Career change

I have always had an intense interest in fitness, but foolishly didn't choose a related major in college.  I stayed involved throughout though, and spent nearly as much time studying fitness/nutrition as my major.  Graduated college, got a job thats very physically active but obviously not a substitute.  Got tired of it, got a NASM cert for some credibility last winter, and now I'm trying to figure out how to get started.  So my question for those in the industry; how did you get started?  Is it necessary to start in a typical gym environment?  I'd like to eventually be in more a of small studio/small group training environment, but feel that would be a tough place to start in without some clients under my belt.  Thoughts?  Ideas?

This is an open question to anyone with the experience to answer it, and I'm sure more questions will be raised the more answers I get, such is the nature of this sort of thing.  Thank you for any insights you can offer, I live in Connecticut if anyone has more regional advice.

-Bill

Have you read this post?

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/10653-finally-i-did-it/#entry103336

You and are somewhat similar although I only developed an interest in fitness later in life.

I'm not clear though if you are looking to start a general PT career or specialize in gymnastics training?

Gymnastics coaching has its own certifications and I would suggest pursuing those if it is of interest,

although I agree that pure ability counts for a lot too - although neither makes someone a great instructor.

NASM I believe is a good certification that a lot of gyms in the USA look for in their PTs. So i you 

are a reasonably good instructor I don't see why you can't cut your teeth in that setting.

It's also possible to gain your own external clients at the same time. The gym you are in may allow you

to use their facilities for a fee, or you may be able to work in private homes or at other facilities.

Eventually, specializing in an area may help differentiate you from the mass of trainers, although

I don't think it's advisable to do at first. I do think you should set your sites on getting a couple of years of experience in any environment, pay your dues, and not be overly particular. Once you have some chops, then set your sights on bigger things.  Certification is the cost of admission, and gets you in the door, but that's all. 

I am not a PT though have a number of friends in the business. It can certainly lead to some great things,

depending on the person. 

Location in Connecticut is a big concern. Where are you?

Michael - I did indeed read that post, inspirational and realistic.  The little bit of information I've gleaned from other forums regarding getting started seem to line up with that; the road is rewarding but difficult.

Future - I am certainly not looking to be a skills coach, but feel incorporating gymnastics-style training into most workouts is beneficial.  For the moment though I think a more general approach would be most appropriate for me, as I develop my own skills and attend certification courses I can expand into more specific areas.  I have found a few gyms near me (one more progressive with movement, others typical weights/treadmill style) looking for trainers and have applied.  My initial plan was always to work part time at this while holding down my other job, slowly building experience and clients before going full.  That may still be the best option, that my current job makes keeping a schedule somewhat difficult.

Nic - I currently live in Branford which is on the shore near New Haven, though I grew up and have family in Cheshire, which affords me a kind of base camp away from my apartment should I need it.  There seem to be a reasonable amount of opportunities in the area, the problem is simply finding the right fit for what I would like to accomplish.  But, perhaps I am over thinking this and the best route is indeed to build experience in a weights/cardio setting.

I live in Coventry, I know where Branford is . It is typically easier to start in a weight / cardio setting to find your identity as a trainer and get experience.

The most common route is getting a job at a local gym and building up from there.  Be warned, the pay is not pretty until you get a decent bunch of clients.

The best way to start is to become passionate, and pay attention to sports movements.

When you know what certain sports require, you will know what to work on. When you know what injuries are prevalent in certain sports, you will know what kind of specific strength testing to do, and how to program in a way that reduces that risk.

Learn to explore your client: Become fascinated by what they want, so that you can find out how to give it to them. Simply paying attention to your client, and putting their goals first, is a big, big part of success. Add in things to protect them along the way, and they will appreciate it.

I realize that is very general, but the more you learn the better you become. You have to learn about more than just the body, because your clients are people, not mindless sacks of muscle, bone, and fat (regardless of how they may act)

Learning motivational interviewing techniques is a VERY good idea, because it will teach you a lot about how to guide people towards the changes that will get them what they want.

Hi Bill,

I'm in Australia so it may not all apply to you.

I started a year and a half ago part time in a gym. I decided that I would take a moral stand and only teach what I thought was worth teaching, or what would benefit my students. I spent a year in a commercial gym, and business was slow. I was forever referring people to other trainers who wanted to thrash themselves with exercise that wouldn't help them in any way. Some clients left even though I had helped then fix a lot of their major problems because I wasn't thrashing them with biggest loser style exercises.

I left the gym after a year and decided to start outdoor classes. It's building slowly but things are picking up. I now have a job teaching movnat power and agility workshops in the Asia Pacific region and I am looking to expand my outdoor classes and eventually get my own studio. It's taken time and a lot of patience and I could have easily sold out and has heaps of people pay me too much to have them sit on a leg extension machine and not achieve anything. I am really glad I stuck to my guns and did things this way instead of sacrificing my morals for money. I would have never had this opportunity with movnat and I would feel like a used car salesman. Patience is a virtue.

Good on you Craig. Not many people in the business have values and patience like you.

Craig is right on there. Do not work someplace you do not believe in. That says a lot about you also. We've had trainers come to the gym looking for jobs and the owner who is a good friend always asks my take on them. We have not hired any yet. This industry can be tough and it can really test your patience. Took me about 10 years to start reaching my goal, not that all the time before was bad but it was not easy all the time, and I worked other jobs here and there because I refuse to work on quota sales, nor will I work anyplace that cold calls. Be who you are and your clients will thank you for it.

Also, learn everything you can. Never, ever stop. Even things you do not plan to use, get an idea about them so when people ask you have something to say, might not be a lot but it keeps you up to date on the going ons. People have short attention spans and try to bounce from one type of training to another. Annoying..

Do not be afraid to fire a client. Sometimes it will not work, take the loss and move on. People who see me know they are going to work, I'm infamous as a form nazi and for being tough, but if they work I will give them all the support I can.

I am now starting to live my dream and work in circles I thought were still out of reach. Stay focused and true, you will get there.

Indeed.

As cliche as it sounds, you have to follow your heart. Having the courage to actually live as you believe you should... that is what will make you successful.

There is no way to find out quite what that means without simply starting where you are now, and letting your conscience guide you as you move through your career.

The only other thing I can suggest is to make friends who do the same. Doesn't have to be in your career, just find the same type of people. By living in your own way, you will find others who live in their own way, and this will be the start of your real life.

At least, that's what has happened to me over the years.

Joshua Naterman said:

Indeed.

 

As cliche as it sounds, you have to follow your heart. Having the courage to actually live as you believe you should... that is what will make you successful.

 

There is no way to find out quite what that means without simply starting where you are now, and letting your conscience guide you as you move through your career.

 

The only other thing I can suggest is to make friends who do the same. Doesn't have to be in your career, just find the same type of people. By living in your own way, you will find others who live in their own way, and this will be the start of your real life.

 

At least, that's what has happened to me over the years.

This is a big truth Joshua; very well said.  Doing life correctly is a very individual thing, which is why we all have to stumble our way through wrong things until we start to understand what the right things are for us.  The beginnings of right things are just about always a bit scary, but once you're on the road you build up steam fast.  Very cliched as Josh said, but true nonetheless.  I wish you lots of luck Bill, its never a wrong time (or too late for that matter) to live how you want to live.      

Nic/Klaudius/Josh/Craig/Crunluath - Thank you for all the input, I appreciated every sentence, every word.  Much of my apprehension has been over two specific things; money and flexibility within the gym environment.  Reading through your responses I see that these problems are legitimate, though far from insurmountable obstacles.  I am by no means living some grand lifestyle, and my current job pays just enough to allow me to save a little every month; so I do worry about the first few months as a trainer, which sound to be particularly difficult.  However, I do truly love thinking/talking/doing all things movement, a trait I hope potential clients will be able to see.  Combined with my general interest in helping people, I imagine getting clients would be but a small speed bump for me.

The other issue is probably the one that scares me most; getting stuck in a rut at a big gym counting reps for clients on nautilus machines all day.  It is not my intention to sound elitist in any way here, machines can certainly have their place in a program, but I worry about falling into a sell-sell-sell/3-sets-of-ten-circuit-workout environment.  I have no interest in pushing training sessions all day, or in being confined to a gyms pre-approved program.  The more I read the more I realize there are SO MANY methods that can bring extraordinary results to people; improving mobility/strength/power/capacity.  But they all have one thing in common, their application MUST be tailored to the individual.  A blanket program does a disservice to those looking for help.

Touching on the lifestyle design bit, this is very much step 1 in how I see my life playing out.  I've finally had enough of the same-day-over-and-over manual labor route (8 years); I have such a desire to learn and apply new things I simply couldn't justify continuing down that path.  I have several options for extra income should I need it, and think I'm ready as ever to jump ship.  Sorry for the stream-of-consciousness style of writing, I know it can be tiring.  I think I'll simply wrap up with what I've taken away from this; the best way to get started is to simply get started, be yourself as you skills grow, and opportunities will reveal themselves in time.  Certainly no surprise, and not revolutionary, but the best advice rarely is.  I thank everyone who has contributed so far, hearing from people who have walked the path truly helps.

Crunluath said:

This is a big truth Joshua; very well said.  Doing life correctly is a very individual thing, which is why we all have to stumble our way through wrong things until we start to understand what the right things are for us.  The beginnings of right things are just about always a bit scary, but once you're on the road you build up steam fast.  Very cliched as Josh said, but true nonetheless.  I wish you lots of luck Bill, its never a wrong time (or too late for that matter) to live how you want to live.      

Never too late, indeed.

I ran into a few ladies and some friends of theirs maybe 18 months ago, at one of the local pubs. Just hanging out, we started talking. School and such came up, and they asked me where I went to school. So I told them, and told them of my plans. One of the girls, who was a doctor already, said " Aren't you a little old to start medical school?" I laughed for a moment, and replied "Well, the way I see it, med school takes 4 years to complete, no matter how old you are when you start. Doesn't matter if I'm 22 or 32." She looked at me a bit differently after that, and everyone was like huh, that's true, isn't it...

Sometimes people will say thoughtless things like that. They can sting sometimes, but it is important to understand that your path is YOUR path, and that it doesn't matter when you start, or where you finish. The only thing that matters is whether you are living a life you are proud of.

BlLL said:

Nic/Klaudius/Josh/Craig/Crunluath - Thank you for all the input, I appreciated every sentence, every word.  Much of my apprehension has been over two specific things; money and flexibility within the gym environment.  Reading through your responses I see that these problems are legitimate, though far from insurmountable obstacles.  I am by no means living some grand lifestyle, and my current job pays just enough to allow me to save a little every month; so I do worry about the first few months as a trainer, which sound to be particularly difficult.  However, I do truly love thinking/talking/doing all things movement, a trait I hope potential clients will be able to see.  Combined with my general interest in helping people, I imagine getting clients would be but a small speed bump for me.

 

The other issue is probably the one that scares me most; getting stuck in a rut at a big gym counting reps for clients on nautilus machines all day.  It is not my intention to sound elitist in any way here, machines can certainly have their place in a program, but I worry about falling into a sell-sell-sell/3-sets-of-ten-circuit-workout environment.  I have no interest in pushing training sessions all day, or in being confined to a gyms pre-approved program.  The more I read the more I realize there are SO MANY methods that can bring extraordinary results to people; improving mobility/strength/power/capacity.  But they all have one thing in common, their application MUST be tailored to the individual.  A blanket program does a disservice to those looking for help.

 

Touching on the lifestyle design bit, this is very much step 1 in how I see my life playing out.  I've finally had enough of the same-day-over-and-over manual labor route (8 years); I have such a desire to learn and apply new things I simply couldn't justify continuing down that path.  I have several options for extra income should I need it, and think I'm ready as ever to jump ship.  Sorry for the stream-of-consciousness style of writing, I know it can be tiring.  I think I'll simply wrap up with what I've taken away from this; the best way to get started is to simply get started, be yourself as you skills grow, and opportunities will reveal themselves in time.  Certainly no surprise, and not revolutionary, but the best advice rarely is.  I thank everyone who has contributed so far, hearing from people who have walked the path truly helps.

Not everyone wants the same thing, my friend.

Some people will want exactly what you told them: 3 sets of 10 reps for all major body parts. Even here, you get to shine! Teach them what good form is, and make sure they know what injuries they will avoid by focusing on perfect form more than big weights. The weights will come with time. You may end up teaching them something, and then maybe they'll practice it for a month and then want something different, so you can make it for them. Again, teach them the best ways to do things. Explain that maybe they should spend some time doing arch holds and back extensions before doing deadlifts, and here's why: *explain*. Then, after a little while of performing deadlifts, they can do those neat kettlebell swings they saw in Youtube.

See what I mean? You will find out that everyone has different dreams. Asking simple things like "What are some things that you have seen people do, either in real life or on youtube, that YOU would love to be able to do?" Guess what: Their answer is going to tell you EXACTLY how to program for them, and this is one of the secrets to making people think you're the most awesome trainer on the planet.

Nothing is all roses and afternoon tea at the start, but you can enjoy the rougher times too. Going into the future knowing that there will be difficult times, and that this is ok, may help you stay on your path, and that's how you'll get where you want to go.

Besides, you've got a diverse support group of people here to bounce ideas off of, and share your failures and successes with You will experience both, and that's ok. We all do

You're going to have a hard time not succeeding as long as you follow your passion.

A lot of people think you need to have all kinds of things planned out to succeed, but my experience has shown me that the MOST important thing is to commit, and do what it takes to get where you want to go.

It's not all that different from what we do here... PE1 comes before PE2, so don't think about SE4, or even PE3, right now! Focus on where you are today, and how to make the next step. Commit to that, and keep doing that as you move forward.

You know the old saying: Where there is a Will, there is a Way!

I'm a little over 6 months into my new job of "personal trainer" at this point and it is certainly a rocky path. I think (hope?) that most of this can be attributed to the specific environment I find myself in. I'm in a gym that's showing it's age; having transitioned from a tennis/racquetball club (complete with bar), to a mostly free-weights, to a mostly cardio and machines with a soccer field facility. It lacks any strong identity. A Planet Fitness has just opened up nearby in a much better location, and the town's median income is 30% below the state average. This has made new client acquisition particularly trying. The amount of selling required in the position is large, and the amount of training is relatively small. The good news is that the clients I have now seem to be in it for the long haul, though the only sessions I seem to be selling are 30 mins 2-3 times a week.

So I come to this forum once again for advice. I am in the process of looking for opportunities in, what should be, better areas. I'm planning on being much more cautious and pragmatic when it comes to things like "expected salary". To those of you who have walked a similar path I ask:

What were the first 6 months like for you, compared to the next 6 months?

Was your first facility advertising personal training?

Did they provide marketing and selling support?

How much of your job revolved around making calls to members?

I'm trying to figure out if maybe I'm just in a bad situation and need to change locations, or if starting up is going to be this hard anywhere and I should just stick it out until things turn around. The other few trainers who work here (4 independent, 1 employee like me) all have clients outside of this gym as well, or another job/pension that helps make the pay acceptable.

I know I have more questions that I'm forgetting now, so I hope nobody minds if I add more as I go along. I just want to see what other people working in the field have experienced or are experiencing.

i'm not a personal trainer, so i don't have any of my personal experiences to share, but mike mahler, a pretty well-known kettlebell coach, had some podcasts on his website for aspiring personal trainers.  i listened to one of the podcasts a long time ago, and it was advice about making websites to help bring in clients.  

i think he makes a lot of money, so give it a look and see if it helps you out.