In what state is the fitness industry at the moment?

eskimo

I'm about to embark on a career path into the fitness industry. To start, I'm going to study to be a personal trainer and fitness instructor.

I don't know what state the fitness industry is in at the moment. What do you think my job prospects will be like once I have my full qualification?

Is Ireland a good place to be at the mo? Would I have to go abroad to get regular work, and if so, where would be best?

Thanks!

metamorphosis

What course are you going onto do?

In terms of fitness instruction - once qualified if you go on and do one or two weekend courses e.g spinning, circuit, aqua, outboxing - you will be able to teach classes in various gyms in your area or nearby without too much hassle. These weekend courses can be done here and in England. YMCA do a fair few weekend type courses in many areas year round in England/Scotland.

In terms of PT it is harder or from what i see. To become a reputable PT it would take years of dedication and hard work.

If you are just interested in working in a gym as a type of 'rent a PT' - that should not be too hard in this climate also.

All depends on what side of the industry you are looking to get into - Fitness instruction/PT/group exercise instructor/an amalgam of these. It also depends on how hard you are willing to work. Not just a case of walking in off the street the minute you are qualified. My best advise is networking. Go to a few gyms , get to know the staff and your stuff. A kn own face helps a lot.

neilmct.com

this blog post may not apply to guys down south but has some good info -

_ sorry took in down in case i wasnt allowed to link out - ok to paste though ??


One of the most popular blog entries on here was done ages ago and basically it was me giving some tips on getting into the fitness industry. This entry is just going over a few of those points and then some. It seems that everyone these days has an interest in getting into fitness and for many the dream will never be realised.

TRAIN YOURSELF -

I was chatting to a guy recently who passed a fitness related course. I asked him if anyone on the course looked in good shape. His reply . .

"One guy looks like he maybe played a bit of football"

Don't get me wrong, I don't think everyone in the fitness industry should look like a cover model. In fact many will have different goals and sporting backgrounds but for just one person on a fitness course to look in ok shape is pretty poor in my opinion.

Regardless of which qualifications you pursue you should already be spending a lot of time under the bar. You would be surprised how many people go on courses that don't even like training themselves. Many will have never lifted a weight outside the 9 - 5 time they are on these courses. If you are one of these people then no qualification will make you into a personal trainer.

Spend time under the bar. Attending a course should just be certifying a lot of what you already know through training, study, debates etc

QUALIFICATIONS -

Jeez. Big topic.

When I first got into fitness over 10 years ago I did what I needed for work. Once I had my foot in the door work then payed for me to do everything from medical and nutrition courses to lifesaving and first aid. Now things are a lot different. To get a job as a PT in the UK you need to be on the REPS register. This is not true of all gyms but the majority, if not all, of the big chains will want to see you are at level 3.

What is level 3?

Basically your employer knows you have done the necessary courses to achieve this status. Once you achieve level 3 you need to continually earn credits to stay at this status.

Does level 3 equal good a PT?

No. Like all industries you will have guys and girls that have reached the required qualification but again this doesn't guarantee that the trainer will be good. I know fitness instructors, gym junkies and forum regulars that know more than many level 3 pt's. Again if you want to be a good pt you should be more knowledgeable than the average pt before you step foot on a course.

In a way its a bit like the driving test. You need to pass a test but passing the driving test doesn't mean you could beat Lewis Hamilton round the track. It just means you have passed what needed to be passed. I know loads of drivers that cant drive for **** but they all passed the required test. In my opinion all female drivers . . . never mind.

One thing I would say is that you should be wary of really expensive courses that offer the world. Many guys go away on a course and come back with qualifications in Personal Training, Circuits, Sports Massage, Nutrition etc In reality these courses seem to pump out guys that are a jack of all trades but lack depth in any real area. Again this comes back to the earlier point. These course are great for someone that has been spending time under the bar, on the net and in the books studying nutrition etc. To go on a course like this with no background and expect to be good in more than 1 or 2 areas is asking a lot.

Did I mention you should spend time under the bar?

APPRENTICESHIP -

So you are REPS level 3 and fully insured. Now what?

Well for me the industry here gets a bit fecked. Lets take someone who didn't spend time under the bar and who doesn't really like training (they do exist I **** you not). Now this person has passed the exams and got the insurance. This person could go from having no experience or qualifications to working as a self employed trainer in a matter of weeks.

I don't know about you but that scares the **** out of me.

Remember that people will be paying for your time and experience. If you start charging for a service when you have yet to really train anyone then you run the risk of either injuring that client or leaving them gasping for some form of results. A qualified trainer should still work as a fitness instructor for a number of reasons -

1 - I did it for a few years before going self employed and found it great for learning how to interact with people. Confidence in putting across what you believe in is vital for the guy or girls you are training.

2 - You get paid. You are not under pressure to generate your own wage.

3 - When you start personal training you want to be able to answer the majority of questions you get hit with on a daily basis. Working as a fitness instructor gives you the opportunity to answer such questions. If you get asked something you don't know you can always look it up for when you see them next time. By the time it comes to working as a PT you will have answered thousands of FAQ's.

4 - Personal Training is essentially teaching. The more you teach the better you become. Taking small groups and working 1 to 1 with individuals again gives you that extra experience that you can bring with you as you transition into personal training.

BUSINESS -

Personal training in many cases puts you as a self employed trainer. You pay rent to the club and charge your clients as they see you. As long as you earn more than you spend then its all good. Many people starting out fail to realise that personal training is a business. You will have overheads like insurance, gym rent, qualifications etc and unless you have the clients it will all go tits up. As a I said above working as a fitness instructor gives you the opportunity to learn your craft. In many cases it will also give you the chance to start up your personal training business.

There are a few ways gyms work -

1 - Work as a full time fitness instructor and take a small group of clients outside shift. This is a great way to dip your toes in personal training. Some clubs may not charge you for this. Others will take a percentage.

2 - Work part time as a fitness instructor and allocate more time for 1 to 1 sessions.

3 - What I do. Pay a fixed rent to the gym and take as little or as many clients as you like. The rent remains the same. This can be the best form of payment for busy pt's as it works out a small percentage of total earnings. The only problem here is that gyms all charge their pt's differently. Some clubs may charge £50 a week whereas others may charge £250 per week.

4 - Percentage per session. This is good for people starting off so say instead of knowing you have to pay a weekly rent you just pay the club each time you have a client in. This could be big money for the busy pt but work really well for someone who uses personal training as a sideline.

5 - Payment scales. Another good way of dipping the toes into pt is through the sliding scale. You start off paying no gym rent or percentages and over time this increases until you are paying full rent as an established personal trainer. This gives you time to see if this is really the job for you and if there is enough demand in the club for you and your services.

WARNING -

This has been a really pessimistic post. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and know loads of guys and girls that also love it but I think that all too often the reality of what its all about is overlooked. Gyms often see personal trainers as a cash cow. You get staff that work for free and pay you - awesome. I know one guy on the diet plan mentioned in an email that all the staff in his gym in England were now pt's that seemed to get discount on their gym rent for doing things like helping at reception etc. I just want to give you guys and girls and idea of what to expect if you do make the leap into what can be a great career!

- Avoid gyms that expect a large payment up front. They may be making money off guys that pay up front who then realise that there is no business in the gym.

- Train in the gym you want to work in. Is the atmosphere good? Are the staff friendly? If you wanted to work in an office you couldn't really hang around but with the gym you get to interact with members and staff before making deciding to approach them for work.

- Is the work there? Gyms will often sell free introductory sessions to new members. A lot of established pt's will not want to work for free and instead these sessions will need to be serviced by someone. The sales team will get commission and the gym will make money and at the end of the chain you will have an enthusiastic pt carrying out the sessions for free in the hope of meeting new clients. Some gyms will give the pt a cut whereas other will sell this as a way for the pt to meet new members. In many cases people who buy these introductory sessions are only interested in these initial sessions and that's it. Before long the pt realises they are being used and they leave. A new pt starts and again they service free sessions in the hope of building a business. If I was to start out again and do something like the free sessions introductory sessions Id really like to see a 40 - 50 % conversion rate or it would be more of an expensive hobby.

Think of it this way. If a gym has a pt paying £100 a week to use the gym then it makes sense for them to have more than one pt. In many cases the number of pt's will far outweigh the amount of potential business the gym has to offer. Some gyms may have 10 + pt's paying £100 + per week. It doesnt take a genius to work out that they may not have your interests at heart.

In fact - how many pt's does your gym have?

My gym is great in that we have a small group of guys that all have their own niche. Some guys specialise in injury or rehab while others like the sport side of things. If a gym has 27 pt's working there is there really room for you to carve a niche? Again I think its always good to train in the gym and see if the potential is there before you commit.

So, my advice -

Train.

Phone local gyms. What do they look for in a PT?

Get what qualifications you need at a price that suits you.

Get working in a gym.

Keep training, keep learning.

Gradually move into PT if you see a gap you can fill.

Always ask if you are doing this for you or the gym.

Plod away and work your ass off.

Reap the rewards of all your effort in a few years time.


Jeez that was a really harsh post and I hope it hasn't crushed any dreams. I just see so many guys on the likes of forums etc that want to get into the business but may need more of an honest answer than the one they get from course providers or gyms.

Feel free to comment as always :-)

itsallaboutheL

Its hard to know tbh, there's a lot of people walking around with those qualifications, IMo it would really be down to hard work and perseverance.

itsallaboutheL

i'm allowed link it tho....

http://neilmct.com/index.php?

The Davestator

I have recruiting gym staff for years and the best piece of advice I would give anyone looking to get into the industry would be.

1. Train yourself - lead by example
2. be able to teach all classes - if i had a euro for everytime an interiviewee told me they couldnt teach aerobics / step etc. You may not like teaching these but you will be far more employable if you can at least teach to intermediate level.

Good luck with it OP

mooeire

Thats some great advice!!! Im starting a three year course in sept, Im really looking forward to it.. Ive been going to the gym for six months or so and doing kick boxing for over a year.. Im constantly looking up work outs in magazines and on line and TRYING (lol) to follow a good diet.. Needed a little kick start with training over last few days and think i just got it