Online Personal Training Certificate NICE

[ponyfitness]

I call BULLSHIT.

I stopped personal training about 3 years ago and there is NO WAY IN HELL a personal trainer with any old bullshit certification and ZERO EXPERIENCE, who doesn't have to know anything about personal training or be responsible for getting his own clients will get paid 16 dollars per hour by a gym where the PT department is run by a NINETEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. I don't give a damn what state in the union we are talking about here.

.... especially in THIS economy.

Do you mean that the rate is too high? Because I made 2x that when I was just starting out and make 3-4x that now, even with the facility owner taking a cut.

 

[Bikini Mod]

Do you mean that the rate is too high? Because I made 2x that when I was just starting out and make 3-4x that now, even with the facility owner taking a cut.

You made 32$ an hour THEN and now you make $64? What the hell does the gym charge the client and where do you live?

 

[ponyfitness]

You made 32$ an hour THEN and now you make $64? What the hell does the gym charge the client and where do you live?

The gym starting out charged $75 an hour - now depending on the client I charge anywhere from $80-$110 and keep 65%. This is in Toronto, Canada - $75 an hour is the going rate even at chain gyms where they hand you a trainer who has zero experience.

However, I have been doing this for 9 years, have TONS of knowledge and referrals under my belt. I train people to qualify for the Boston Marathon and Ironman triathlons and have a five year track record of people hitting their PB's. Plus I rehab injuries in affiliation with a couple of physios. Regular weight loss people I just pass off to others because it doesn't motivate me.

One of my current clients is 53 and came to me ten weeks ago with a piriformis/sciatic injury that had her barely able to sit at her desk, and now she's back on the court 2x per week fully functional. That's what I do this for.

 

[Bikini Mod]

The gym starting out charged $75 an hour - now depending on the client I charge anywhere from $80-$110 and keep 65%. This is in Toronto, Canada - $75 an hour is the going rate even at chain gyms where they hand you a trainer who has zero experience.

However, I have been doing this for 9 years, have TONS of knowledge and referrals under my belt. I train people to qualify for the Boston Marathon and Ironman triathlons and have a five year track record of people hitting their PB's. Plus I rehab injuries in affiliation with a couple of physios. Regular weight loss people I just pass off to others because it doesn't motivate me.

One of my current clients is 53 and came to me ten weeks ago with a piriformis/sciatic injury that had her barely able to sit at her desk, and now she's back on the court 2x per week fully functional. That's what I do this for.

BRAVO!!! I remember the tremendous sense of accomplishment when my clients would reach their goals, many times they would surpass them. Every now and again someone would fall by the wayside, but such is life.

That is Canadian dollars then... I see. I am not up on matters of currency so 9 years ago I would like to know the equivalent in USD.

But I do believe you that after 9 years and clearly CARING ABOUT LEARNING AND HELPING SO MANY CLIENTS that you have no trouble commanding higher pay.

The pay in the US is ridiculously low for any trainer starting out and gets marginal slowly. There are those that excel and actually go on to become fairly successfull but the road to that success is long and hard. Many burn out long before they get there and simply go on to different career paths.

 

[ponyfitness]

I know, it is actually the same here depending on the place. One gym I worked at three years ago got bought (Bally's when it went under) and the new owners came in and said that they were going to charge $75 an hour still but only pay trainers starting out $18. I laughed at them and walked out, taking all my clients with me.

The guy I work for now does it fair - even split at the beginning and then if they renew (which is obviously because of the trainer) it goes up to 65%. I also run a coaching service where I keep 75% of monthly fees because he does nothing except promotion and marketing.

 

[nangiggles]

no shit its a waste of time its the internet

Actually some of as have normal/standard social skills and actually get to learn from other people's advice and experience on this board or on the internet and general...

LOL @ you being a 21yr old posting on a bodybuilding forum you "bought" ur $100 degree to work at some bogus gym and bang a 19 year old..... we're all fucking proud of you kudos ur doing the right thing, u ROCK!!!

 

[Bikini Mod]

I know, it is actually the same here depending on the place. One gym I worked at three years ago got bought (Bally's when it went under) and the new owners came in and said that they were going to charge $75 an hour still but only pay trainers starting out $18. I laughed at them and walked out, taking all my clients with me.

The guy I work for now does it fair - even split at the beginning and then if they renew (which is obviously because of the trainer) it goes up to 65%. I also run a coaching service where I keep 75% of monthly fees because he does nothing except promotion and marketing.

Yup, the gym where I worked and the others where I looked for employment afterwards charged the clients anywhere from 75$ to 100$ per hour but the trainer would only get anywhere from 10$ to $22.50 and that was only when you trained the client and based on how much you sold that month. If that client bought a package where they were locked in at say 65$ p/hour then regardless of which trainer inherited them (there was a pretty big turn-around in trainers as you could imagine because the pay was so fucking crappy) that trainer would only get 10$ for training that person and it was PER SESSION. So if you quit, got canned, or that person stopped coming for whatever reason YOU DIDNT GET PAID.

As for taking your clients with you - IMPOSSIBLE. The gym made it near impossible for anyone to get out of their membership contract.

I interviewed with many gyms and different "train the client at home" franchizes and the pay was equally shitty. If I would have decided to try and get my own clients and train them in their homes then I would have to consider:

1. Liability insurance (which was not financially feasible for me at the time).

2. Advertising, etc (I could barely support myself and my kids.)

3. Gas, tolls, wear and tear on my car - travel time to and from. Single mom of four in the middle of bitter custody battle; just didn't work for me.

No one at ANY GYM (big or small) would let you bring your own clients in to train them, whether they were members or not. They had their own PT staff. You could skate by a bit here and there shortterm but it doesn't take long for them to catch on.

 

[ponyfitness]

You obviously had a different and tougher experience than I did. I have my own liability which costs me $300 a year plus what my certs give me just for backup. My clients laughed when the gym threatened them because they were paying $75 a month for their membership and $600 a month for me - which would you rather sacrifice, especially when I could work them out at home or elsewhere just as effectively?

Advertising - referrals and word of mouth. Free. Plus I networked like mad.

 

[Bikini Mod]

You obviously had a different and tougher experience than I did. I have my own liability which costs me $300 a year plus what my certs give me just for backup. My clients laughed when the gym threatened them because they were paying $75 a month for their membership and $600 a month for me - which would you rather sacrifice, especially when I could work them out at home or elsewhere just as effectively?

Advertising - referrals and word of mouth. Free. Plus I networked like mad.

I'm glad it worked out for you. Your clients obviously recieve tremendous benefit from training with you.

It KILLS ME some of the shit I see the grossly incompetent trainers telling their clients to do, not watching/coirrecting their form, obviously not giving a shit about their client.

I am also glad that things worked out for me the way they did. (Well, in many regards, but not all LOL) I am much happier with the way things are going for me professionally now.

 

[jnevin]

oh noez, you didn't go there!!! Team CWBM are gonna crush you!!! don't you know you have to be donald trump and ronnie coleman combined to teach proper bench press technique or what set scheme to go with!! unless you work at a manhattan gym charging 3k an hour, have a business degree from harvard, or have experience rehabbing fatties then you'll never make it as a trainer...it's just too complex! brace yourself bro, you're about to get pwned

Honestly dude, you really don't know what you're talking about when it comes to actually being a trainer. The ex-wifer's been one for over 10 years and her lasting clients aren't people that just wanted to get in shape. Just about everyone I know that has that goal either bought a package of 10 or so sessions to get ready for a wedding or has gone to a friend to help them get into it. Her lasting clients are people with MS, back problems, COPD, emphyzema (sp?), arthritis, heart issues, etc. They go because they need a change in lifestyle and they need someone that knows how to improve their health and quality of life. She has a good amount of people that go to stay fit and don't have the motivation or time to do it unless they make a financial committment. If you go to Gold's or a lot of other chain gyms you'll see shitty trainers training people the wrong way. Gold's trainers get paid $7 per hour, BTW. Some of the trainers at the ex's gym are making over $60 per hour, depending on their certs and level of education. You're comparing training to what someone could get out of a Muscle & Fitness magazine, not what a good trainer does.