are not motivated and want to settle to work for someone and do the same mundane job day after day just to get their yearly salary increase of 10%, if thats your gig...fine,

but don't forget that this only applies when you are starting out.

as you advance into management and supervisory positions, things change.

people start to work for YOU.

Obviously, you are making a lot of money in the personal training business, and thats great.

but how typical are your earnings for your feild?

and how long did it take you to reach that potential?

You have to consider that your situation (lots of money) is not going to happen to a new personal trainer right off the bat.

and I think this is why there are so many of these "its a great side job" comments.

people are being simply realistic.

If you start it out as a 'side job' and things work up from there great.

but if things do not start to bloom, at least you are not putting all your eggs in one basket. You have other goals that you could persue.  You have to have a backup plan.

[Thin Lizzy]

Ok, ok...hopefully I can put this to rest once and for all, I think it's great to have a 4 year degree, your well educated and have good earning potential, but I'm really tired of hearing that "it's a great side job" bullshit, that just comes from people that are not motivated and want to settle to work for someone and do the same mundane job day after day just to get their yearly salary increase of 10%, if thats your gig...fine, but to say you cannot do that being a personal trainer is just asnine and shows lack of motivation...again, I know I make ALOT more than most with a 4 year degree who is at the top of their pay scale, the people who want to do this (training) for a living needs to get off of thier ASSES and get motivated to act like this is a business instead of a job. Bottomline...if you cannot make at least a $100 grand in this business, you are definatly doing something wrong...or not enough. The choice is yours, is it a job or a BUSINESS??

Sorry, to beat a dead thread here, but this post illustrates why pt-ing isn't a good career. To make a decent living at it, you HAVE to go into business. That should be an option, not a necessity. Not everyone wants all the headaches that go with owning your own business.

Take a profession like accounting. A CPA can work for a firm and make good money, or he can go out on his own. He's not forced to make a decision.

[Hulkster]

good point.


starting your own business can be very risky.