8 things you could do when qualified.

As a course provider, we're going to state that this is a rewarding industry to be a part of but that is genuinely the case. Being a personal trainer means you are on the front line of tackling many different things that can keep your community fit and healthy, physically and mentally.

I personally changed careers in my late twenties to the fitness industry because of a passion for fitness and want to help people achieve their own health aspirations. At the time I was within the hospitality industry, I made the choice to pursue a career path that had far more meaning than serving pints and felt that I could really make a difference.

Making the transition did not disappoint. Becoming a personal trainer is a highly rewarding job role - you get to be the best hour of someone's day. You provide structured time away from their normal day-to-day stresses with the added benefit of human interaction that goes beyond demanding just sets and reps. Building relationships are far greater than just a client and trainer. You build upon a trusting relationship with each client, and you'll be able to add that personal touch each session, knowing their likes and dislikes, wants and needs.

If you're looking to help people and make a difference, then this is the perfect career for you.

How can you start?

There are plenty of different routes to head down once qualified and the world is your oyster. If you're willing to do the hard yards, to begin with, then you can create a life and career you can be proud of.

You may have an idea of where you'd like to take it, others may not have a clue. The beauty is that there is no right and wrong answer to making it as a personal trainer. Your level of success will be very different to the next.

I started out as a personal trainer just to gain further knowledge. My plan was to never take it on full time. I thought I'd have a couple of in-person clients and a few online and that would be me.

The truth was, I decided to take it a little more serious and jump out of my hospitality role and jump two-footed into becoming a personal trainer. This started out as a 1-2-1 PT within a local gym and setting up the first version of SweatIT, which was an outside Bootcamp.

From here we took it inside to our first facility, which grew to where we are today with 120+ members, 6 employees and an Academy to train the next batch of talented coaches. At no point have I had it mapped out, I took each day as it came and captured every opportunity that came my way.

From our previous intakes of students, we'd had people from all walks of life. Some looking to do this full time and others just part-time. Like said above there is no right or wrong path here so I'm sure to cover many different options to how and where you can take this extremely exciting time of learning.

It's one hell of a ride and one that I'm a big advocate of. Read through the main 8 roles listed below that could be the path you take.

Self-employed Personal Trainer within a Gym

Probably the most common entry into the industry where you can pay rent to train clients in a gym or trade your time to use their facility. Most big gyms are open to renting their space to trainers. This can be a great place to start as there is a pool of 100s and sometimes 1000s of clients ready and waiting for you to introduce yourself to. You'll have access to the member list, be able to walk the gym floor and take classes to help make positive impressions and build relationships that could develop into paying clients. This could be paid for either with monthly rent or a common model now is you'll work 12-15 hours every week for the use of their space any other time of the week. They get skilled labour and you get to use a fully equipped gym, which when you first start is great because you more than likely don't have £500-£1000 a month to spend on rent. There could also be independent gyms which would take a per session fee, £10-£25 for example per session you take within their facility.

If your looking to transition slowly into fitness then this could be the route you choose as you can be full time or part-time.

I must add though, becoming self-employed will not be for everyone so make sure this is what you want to do. Do you want to have to deal with tax, market yourself and be your own boss? If not then taking a more employed route would be better for you.

Mobile Personal Trainer

Convenience is a big reason why some people just never make it to the gym. It's either too far or they can't find the time to make it, that's even before people have worried about what they may look like when there. That's why many will want someone to come to them or meet them somewhere where it's more convenient for the both of you. This could be at their home or outside space, like a park. This can always be a successful route for many and post COVID is even more successful, as more people look to possibly travel less and work from home more. Benefits would be working outside when the sun is shining and not having to pay rents on spaces, while some clients may have great home gym setups. The downside if the outside is you have only the kit you take with you and are completely at the mercy of the weather. Make sure to take into account travel times, which should be reflected within your pricing. Some may think this to be a cheaper option for the client but if you add on another 1/2 hour for travel and the convenience for the client there is an argument to say it could be more expensive.

Start a Bootcamp? This is exactly how SweatIT started and can be a low-cost way to gain clients fast. It's easy for them to turn up all you have to do is make it fun and offer a way for them to bolt on additional services outside of your high-intensity workouts.

Employed Personal Trainer

This is much more common these days with the rise of more gyms like SweatIT. We employ all our coaches because this gives us the consistency and cohesion of the TEAM we need to serve our members. Even the big box gyms are applying this to their staffing as they start to add in SGPT (Small Group PT) into their own offerings.

The benefits here are that you just get to turn up and coach. Become the best coach you can be and not worry about marketing and running your own business. You'll be a part of a TEAM developing together to serve many different clients.

There could be other company benefits on offer also, such as pension and self-development budget to make you the best you can be personally and professionally.

This is a great route for the newly qualified as you don't have to waste time trying to find clients as the client base is already there. Your focus is on becoming a GREAT coach and you'll get to refine your craft 8-12 hours a day without any of the outside efforts of having your own business.

If you want to just coach and love spending time with people being the best part of their day, then this could be for you if the right gym is near you or you are willing to relocate for it.

Gym Instructor

This is a little less uncommon nowadays I believe, as most gyms look for personal trainers with the trade for time model of getting staff into their gyms. But you could want to take classes and inductions for a gym to get yourself started. This can be a great way to start taking on more responsibility more slowly. This also generally only needs a Level 2 qualification which lowers the barrier to entry.

You'll get to interact with the member base and like the self-employed PT build relationships that could become potential clients someday.

Online Coach

With the rise of social media platforms, there are more and more personal trainers offering services over the internet. There are many benefits for this as you could work with people all over the world, be able to work wherever you wish and have very little overheads. It's not all Rosie though and can appear to be easy! This is certainly not the case. I'd say this is maybe not the right first step for many as you'll want to develop yourself face to face with ways to communicate and coach before heading online if this is a route you'd like to take. Something that is sometimes overlooked is this option is a lonely one, much of your time will be spent by yourself with only your laptop and phone to keep you company so if you want to get into PT because you want to be social, then stick to the face to face stuff.

That's more traditional coaching routes now let's look at some more back of house roles which are becoming more and more common as companies grow across the industry.

Membership Sales /Front of House

All gyms need a certain number of members so these teams are in place to grow their member bases and then retain them. All the big gym brands will have sales teams even if not at every single location and more at central hubs to service their gyms. You'll be responsible for calling and following up on leads who have enquired about joining the facility. Showing them around and selling them into an intro offer or full membership, depending on the model sold. For us we sell all our first time leads into a 30-day trial as it gives them the opportunity to see what we're all about at SweatIT. But we have targets of trials sold each month and then we aim to convert a high percentage of these at the end of their 30-days. This can be a high pressured role as is very much based upon the performance of your sales figures as an individual or team.

Gym Manager

This can be a great step if you're looking to start your own gym. Could be a great way to dip your toe in and see if you like having all the stresses of owning a gym without the personal commitment. In some instances, I wish I'd had this opportunity before opening the doors on the first SweatIT but this experience maybe would have meant not taking these steps to where we are today.

Running a gym for someone else is going to give you all the tools to be able to go and do it yourself one day. You'll be in charge of the entire team and have to answer to an area manager, investor or boss on performance figures of memberships sold or expenses.

Gym Owner

For some, this would be the chosen destination and more and more are doing it younger and younger - although this decision shouldn't be taken on lightly. I was 29 when we opened the doors to our first SweatIT and I had some experience of running teams outside of fitness in more of a corporate setting. This didn't stop me from taking it all on blindly so I'd urge everyone to do their homework. Get a plan together and understand your product before opening up. It's not as easy as finding a space and filling it with all your favourite kit. Your kit must serve your plan so how much space do you need to provide your chosen service and product?

Trust me I've been there as I've changed models countless times and bought and sold kit that I didn't need more times than I can remember.

There's not anything I wouldn't change from my past experiences. Owning a gym for me, provides me with the life I wish to live and I will have an established gym for many years to come because of my effort, decisions and sacrifices.

If you wish to coach full time then beware of the type and size of gym you wish to have or maybe consider not having one as the added stress of finding members, keeping members and running a team isn't for everyone.

It will always cost more to open, it will always cost more to run and just because your open people do not just turn up. It's a slow process so do not go into gym ownership as I did with your eyes closed. I've navigated my way through it, okay but I've made countless mistakes, which if I'd taken my time with following some of the above options could maybe have been avoided.

So there are 8 different routes that could be taken when becoming a Personal Trainer. None of which are perfect and everyone's going to be different. I'd look at what's in your area as in gyms and facilities which you could be a part of. Gain an understanding of the business model, their expectations and values, do they comply with your own and what are the opportunities within them?

From here you can make the best decision as to which is the best route for you. Also, don't be afraid to look further afield. What is a reasonable distance to travel? And is the travel worth it?

All in all, being a personal trainer is highly rewarding and plays an extremely important role in peoples lives. If you love helping people then get qualified and see where your new career could take you.

Want to know more about our Level 3 Personal Training Course?

Considering a career change or starting one then look no further than SweatIT Academy.