Q and A: How Do I Become a Personal Trainer/Fitness Instructor?
29 01 2009
I´d like to know how you can get into being a personal trainer or how to give fitness classes (i love yoga and kickboxing, for example). I´m aware most gyms will require you get a certification and I´ve looked up some online courses (as i do not live in the US and apparently we don´t have many here) but I was wondering what else you need, like… how do you create a good class or stuff like that. Any ideas?
Thanx
Angie
To find out how I became a personal trainer, head to the FAQS page.
ACE offers a lot of certifications, like Group Fitness Instructor and Yoga instructor. Other national certifications (NFPT, ISSA, ASCM, etc) offer the same variations of these, too.
I don’t know much about group fitness instructors, so anyone that is/was one, please pipe up.
As a personal trainer, there a few ways you can go:
Self Employed, In-Home Personal Trainer: This means you work for you, and only you. You train clients eityher in your home, their home, or very rarely, a studio you rent. This allows you to make the most money, as you can charge whatever you want, and keep it all. Its the most work though, because you have to either travel to your clients, or keep a really clean house (not for me), find and keep your clients which is way harder than it sounds (marketting, invoices, policies, waivers, random schedule, as you have to work around their’s) and you have to have insurance in case someone gets hurt. Insurance isn’t very expensive (I think ACE’s is 275 a year for 1 million coverage- don’t quote me on that though) and whatever company you are certified through usually offers it through them. Its a lot of work, but you have the freedom to run your business the way you want.
Independent contractor, but in a gym: Some gyms will let you train in their facility, but for yourself. Its exactly like training in-home except you use a gym. Gym’s are usually willing to do this because the client signs up for a membership with the gym, but you have to draw up an iron-clad contract, handle all the taxes, still have your own insurance, and in most cases pay a fee to the gym- kind of like rent.
Train for a gym: You can can be a trainer through a gym ( 24 hour fitness, etc.) and technically be an employee. A big part of this is meeting quotas and selling memberships and sessions- most of it is sales. You get paid commission so in order to make good money you have to keep bringing in more clients, which doesn’t leave much room to actually get to know and program for your clients.
Train for a studio: This is what I do. i work for Fitness Together, which is a private one-on-one training studio. Im an employee, so pretty much as far as training goes, i show up, and I train. the clients are handed to you, there is no sales (unless you want to, which I don’t.) You really get to know your clients this way, and work is guarenteed- you show up for your shift and whatever clients are scheduled during that block of time you train. You don’t have to follow your clients around, or schedule around when they can come in.
Different strokes for different folks, but I like my gig best.
Anyone have any advice for a group instructor? I have no experience with it, so I don’t know how you go about setting up a class, or getting in with a gym, or if you are their employee or a private contractor. Little help?
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Interesting information! I always wondered about this although I have no interest in becoming a trainser myself. Good to know, though!
And just wanted to let you know I just put up my post that touched about my protein problem.
Thanks again!
Okay this is borderline freaky but I JUST posted today about wanting to because a personal trainer. Seriously.
I’d never heard of/knew about the training for a studio. I guess I always think of trainers having to work at a gym. I like the idea of not having to “sell yourself,” though – I’m not a salesman therefore I would have about 2 clients.
Inquiring minds always wanted to know
Right now I’m a personal potty trainer to two twin tornados 
ha! funny. I am currently training to be a Group Step instructor (well I’m signed up for the training, Feb). I’m in Canada and there’s a big organizing group that has requirements. But I’d recommend talking to an instructor. Ask your yoga instructor what they needed to do. Mine has completely hooked me up with the training and a job when I’m done. They do like to help people!
Cool info and hilarious picture
I got some info from Erica from Itzy’s Kitchen on group fitness stuff- she does les mills. I’m lookin into it all!
Thanks Kelly. I sometimes think about becoming a personal trainer, and I always hear good things about ACE. Question – do they have any sort of nutritional training? I’d love to do something that combines exercise with nutrition without going back to school for 4 years. I think this could really compliment my massage therapy practice as I work mostly on athletes.
omg hilarious cartoon.
i am definitely interested in being a personal trainer.. and a group class instructor. i let mine lapse horribly.. 7 years anyone?? and need to get back into it!
the boyfriend and i are joining a gym next week- i am going to get in a lot of practice being his personal trainer.. lol
Very interesting information! I never realized about all of these options. I considered being a personal trainer back in the day but now I may want to go more into the nutritional direction. Still weighing my options!
This is helpful even for those of us who are more interested in hiring a personal trainer than being one. No offense to trainers who work for gyms, for example, but I’d prefer not to train with someone who has to constantly try to sell me moremoremore in order to meet quotas…
Ugg…still working on my ACE certification, still scared to actually take the test.
i’ve taken a few different certification tests as well as the ACE PT test and found it to be very common sense, don’t be scared of it, hehe. The best thing for learning to be a PT is any sort of training that involves some sort of “hands-on aspect” so you can apply what you’ve read in dem’ books
I passed the ACE PT certification 10 years ago. It was very easy, very simplistic.
Since then I have graduated with a BS in Exercise Physiology and a MS in Athletic Training. Knowing all I know now, I would be VERY skeptical about hiring a trainer who passed the ACE certification exam – or most other PT certifications which do not require a college degree in the field – without having a degree in the field.
Clubs also do not pay well, and have very little requirements of their trainers besides having passed a short multiple choice exam. The requirements 24-Hour fitness has for its trainers is minimum.
I am 31, have my own business, train clients in their homes, and make a six-figure salary. I don’t feel like I am “behind” in any way due to spending the time to graduate with an advanced degree in sports medicine. I feel like it was worth the time and effort.
Great article Kelly. How do you get a job at a studio? It must be more competitive than getting a gym job. Is there a job search web site, or do you have to know somebody? I have worked for gyms in the past and was totally turned off by the sales requirements.
Hanni- I actually found it on craigslist. the private places dont really do huge national campaigns or anything, so their jobs usually arent posted on their websites. but i remember the ad i answered didnt say anything about it actually being fitness together- it just said something along the lines of “training, but no sales- clients are handed to you” which sounded perfect for me.
fitness together is the only franchise i know of that opporates this way, but sometimes privately owned stuidos hire the same way as well. Fitness together is a good bet, though, if sales and findign your own clients isnt your thing