The Personal Trainer Career Path

Becoming a personal trainer is a career path that can be massively beneficial on two fronts:  fitness and finances.  We will call that the Double F front.  By getting serious about your own fitness, you can not only get into the best shape of your life, but you can create a financially successful job and career path that is sustainable and rewarding all in the same breath. Before we jump into the positive whys around a personal trainer salary, lets run through a quick checklist of steps to becoming a personal trainer.

   1. Decide if you have what it takes
         * does your personality and work ethic match the job requirements?
   2. Chose a certification
         * what levels and areas will you be certified?  
   3. Chose a specialty
         * how will you differentiate yourself?
   4. Get a job at a club or gym
         * its the fastest way to get plugged into your local health and fitness scene
   5. Setting up your own business clientele
         * register your business entity, name, legalities, business cards and even a website
   6. Marketing yourself
         * utilize free marketing tools of social networks, online forums and Google listings
   7. Improving your skills and education
         * continue to hone your skills, teaching and A.B.L - Always Be Learning
   8. Become indispensable to your clientele    
         * work, talent, skill, experience all = hustle your butt off -- be your clients “rock”
   9. Other areas of business besides a club or gym
         * corporate fitness, cruises, resorts, spas, and online training are just a few options of additional business channels
  10. Additional work beyond personal training
         * consulting, fitness writing, athletic coaching, group fitness and maybe one day your own gym -- all options of expanding your business past personal training

Now that you’ve said “check” to our 10 item checklist -- let’s talk the good stuff:  the money.  According to Payscale, the national averages for personal trainers is $12.04-$24.54 hourly and $24,393-49.958 annually.  Furthermore, the national pay data shows that leaving the gym behind and going into business for yourself can boost your income significantly!  Not convinced?  Let’s compare the salaries of the two of the most common job types with two personal trainer types:

Waiter/Waitress $12,937-$28,183        Personal Trainer $26,258-$58,346

Sales Associate $17,828-$39,237        Director, Fitness Club $33,332-$52,070

The lowest salaried personal trainer makes as much as the highest paid waiter/waitress!  And the high end director of a fitness club makes almost $13,000 more than the highest paid sales associate!  Becoming a personal trainer is a win-win on the Double F front -- and we’ve got the numbers to prove it!

Personal Trainer Salary Snapshot powered by NFPT