Written by Lauren Irvine
According to market and consumer data company Statista, the global fitness industry is expected to bring in a revenue of US$22,537m in 2020. With a revenue growth rate of 30.9% year on year, the fitness industry is rapidly growing. If you’ve been on the fence about starting a career in fitness, there’s never been a better time to join.
Read on to find out the 10 things you need to know before starting a career in fitness!
1. You will need to upskill
While you will no doubt learn lots about being a personal trainer through the completion of your initial qualification, it’s naive to think that you will know everything upon entering the industry. With new research being published regularly, it’s important to stay up to date and upskill on the latest evidence based methods of both training and nutrition to ensure you stay ahead of your competitors.
2. You won’t be handed clients
Unless you’re happy with only being given a few client leads, you’re most likely going to have to find your own clients. The good news is that if you work in a gym, every member is a prospective client. Be prepared to have to approach members on the gym floor and build rapport with them and find out why they are there in the first place, so you can then offer your services as a solution.
3. Setting up direct debits will save you time and stress!
If you are running your own personal training business out of a gym, you will likely be in charge of setting up and staying on top of payments from your clients. While taking cash may seem like a good idea at first, it ends up being an easy way for clients to forget to pay you on time. Setting up weekly or fortnightly direct debits with your clients will ensure that you get paid on time and hold them accountable to show up for their sessions.
4. You need to have a long term plan for all new clients
When you’re first building your client base, you will probably be giving out free sessions to new members and prospective clients. The biggest mistake you can make during this time is to assume someone will want to work with you after just one session. However, if you’re able to show them a roadmap of where they could be after 3-6 months of working with you, you’re more likely to get them on board your services.
5. You won’t work regular hours- you’ll have more flexibility!
Personal training isn’t a traditional 9-to-5 job. Your clients will want to fit in their sessions around their own careers and family life, so you can expect to work some early mornings, some late nights and even some weekends. The good news is that you have the flexibility to offer time options to your clients that are on your terms which can leave more time for you to do the things you enjoy.
6. Every client is different
Personal training is a very personal profession and it’s important to understand that every client is different and have different personalities & preferences – and that’s OK! Just like finding the right doctor who you feel comfortable with, personal training clients will want the same thing. Additionally, all your clients will have different personality types and training styles, which is completely normal. You can learn more about this in our Advanced Program Design course.
7. Getting results is key
If you are looking to build a long term, sustainable career as a personal trainer you need to be getting your clients results. If you are working with a client for months who hasn’t gotten any stronger and isn’t looking any different, then you should probably have a look at what methods you’re using. Clients who get results are the ones who stay.
8. Compliance is everything
Equally as important as getting your clients results, is creating a plan that they can be compliant to in order to achieve those results. If you are giving a client a training and nutrition program that is unrealistic for them to stick to and is unsustainable, then they will struggle to be compliant and in turn, not get results. This is why it’s SO important to individualize programs for every client.
9. Sometimes you will sacrifice your own training for your business
Like any profession, there will be times where work is busy and you might have to park your own training schedule to the side to ensure you don’t fall behind. Personal training work involves training others to get paid, not spending hours in the gym training yourself.
10. There are endless opportunities
The great thing about the fitness industry is that there is no one size fits all career approach. You have the freedom to choose where you work, what niche you want to specialize in, the option to continue your studies, plus the ability to pivot to an online business – it’s up to you!
To find out more about what you can expect from a career in the fitness industry, check out our Master Coach Program, here!
References:
- Statista. (2020). Digital Market Outlook Fitness Worldwide. https://www.statista.com/outlook/313/100/fitness/worldwide#market-revenue
