How to Become a Successful Personal Trainer how to become a successful personal trainer how to become a successful personal trainer The fitness industry today is MASSIVE. In 2016 over 60 MILLION Americans paid gym membership fees and gym visits exceeded 5 billion. There are over 36 thousand gyms and health clubs in America alone and globally the revenue generated by gyms and health clubs was over 84 BILLION dollars which is 17 BILLION dollars more than what was generated just 5 years prior. It has been growing rapidly for decades and there are no signs of it slowing down. This makes perfect sense when you consider the following…. Americans are sicker with chronic diseases and obesity now than they ever have been with a majority of Americans being overweight today. We also have a rapidly aging population which is in need of controlled and planned physical activity…especially resistance training. That’s not all, worldwide obesity has literally TRIPLED since 1975. In 2016 more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight and over 41 million children were overweight. It’s a worldwide epidemic. how to become a successful personal trainer This is likely due to the worldwide decrease in poverty. In 2015 world poverty levels fell below 10% for the first time ever in recorded history. This is a very good thing, however as the whole world modernizes and progresses we see new challenges like chronic disease and obesity. The world is getting richer, moving less and getting fatter. From a business perspective its crystal clear that the fitness industry will play a major role in people’s everyday lives, and will become a staple part of worldwide cultures. With growing numbers of customers gyms will have to focus on educating and training people to be able to truly help people fight the unintended consequence of modern progress. Personal trainers are already in high demand with over 270,000 working in America alone and this number is trending to grow at 10% year over year for the foreseeable future. Right now is the best time to become a personal trainer in history of the fitness industry. The demand is high and growing and the supply is still quite low when you consider how many people use gyms now and how many how to become a successful personal trainer will use them in the future. That being said, I want to be very clear…just because there is a growing demand for good personal trainers does NOT guarantee you success. The average trainer in the US makes roughly $58 thousand dollars a year, which is not bad when you consider that it’s a career based on passion…people who become personal trainers usually do so because they LOVE fitness and they love helping people. However you must also consider that the number $58 thousand is an average with some trainers making well over six figures a year and others only makes a few thousand. I first became a personal trainer in 1997 at a local 24 Hour Fitness gym (shout out to club 504!). In those days the average personal training session in my area (Silicon Valley) was about $50 dollars a session and the average big box gym would sell about 15-20k a month in total personal training. In those days the TOP trainers in my area would sell 3-4k a month and anything over 5k was unheard of. I personally averaged 8-12k a month all by myself and when I managed the same gym only 3 years later the club hit over 100k in personal training sales alone. “I firmly believe most people can make more than enough money in this burgeoning field of personal training” Years later I was a private trainer and my average income was well into the six figures with my top per session rate being $130 an hour back in the early 2000’s. I am not telling you this to boast…I am just showing you what is possible. I firmly believe most people can make more than enough money in this burgeoning field of personal training IF they take the right steps and IF they focus on the right things. In this guide I am going to advise you on how to become a trainer, where you should start working, what skills you should focus on building and what things you will need to do to eventually become a successful private trainer. how to become a successful personal trainer Where to start Whenever young and aspiring personal trainers ask me where to start I almost ALWAYS recommend that they start at a big box corporate gym. It’s the BEST training ground for the skills you will need to eventually be successful on your own. Big Box gyms spend lots of money on advertising so you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself. Marketing is a MONSTER and becoming good at it takes a long time especially in today’s loud social media and internet driven fitness industry. You will get far more opportunities to get clients in a big box gym as a result. Heck at any given moment you could just look out to the workout floor and see at least 10-50 members who don’t have clients working out all by themselves. Those are opportunities. Starting off as a private trainer in a personal training studio or in your own place is a far more difficult way to start. Besides selling personal training to prospects you have to figure out how to GET prospects in the first place, and trust me, private personal training studios get VERY few walk in prospects. In a big box gym every single member who doesn’t have a trainer that walks in to workout is a prospect and most big box gyms even get multiple nonmember walk ins who are literally interested in signing up. how to become a successful personal trainer certification Although most states don’t require you to be certified to train clients, most big box gyms do. I can understand why, a national certification provides a trainer with a good basic education in how to apply exercise to the average person. Although I don’t think a certification is going to teach you NEARLY as much as you will need to know to become a great trainer they are a good starting place. I must get asked daily which certification is the best to start with. There are many really good ones, however because I am recommending you start in a big box you will need a “national” certification, which basically means “certifications gyms all recognize.” I am partial to NASM certifications. They set you up with basic knowledge and they place emphasis on correctional exercises and assessment, which is very important in todays personal training market. The average national certification will run you upwards of $500$1200 dollars…they aren’t cheap, but they will get you going. Also consider you will need to attend approved continued education courses to maintain your certification, otherwise it will expire in two years. Once you get your first “get me in the door” national certification, I HIGHLY suggest you do NOT stop educating yourself. The best part about becoming a trainer today is the high availability of FREE quality information at your fingertips. When I became a trainer you had to pay for almost every bit of learning but today you can go quite far without spending another dime. We created the Mind Pump podcast and the Mind Pump TV YouTube channel specifically to fulfill the need for quality fitness information at no cost. I wouldn’t stop there. I also recommend that you INVEST in other courses. I highly suggest the CHEK courses, NASM CES course, FRC courses and ELDOA courses. The MAPS Prime and MAPS Prime Pro online programs are invaluable as well..in fact every trainer I coach today is required to have MAPS Prime and MAPS Prime Pro as tools to use for clients. All of those courses an the MAPS programs focus heavily or almost entirely on CORRECTIONAL EXERCISE. The reason I am recommending you educate yourself on correctional type training is because it will increase your value more than any other form of fitness education. how to become a successful personal trainer Yes its true that most people will hire you to lose weight and build muscle but those are simple tasks once you learn the basics of nutrition and exercise. Note I said simple and not easy, the formula isn’t super complex but you will be challenged in terms of getting your clients to follow your advice. That being said, a trainer that knows how to get their clients to MOVE better and who knows how to fix and prevent pain is worth their weight in gold. I trained people for over 20 years as a successful personal trainer. Ive helped hundred or maybe even thousands of people lose weight and get more fit, but NOTHING is more valuable than when I was able to take someone’s pain away. Anytime a client came to me with chronic pain that they may have had for years, and through my training I was able to “fix” it, they became LIFE CLIENTS. At the end of my career my average client had been with me for over 8 years. Also consider what you will likely be working with. The average client will be middle aged, will have some expendable income and will likely be very de conditioned. If you become an expert in correctional exercise, you will separate yourself from your peers. how to become a successful personal trainer How to get clients Most big box gyms will literally give you introductions to potential clients through new member “orientations” or a “free first session.” In these scenarios a member has just signed up for a membership and they were scheduled to meet with a trainer to get taught how to use machines and how to do basic exercises. That is what they are expecting, and that is what you will give them however it’s NOT what these sessions are for you. These orientation or free sessions are your opportunities to GET A NEW CLIENT. Start off every one of these sessions by introducing yourself with confidence and by asking them to sit down so that you can go over their goals. This part is EXTREMELY important. If you just go out to the floor to train them you will kill your chance at getting them to hire you significantly. First off you won’t know what their goals are. Second, and possibly more important, asking them their goals at a desk makes that desk familiar to them for when you bring them back for the close. A close is when they hire you. Third is that you will need information so that you know how to tailor your presentation. Selling yourself and selling personal training without asking them questions before hand is like running in a dark room….you will accomplish something but it will likely be painful and unsuccessful. When you sit them down to ask them questions about themselves make sure to remember the following: you have two ears and one mouth, use them in proportion. In other words, LISTEN twice as much as you talk. Nothing kills the potential of you getting a client faster than not listening and talking too much. how to become a successful personal trainer Ask them the following questions: • • • • What are your fitness goals? What is your fitness history? How many days a week can you dedicate to working out on a consistent basis? On a scale of 1-10 how serious are you about achieving your fitness goals? Make sure to get detailed answers. Don’t accept general answers like “I just want to get fit?” Ask them “how do you mean? Lose weight? If so how much weight etc?” Makes sure you have some good conversation with each question…this process should take 10-25 minutes. Once you have finished asking them those basic questions its time to take them out to the workout floor. Now that you know their goals you may have a better idea of what to show them, but before you do make sure to do a basic physical assessment by watching and critiquing their standing posture, a bodyweight squat, a cable or machine row and an overhead press. Make sure to take note of posture issues and biomechanics issues and TELL THEM WHAT YOU SEE. Now is your chance to show them you know your stuff. But don’t stop there, also provide solutions and make sure they understand and agree with you. For example: how to become a successful personal trainer “Mrs. Johnson, when I observed your posture I noticed you had a posture deviation known as “forward shoulder.” This is just as it sounds, your shoulders round forward and this is probably the result of working at a desk all day. This posture can cause neck tightness, shallow breathing and shoulder issues. Let me show you how I can correct that.” Then take them through some correctional exercises so that she can FEEL a difference in her posture. Then say “can you see how doing proper correctional exercise with someone like myself can help you get better posture” at which point she agrees. Do this for every imbalance you see and the more times your prospective client agrees with you the higher the chance they will hire you. After you finish the floor assessment it’s time to bring them back to the desk and, since they have been there before, they will feel comfortable. Now is the time to get prescriptive and show them you are an authority in fitness. Write out what good fitness plans would look like schedule wise. Notice I said PLANS…plural. Don’t just offer one option…offer three. One option will increase the odds you will get denied and when you ask the final closing question the only answer they can give are “yes” or “no.” Instead present three plans…one with less trainer sessions per week, another with more trainer sessions per week and a third with an ideal scenario amount of sessions per week. Once you have explained everything you can now make your recommendation which should be THE MIDDLE plan. I say the middle because strongly recommending the most expensive plan makes you look like all you want is their money and the smallest plan sells you short. Here is an example:“Mrs. Johnson, based on your goals and our assessment I have three options that I think will work for you. Option one involves you training with me once a week for three months, option two involves you training with me twice a week for three months and option three involves you training with me three times a month. I want you to work out three days a week total so you can see that the plans either have you doing 2 days a week on your own, one day a week on your own or all days in the gym will be with a professional. In my professional opinion I think the best option is the second one. It allows you and I to work together at least two days a week where you will need my help doing the more difficult to learn exercises and once a week I can give you easy exercises you can do on your own. Of course, ideally we would work out three days a week which leaves it all in my hands and you can train much less with the first option if you feel confident that you can train yourself two days a week. Of the three options, which do you prefer?” At this point SHUT UP and let them decide. Don’t talk unless you are asked a question. Notice the last question where I say, “of the three options, which do you prefer.” This gives them options and all of the options include hiring you. Its not a “yes or no” question. Don’t use “yes or no” questions, unless you want their answer to have the possibility of a “no.” how to become a successful personal trainer Grow your business PRACTICE your craft as much as possible and talk to as many potential clients as possible. The more reps you do the better you will be. If your goal is to become a six figure (or more) private personal trainer you will need to dominate the market in your big box gym first. Stated differently, if you can’t be one of the top selling and most successful trainers in your big box gym you can forget succeeding in the more difficult market of private training. Its half as difficult to grow a client base in a big box gym than it is private so prove yourself first. I recommend training in a big box gym successfully for at least a year before you even consider venturing out. Private Training Although training in a big box gym has many attributes, they come at many costs. First off is money, on average you will get half or less of the total amount your clients pay for sessions. You also lose some training autonomy as big box gyms usually have certain standards which may prevent you from training people the way you want to. Private trainers usually still work out of gyms albeit small boxes that are designed primarily for personal trainers and their clients. Most of these places will charge you a fee…either a flat fee for the month or per session. In my opinion I suggest you always go for the flat rate if your plan is to train 30 sessions a week or more. The flat rate will save usually you money. You will also need to get insurance. Don’t worry its not expensive…the average insurance cost for a personal trainer is under $400 a year. You will also likely need to get a business license. Also give yourself at least 2-3 months to build your business. This means you should save up 3 months’ worth of living expenses including your new business costs before you get started. how to become a successful personal trainer Social Media If you want to be a private trainer and you don’t have a decent social media brand or presence you are at a massive disadvantage. You don’t need tons of followers, but you do want quality information and representation. Social media pages like Instagram are today’s business card. It’s how many clients will “shop” for trainers. Make sure to do at least 3 quality posts a week on your pages and make them professional and valuable. DON’T SELL ANYTHING. A social media page that looks like a big commercial won’t work well. Instead, inform people and understand that it will likely be used to initially evaluate you. Pricing Start your pricing out by evaluating your competition. In my opinion its best to start slightly above average. This gives the signal that you are better than average but not super expensive. Once you get started your market will help determine your prices. If your schedule gets full and you have a wait list, congratulations you charge TOO LITTLE. If your schedule is bare and you are having people turn you down left and right it means your value is being perceived as less than you are charging. This means either get better at presenting yourself with higher value or charge less for your services. how to become a successful personal trainer The rest is up to you!! At this point its all about hard work and consistency. Get in front of as many people as possible by offering free assessments and sessions. Each time a non-client shows up to an assessment or free session its an opportunity to get a new client. The more opportunities you get the better. If fitness is truly your passion and you are dedicated to making the world a fitter healthier place then apply what you have just read and WORK YOUR ASS OFF and most of you will find yourselves happily successful within a relatively short period of time. about the author sal di stefano Sal was 14 years old when he touched his first weight and from that moment he was hooked. Growing up asthmatic, frequently sick and painfully skinny, Sal saw weightlifting as a way to change his body and his self-image. In the beginning, Sal’s body responded quickly to his training but then his gains slowed and then stopped altogether. Not one to give up easily, he began reading every muscle building publication he could get his hands on to find ways to bust through his plateau. He read Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, Mentzer’s Heavy Duty, Kubrick’s Dinosaur Training, and every muscle magazine he could find; Weider’s Muscle and Fitness, Flex, Iron Man and even Muscle Media 2000. Each time he read about a new technique or methodology he would test it out in the gym. At age 18 his passion for the art and science of resistance training was so consuming that he decided to make it his profession and become a personal trainer. By 19 he was managing health clubs and by 22 he owned his own gym. After 17 years as a personal trainer he has dedicated himself to bringing science and TRUTH to the fitness industry.
