Personal trainers of TRP, what is your life like and advice for 22yo?

gains_o_clock · 2018-08-03T11:25:34+00:00

I'm expecting you to get a lot of "not a personal trainer but..." answers so I'll start off with one of my own. I think first of all you should get some schooling on the subject so you have something to show for yourself/show you know what you're talking about essentially. Next you should start applying at local gyms in your area (like one off gyms) and also apply at chain places. The pay will probably be different depending on which. Before you do this you can probably talk to some and ask how they got into the business and what they'd do differently if they would start again/would they start again if they went back. Just my two cents lmk if anything seems off with my answer so I can elaborate and/or learn if it's wrong haha

atticusfinch1973 · 2018-08-03T15:02:46+00:00

To qualify, I've been a trainer for 18 years and deal with high level injury rehab cases and advanced bodybuilders. Have run my own successful business for over ten years and have my own gym.

Turnover for trainers is big because most of them get into it for the wrong reasons. You have to be okay with getting up at 5am every day and actually enjoying working with people who are regular home bodies and joe blue collar people. You won't train athletes and celebrities 98% of the time as much as Instagram might have you thinking otherwise. Pay rate is low and the hours suck. You have to actually LOVE YOUR JOB. God forbid.

Starting out - education, education, learn everything you can. Once you have that down and a couple of years of experience, find a niche you enjoy and focus on that. Mine was injury rehab and it's been very good to me. I make six figures working 30 hours a week because I'm really bloody good at my job. Work at a chain gym for a couple of years and build up a proper clientele, reputation and educate yourself constantly.

Don't worry about social media. Your life blood is referrals which means you treat your clients well and get results and you will never have to worry about business. I have zero social media presence and a waiting list.

If you need more info feel free to DM me.

TehJimmyy · 2018-08-03T14:04:31+00:00

Personal train yourself , get into some fitness subreddit and reading wendler,ripetoe books.Most PT are trashcans but there are exceptions.

TanSuperman · 2018-08-04T01:13:28+00:00

I was a personal trainer from 2015 - 2018, I stopped a few months ago once I finished my degree. I'm currently 22 years old and it worked super well with school and maintaining other responsibilities as the gym I worked at I could basically make up my own schedule, so I could work before and after classes and just leave if I had no clients, although that technically wasn't allowed.

On terms of the job, if was very enjoyable, I love health and enjoyed getting to teach people my passion, the pay was great, I was a pretty good trainer and had clients paying $75-100 an hour and I usually made about $20-25 per hour, a few other trainers had been training as their career their whole life, nothing fancy but for them I guess it got the job done, however recently that got a major pay cut and it left the trainers who rely on the pay to feed their families out without much help. Honestly, I would say, getting into training is good, as a side or weekend hustle but definitely try and work on something for the long term, feel free to ask any other questions, I only trained for three years but was always very business focussed

DubbleFUPAwitCheez · 2018-08-03T15:45:03+00:00

Not a pt but I have been offered the job before. Keep in mind that your body is your business card. There are different types of clientel. If youre dumpy looking then old, fat and the undedicated will work with you. If youre in great shape the younger will come to you. Where good money is, if you can get it, is training teens with rich parents that have hopes of a sports star. They also have the longest retention rate, if you do well enough.

UnbreakableFrame · 2018-08-03T16:23:12+00:00

I did freelance personal training for about a year. Don't do this. It's a liability. I did this to sort of test the waters before I got certified (which is required by nearly every gym before they will hire you).

Personal training is interesting. As with most forms of coaching, it often isn't quite about the thing it's about. Training successfully is much less about educating people on how to exercise and much more about somehow convincing them to be consistent with it. A lot of it is about setting up the correct expectations and just teaching them how to not injure themselves.

I see a lot of personal trainers who don't teach their clients to focus on building strong fundamentals. Don't be that guy. If I see another 20 year old being told to throw a medicine ball at the wall, I'm gonna lose my effing mind.

Title	Personal trainers of TRP, what is your life like and advice for 22yo?
Author	RickSanchezD99
Upvotes	13
Comments	9
Date	August 3, 2018 11:11 AM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/948oij/personal_trainers_of_trp_what_is_your_life_like/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/personal-trainers-of-trp-what-is-your-life-like.129283 https://theredarchive.com/post/129283

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