If you’ve had a love of fitness throughout your life, you may have considered getting into personal training. This can be a good career choice as not only can it be lucrative it can constantly challenge you. It’s the perfect combination of applying what you know and having to be a problem solver by correcting and adjusting things with clients as you go.
It opens you up to a wide variety of people and a good trainer will always be in demand. If you’re thinking of getting into a career in fitness here are 5 amazing benefits of working as a personal trainer
1. Doing What You Love
If you’ve been considering working as a PT there’s no doubt that fitness is a big part of your life. You might enjoy training for a specific sport, competing in triathlons, powerlifting, or just love general fitness. Personal training gives you the opportunity to share what you love with others and work in a job you would probably want to do for free. If you love being in gyms and health clubs, this can be the perfect job for you as you surround yourself with all things fitness every day.
Every great personal trainer starts out as the person that friends, family, and even strangers approach for health and fitness tips. Being a personal trainer just helps you take it to the next level.
If the idea of sitting at a desk from 9 to 5 makes you shudder, then working as a personal trainer will really appeal to you. If you like variety and want to avoid things getting stale, working as a trainer is a perfect way to escape that. No two days are the same and you will have a lot of variety in your schedule. You will work with different people every day so there’s no fear of things getting routine or boring. One day you might work with a middle-aged person trying to lose weight and get fit for a vacation, the next day you may work with an athlete trying to make a team.
You will have constant variety and a changing stimulus each day, and if you’re the type of person who thrives on that, this can be an ideal career.
3. It’s Good Money
Money isn’t everything, but it sure helps. If you’re doing something you love they say you never work a day in your life. If you find yourself always wanting to help people with their fitness and training, it would be a good idea to get paid for it too. And you can get paid pretty well. It varies depending on city and club but personal trainers can make good money. In the U.K, a personal trainer can make around £13,500 a year just working part-time. A full-time trainer can make £65,000 and this isn’t always even working “full-time” hours.
A decent trainer is making £25-50 an hour and as your experience grows, you may charge up to £100 an hour. You will be able to work as many hours as you want if the clients are there. You can see how this can add up pretty quickly to a solid income for something that is fun and enjoyable.
4. You Set Your Own Schedule
If you like flexibility, then working as a personal trainer can be a great career choice. You can fill up your schedule in any way you want. You can work in the mornings, in the evening, or both. If there is a demand to train with you people will work around your schedule. You can train people in the morning, do your own workout, relax at home for a bit, then go back for more clients later in the day.
It’s a great career if you don’t enjoy having to be stuck in the regimented 9-5 hour structure.
5. You Get To Change People’s Lives
The money is great, the hours are great, but this is what it’s really all about. When you work as a personal trainer you are changing peoples lives and not just from a physical standpoint. You are improving their health, changing their appearance, building their confidence, and helping them achieve their goals. You are their coach but also their teammate helping them get to where they want to be. As a trainer, you are on the journey with them, side by side and helping them make all these positive changes in their lives.
They are paying you but it goes far beyond just the exchange of money. The service you provide them is invaluable. Helping someone to lose weight that takes their pain away, and gives them a better quality of life, can not have a price put on it.
Final Thoughts
Being a trainer is a great combination of flexibility, money, and variety and if you’ve been considering it now is the time to pursue it. There also aren’t many jobs out there that give you the opportunity to help change a person's life but this is one. Being a personal trainer is a great privilege and an incredibly rewarding career.
Jamie Logie - Personal Trainer
