Demand for Personal Trainers in Ireland?

whirlpool

What are the levels of demand for personal trainers like in Ireland at the moment?

Transform

whirlpool wrote: »

What are the levels of demand for personal trainers like in Ireland at the moment?

no idea but all i know is i am constantly booked out.

there are plenty of great trainers all over ireland i guess you just have to find one that fits what you are looking for.

finally i think more people have decided to take better care of there health and make the most of the time they spend training rather than going to a gym and being told to do 10mins on the bike, the cross trainer and then 5 machines and 15mins working the fat off their stomach (total rubbish and not the best use of time for most).

I think most people want to get more from their workouts so maybe the good trainers are busier now

d-gal

Transform wrote: »

no idea but all i know is i am constantly booked out.

there are plenty of great trainers all over ireland i guess you just have to find one that fits what you are looking for.

finally i think more people have decided to take better care of there health and make the most of the time they spend training rather than going to a gym and being told to do 10mins on the bike, the cross trainer and then 5 machines and 15mins working the fat off their stomach (total rubbish and not the best use of time for most).

I think most people want to get more from their workouts so maybe the good trainers are busier now

Agreed.
I am full as well and I believe it's all about the quality of the trainer and the effort they put in.

Zamboni

The crap ones are busy too.
I saw a pt session occur in front of me today which involved him watching her on a treadmill for 15-20 minutes and then he had her semi squatting an empty bar in a smith machine.
Easy money if you can get it.

Whirlpool there is no way of answering your question specifically due to the very nature of personal training, there are no industry surveys recording any statistics.
There is no central industry body for trainers.
Maybe ILAM collect figures from the globo gyms but I doubt it.

Transform

Zamboni wrote: »

The crap ones are busy too.
I saw a pt session occur in front of me today which involved him watching her on a treadmill for 15-20 minutes and then he had her semi squatting an empty bar in a smith machine.
Easy money if you can get it.

Whirlpool there is no way of answering your question specifically due to the very nature of personal training, there are no industry surveys recording any statistics.
There is no central industry body for trainers.
Maybe ILAM collect figures from the globo gyms but I doubt it.

people who are good at what they do in every industry will always be in demand - recession or no recession.

People should know better to attend a trainer who does sessions mentioned above

whirlpool

Cheers for all the info, guys.

I qualified as a Personal Trainer over here in London this week. My next step involves deciding whether to move back to Ireland or stay here in London. I'm wondering which would be the better option, and obviously work opportunities is a massive part of making that decision. However, part of me would prefer to start my career in Ireland as it's where all my friends and family are and I feel I would be much more confident with them around me.

hug0

Do you mind me asking how much you make in a week if working full time. Im trained as PT but havent taken the plunge to do it properly and advertise as I have a full time job. I think Im afraid of the lack of job security being self employed.

cmyk

Transform wrote: »

people who are good at what they do in every industry will always be in demand - recession or no recession.

I was about to state the very same.

hug0 wrote: »

Do you mind me asking how much you make in a week if working full time.

I don't think anyone is going to answer that question for you hugo. I'd advise taking a business course, fas run them. I can recommend one (if you're south dublin based) in PARTAS in tallaght. It was only a few months long @one night per week, but it'll give you the fundamentals of how to plan for this...basic business skills are universal.

groomek

How does someone become a qualified personal trainer.How long would it take,courses....

hug0

You need to a basic course first like the ncef course. I think you can combine a fitness instructor course and a PT course also. I did the ncef course and then the maltings ace personal training course (which wasnt great) .

Its all very expensive.

I don't think anyone is going to answer that question for you hugo. I'd advise taking a business course, fas run them. I can recommend one (if you're south dublin based) in PARTAS in tallaght. It was only a few months long @one night per week, but it'll give you the fundamentals of how to plan for this...basic business skills are universal.

Sorry I was just looking for a rough estimate, just wondering after you pay tax and everything is there a lot left for yourself. Didnt mean to be nosey!

whirlpool

groomek wrote: »

How does someone become a qualified personal trainer.How long would it take,courses....

There are many fitness colleges all over the UK. The "Personal Trainer" courses allow you to register at level 3 on the REPS registrar of fitness professionals (Google REPS Fitness for more info.)

The length of the personal trainer courses varies from college to college, ranging from 4 weeks to 12 weeks.

I have no idea how it could possibly be completed in 4 weeks, as the one I chose was 10 weeks and was full-time Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm, and even with that time-span it was still incredibly intense.

Available fitness colleges include Premier Training, YMCA and the European Institute of Fitness (which is based in Spain, and was previously the Australian Institute of Fitness - a college which was branches all over Australia as far as I know.)

I don't think Ireland offers any equivalent. I researched these courses for months before I finally made a decision. I know about the NCEF course, but I don't think it is exactly equivalent to the Personal Trainer courses available all over the UK. And it takes a really long time to complete in comparison, using a lot less hours per week.

This is all to the best of my current knowledge. If anyone wants to correct me, feel free.

cmyk

Apologies if that read a little blunt, it really wasn't the intention. There are just too many variables if you are self employed in any trade. In asking the question it shows a certain amount of naivety in that regard, hence my suggestion of some sort of 'start your own business' course.

On the other hand if you're looking for a steady salary then maybe try to get some experience on a gym floor/health club as a starting point. I've seen a few of these jobs advertised lately.

cmyk

whirlpool wrote: »

Cheers for all the info, guys.

I qualified as a Personal Trainer over here in London this week. My next step involves deciding whether to move back to Ireland or stay here in London. I'm wondering which would be the better option, and obviously work opportunities is a massive part of making that decision. However, part of me would prefer to start my career in Ireland as it's where all my friends and family are and I feel I would be much more confident with them around me.

For what it's worth, being in a similar position, I'd try to work where you can gain the best experience and learn from the best people. The true learning starts when you're dealing with real clients. The course I did...though extremely educational and valuable is really just the foundation, the best of luck with wherever you decide to start!

whirlpool

cmyk wrote: »

For what it's worth, being in a similar position, I'd try to work where you can gain the best experience and learn from the best people. The true learning starts when you're dealing with real clients. The course I did...though extremely educational and valuable is really just the foundation, the best of luck with wherever you decide to start!

Cheers for that. Yeah I feel the best way forward is to begin working surrounded by fitness professionals. I'm just trying to decide whether attempting this in Ireland (as opposed to London) is likely or unlikely to yield success.

Transform

whirlpool wrote: »

Cheers for that. Yeah I feel the best way forward is to begin working surrounded by fitness professionals. I'm just trying to decide whether attempting this in Ireland (as opposed to London) is likely or unlikely to yield success.

it really is no different than starting say a coffee shop - offer the best service, treat it like a business NOT a hobby, over deliver with all clients and have excellent communication skills.

There are tons of trainers out there that have way more knowledge than they possibly need to get all their clients in amazing shape but do not treat their job as a business, have zero ability to get their clients to stay compliant and do not realise that when working for yourself there is no guarantees so your success is dependent on how hard you are willing to work.

Being self employed as a trainer for most looks very attractive but you will soon realise that you will be working 10 times harder to get and keep your business running. Nothing like the daily pressure of no guaranteed wage to keep you on your toes.

anewme

What is the going rate for a personal trainer at the minute in Dublin/Kildare.

I was speaking to people at the weekend in Antrim who told me that the going rate up there for a personal trainer is £20 stg.

whirlpool

anewme wrote: »

What is the going rate for a personal trainer at the minute in Dublin/Kildare.

I was speaking to people at the weekend in Antrim who told me that the going rate up there for a personal trainer is £20 stg.

In London it's currently upwards of £40 (according to the dozens of personal trainers I've spoken to over the past 3 months.)

Transform wrote: »

it really is no different than starting say a coffee shop - offer the best service, treat it like a business NOT a hobby, over deliver with all clients and have excellent communication skills.

There are tons of trainers out there that have way more knowledge than they possibly need to get all their clients in amazing shape but do not treat their job as a business, have zero ability to get their clients to stay compliant and do not realise that when working for yourself there is no guarantees so your success is dependent on how hard you are willing to work.

Being self employed as a trainer for most looks very attractive but you will soon realise that you will be working 10 times harder to get and keep your business running. Nothing like the daily pressure of no guaranteed wage to keep you on your toes.

Cool, thanks for that info.


Does anyone know if there are many people seeking Personal Trainers in Ireland at the moment? The demand for certain products/services is quite high, and low for others. I'm just wondering what it's like for personal trainers at the mo...

Transform

its simple really mate - anyone looking for ANY service is going to go for someone tried and tested so if you are new to the game its going to be really tough.

The trainers i know making a good wage from what they do all have worked in the industry for well over 5years and all would say they had to work their butt off to make their business profitable.

Remember it takes 20 years to become an overnight success!!!

whirlpool

Transform wrote: »

its simple really mate - anyone looking for ANY service is going to go for someone tried and tested so if you are new to the game its going to be really tough.

The trainers i know making a good wage from what they do all have worked in the industry for well over 5years and all would say they had to work their butt off to make their business profitable.

Remember it takes 20 years to become an overnight success!!!

Are there many people in Ireland looking for personal training service at the moment?

Colm_OReilly

Whirlpool,

What answer are you looking for? That's not meant to be smart, but you seem fixated on this question. If a number was thrown at you, say 20,000 PT hours a month, would that make you excited?

The thing is, I'm not sure what you're looking for or why you're asking.

Do you want to work freelance or part of a fitness team in a commercial gym? From what I understand, part of a team will be good for starting off as it gives you exposure to lots of potential clients however the wages are lower than freelance.

Do you have a particular area/clientele you'd like to target?

Would you prefer to work in London or Dublin/Ireland? - That's the biggest decision you can make as I firmly believe that if you're good and passionate you can make it work wherever you are. BUT, as Transform pointed out, it takes a hell of a lot of hard work.

Hope this helps,
Colm

TommyKnocker

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Whirlpool,

What answer are you looking for? That's not meant to be smart, but you seem fixated on this question. If a number was thrown at you, say 20,000 PT hours a month, would that make you excited?

The thing is, I'm not sure what you're looking for or why you're asking.

Do you want to work freelance or part of a fitness team in a commercial gym? From what I understand, part of a team will be good for starting off as it gives you exposure to lots of potential clients however the wages are lower than freelance.

Do you have a particular area/clientele you'd like to target?

Would you prefer to work in London or Dublin/Ireland? - That's the biggest decision you can make as I firmly believe that if you're good and passionate you can make it work wherever you are. BUT, as Transform pointed out, it takes a hell of a lot of hard work.

Hope this helps,
Colm

Hi Colm

If I am not mistaken, Whirlpool is currently living in the UK and has completed a PT course there.

The reason he is asking I believe is that he would like to come home and work as a PT here as his friends and family are here. However he is a little apprehensive as he has no idea what the market is like here for Personal Trainers.

Whirlpool: I am not a PT, just somebody into fitness. However from a prospective clients point fo view. If I decided tomorrow I wanted the services of a PT for some reason. I am going to look for somebody who has a good reputation, within a reasonable traveling distance and who I can afford in that order.

So for someone starting off, I think your best bet is trying to get work in a commercial gym, where you will have access to folks who may be looking for personal training. Then as has been mentioned by Transform I believe, you will have to over provide on your service and produce results. If you do this, then you will have people seeking you out rather then having you foisted upon them by the gym.

If/when this happens you may find that your regular clients start to recommend you to their friends and family, and you start to build a reputation for yourself. Unless you are exceptionally gifted as a trainer, I do not think that you will have over night success. So I think you should be prepared to spend a numbner of years (at least 3-5) working hard to build a reputation.

The downside of this from speaking to some of the PT's at my gym is that the pay on offer is not great and the gym usually take a cut of the money a client pays for your services, as you are using their premises and equipment after all. So if you have a well paying job now outside of the fitness industry, then I think you will have to be willing to take a gamble and make sacrifices with your current living standards for the forseeable future.

I believe that a lot of folks are starting to take more of an interest in the health and well being, and that more and more will look into personal training. However I also think that the majority will seek out or be recommended to PT's who are already established and reputable. So I think whether you chose to come home or stay in the UK, breaking in to the market will be your biggest challange.

One final point I would make is that if it is your long term plan to come home and live in Ireland, then it may be better to come home and start to build your reputation here. As if you start in the UK, then in a few years decide to come home, you will be more or less starting from scratch again in the home market.


Best Regards,

M

whirlpool

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Whirlpool,

What answer are you looking for? That's not meant to be smart, but you seem fixated on this question.

I am looking for a rough idea of the rate of demand vs the rate of supply for a specific good/service in a particular economy at this current moment in time.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

If a number was thrown at you, say 20,000 PT hours a month, would that make you excited?

That particular number has never made me especially excited in the past, no.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

The thing is, I'm not sure what you're looking for or why you're asking.

It would fall into the category of "market research." No it is not even 0.00001% of the required market research. For the purposes of explanation, however, it would still fall into that category "market research." Also, I am interested to know.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Do you want to work freelance or part of a fitness team in a commercial gym? From what I understand, part of a team will be good for starting off as it gives you exposure to lots of potential clients however the wages are lower than freelance.

I would very much prefer to work freelance, as most budding personal trainers seem to.

Please note that this preference has no bearing on what I'm willing to and not willing to sacrifice in order to get my career off the ground.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Do you have a particular area/clientele you'd like to target?

Yes I do.

This should not be taken to mean that I will be affording myself the luxury of only targeting that particular market.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Would you prefer to work in London or Dublin/Ireland?

I am not certain about this answer.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Would you prefer to work in London or Dublin/Ireland? That's the biggest decision you can make as I firmly believe that if you're good and passionate you can make it work wherever you are.

The existing demand-level for a good/service will drastically affect the income of a person who begins to offer that good/service.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

BUT, as Transform pointed out, it takes a hell of a lot of hard work.

Here is a little about my past: I studied business for four years. I have just spent 45 hours per week, for ten weeks, in the presence of a dozen or so highly-experienced and extremely successful personal trainers and fitness professionals in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I have watched close relatives of mine start businesses that have failed and and businesses that have succeeded, in both tough and more successful economies. During the aforementioned experiences, I have become fully aware of the fact that a lot of hard work and effort goes into making a business provide an income.

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Hope this helps,
Colm

I do appreciate the time you took to reply, Thank you.

whirlpool

B-Builder wrote: »

Hi Colm

If I am not mistaken, Whirlpool is currently living in the UK and has completed a PT course there.

The reason he is asking I believe is that he would like to come home and work as a PT here as his friends and family are here. However he is a little apprehensive as he has no idea what the market is like here for Personal Trainers.

You are not mistaken

B-Builder wrote: »

Whirlpool: I am not a PT, just somebody into fitness. However from a prospective clients point fo view. If I decided tomorrow I wanted the services of a PT for some reason. I am going to look for somebody who has a good reputation, within a reasonable traveling distance and who I can afford in that order.

So for someone starting off, I think your best bet is trying to get work in a commercial gym, where you will have access to folks who may be looking for personal training. Then as has been mentioned by Transform I believe, you will have to over provide on your service and produce results. If you do this, then you will have people seeking you out rather then having you foisted upon them by the gym.

If/when this happens you may find that your regular clients start to recommend you to their friends and family, and you start to build a reputation for yourself. Unless you are exceptionally gifted as a trainer, I do not think that you will have over night success. So I think you should be prepared to spend a numbner of years (at least 3-5) working hard to build a reputation.

The downside of this from speaking to some of the PT's at my gym is that the pay on offer is not great and the gym usually take a cut of the money a client pays for your services, as you are using their premises and equipment after all. So if you have a well paying job now outside of the fitness industry, then I think you will have to be willing to take a gamble and make sacrifices with your current living standards for the forseeable future.

I believe that a lot of folks are starting to take more of an interest in the health and well being, and that more and more will look into personal training. However I also think that the majority will seek out or be recommended to PT's who are already established and reputable. So I think whether you chose to come home or stay in the UK, breaking in to the market will be your biggest challange.

One final point I would make is that if it is your long term plan to come home and live in Ireland, then it may be better to come home and start to build your reputation here. As if you start in the UK, then in a few years decide to come home, you will be more or less starting from scratch again in the home market.


Best Regards,

M

Cheers, B-Builder. A really helpful insight there!

Yeah I am willing to work my ass off to make my business work, I've no fear of that. My standard of living is basically this: I want shelter, food, clothing, safety and a few little luxuries like internet access and some sort of a social life, so I don't think my standards of living will be too much of an issue. But even still I am willing to make further cutbacks as required.

I think you are right about starting in the area that I mean to continue, i.e. London or Ireland. That only dawned on me now as you said it, so thanks for mentioning it.

Thanks again.

TheZ

Ireland is a big place - I assume you will locate in a major city/population centre so maybe you need to look into geographic areas as well

Gyms are closing and those that are open are cutting costs and laying off staff

Personal trainers are a discretionary spend and in a recession discretionary spend is going to be reduced

Having said that there is a interest in looking and feeling good - drive past Sandymount Strand any evening and people are out walking, running, exercising, there are various bootcamps

People are more knowledgable than before and there is a flight to quality so if you don't deliver a service then you don't do well. People like Transform do well because they are very good at what they do and also very good at marketing their services - online profiles, media work, being in great shape themselves

My view is demand has reduced but there will always be a demand for good services at the right price and that is true of any area

whirlpool

TheZ wrote: »

Ireland is a big place - I assume you will locate in a major city/population centre so maybe you need to look into geographic areas as well

Gyms are closing and those that are open are cutting costs and laying off staff

Personal trainers are a discretionary spend and in a recession discretionary spend is going to be reduced

Having said that there is a interest in looking and feeling good - drive past Sandymount Strand any evening and people are out walking, running, exercising, there are various bootcamps

People are more knowledgable than before and there is a flight to quality so if you don't deliver a service then you don't do well. People like Transform do well because they are very good at what they do and also very good at marketing their services - online profiles, media work, being in great shape themselves

My view is demand has reduced but there will always be a demand for good services at the right price and that is true of any area

Cheers. So I'm gathering from what you've said that the current demand for fitness professionals in Ireland is simply not very accommodating for the newly-qualified with little/no experience...

The Guvnor

I agree 100% with this. The one PT (lady) in the gym where I train is terrible. Carbon copy workouts for everyone. Overweight ladies being asked to do advanced wide stance push-ups with legs kicking out on the down movement and up on the way up. Suffice to say the poor ladies I saw could not even do a proper kneeling push up for one rep, let alone multiple sets of the above and in some cases unsupervised as the PT ran off somewhere else.

I will say that IMO there are not very many good PT's out there.

There are some exceptions but they are few and far between.

Zamboni wrote: »

The crap ones are busy too. I saw a pt session occur in front of me today which involved him watching her on a treadmill for 15-20 minutes and then he had her semi squatting an empty bar in a smith machine.
Easy money if you can get it.

TheZ

Any new entrant to a business has that difficulty so you need to be as visible as possible (website, media work, ads locally?, post on boards (?)) and then price it accordingly.

Any new business may need to price lower initially and then as reputation grows you can increase the price but what i would do is say one session is 60 euro but ten sessions is 350/400 euro paid up front rather than discount the price of one session

Main thing is that your first few customers are going to be your calling card for other people and word of mouth etc spreads if they are getting results

attraction of a gym is that there is a ready made pool of potential customers for you

maybe think about doing group sessions for people - helps with value etc for people or helps with people who are a bit shy reluctant to go to PT without moral support

whirlpool

The Guvnor wrote: »

I agree 100% with this. The one PT (lady) in the gym where I train is terrible. Carbon copy workouts for everyone. Overweight ladies being asked to do advanced wide stance push-ups with legs kicking out on the down movement and up on the way up. Suffice to say the poor ladies I saw could not even do a proper kneeling push up for one rep, let alone multiple sets of the above and in some cases unsupervised as the PT ran off somewhere else.

I will say that IMO there are not very many good PT's out there.

There are some exceptions but they are few and far between.

What do you think is causing there to be so many bad PTs?

Is it not necessary to have the correct qualification? Is the qualification requirement not high enough? Or what's going on....?

I know that studying a course is no match for experience. However, the course that I did would have educated its students enough that they are not inept at delivering at least a basic, safe and effective training program.

G86

The Guvnor wrote: »

I agree 100% with this. The one PT (lady) in the gym where I train is terrible. Carbon copy workouts for everyone. Overweight ladies being asked to do advanced wide stance push-ups with legs kicking out on the down movement and up on the way up. Suffice to say the poor ladies I saw could not even do a proper kneeling push up for one rep, let alone multiple sets of the above and in some cases unsupervised as the PT ran off somewhere else.

I will say that IMO there are not very many good PT's out there.

There are some exceptions but they are few and far between.

I agree. Personal training should be just that - personal. You don't want to be paying someone for a bog standard workout that they give to all of their clients, it should be tailored specifically to you and your needs. Otherwise, what's the point? I mean there's a vast amount of information online and you don't want to pay for a workout plan you could have easily found yourself with a bit of research.

I think the difference in a good and bad PT is the passion they have for their work; if they truly love what they do, as opposed to simply just doing a job, then that enthuasism will rub off on you and you'll feel valued as a client. As well as that, they have to be able to relate to their clients, so the 'too cool for school' persona won't work, you want to be able to have the craic with your trainer - not see them as a drill sergant! Of course, qualifications do matter, but I think they need to have the whole package in order to have credibility.

whirlpool

G86 wrote: »

I agree. Personal training should be just that - personal. You don't want to be paying someone for a bog standard workout that they give to all of their clients, it should be tailored specifically to you and your needs. Otherwise, what's the point? I mean there's a vast amount of information online and you don't want to pay for a workout plan you could have easily found yourself with a bit of research.

I think the difference in a good and bad PT is the passion they have for their work; if they truly love what they do, as opposed to simply just doing a job, then that enthuasism will rub off on you and you'll feel valued as a client. As well as that, they have to be able to relate to their clients, so the 'too cool for school' persona won't work, you want to be able to have the craic with your trainer - not see them as a drill sergant! Of course, qualifications do matter, but I think they need to have the whole package in order to have credibility.

I am actually quite surprised that what you guys are discussing is even in question, as I had considered it as a given. I find it quite disappointing that there are PTs in business who do not have excellent social skills, who can't create appropriate personal relationships with their clients and who can't create a 100% specific program for each individual person. The teachers on my course drove it into us over and over that personality and individuality are two of the most massively important aspects of a PT-client relationship, both in achieving positive results for your client and in getting ahead in business.

When reviewing with me one of my practical assessments in which I had to deliver a one-hour session to a client, my assessor said something to me along the lines of "Yes you did make this mistake and that mistake but you delivered a very specific program for this client, you adapted it for them when necessary and your personality and your interaction with the client was absolutely top notch and is exactly what is required of a PT and will bring you a lot of success."

Having had this idea drilled into me for the past three months I'm a little shocked that all personal trainer courses don't do the same. Although it would go a little way towards explaining why some of the courses are 4-weeks in length and others are 12. But I'm very grateful to the course I attended for making me realise that knowing how to exercise is only a tenth of what being a great PT is.

Tigger

I would look at a well known personal trainer with a good reputation and working fot him/her self as as a fitness consultant.Apart from having to learn how to price and how to get work, increase your reputation etc, there will be with any professional trying to reach consultancy level a learning curve.
I have no idea what hidden issues there are with personal trainers but these would be something that experiance would smooth out, also confidence in yourself and your abality to motivate and get the results needed both commercially and with the clients can only come from practise.

It would seem to me that if there is a market then perhaps if you could join with a sucessful personal trainer work under him/her for a few years etc then that would be benificial.
But much like a young chef working for a known chef/resturant there would have to be strong branding and brand indentification to ensure that the "consultant "personal trainer was in control.

something like this

Jim Boyle personal trainers or something with Jim Boyle at the head and seen to be the driving force and then other trainers working with him in a more junior capacity. I'll bet that something like this exists in america.

something like this
http://www.aspenpt.com/6901.html

whirlpool

Tigger wrote: »

something like this

Jim Boyle personal trainers or something with Jim Boyle at the head and seen to be the driving force and then other trainers working with him in a more junior capacity. I'll bet that something like this exists in america.

something like this
http://www.aspenpt.com/6901.html

Holy ****, look at all of his experience!!

Transform

Tigger wrote: »

I would look at a well known personal trainer with a good reputation and working fot him/her self as as a fitness consultant.Apart from having to learn how to price and how to get work, increase your reputation etc, there will be with any professional trying to reach consultancy level a learning curve.
I have no idea what hidden issues there are with personal trainers but these would be something that experiance would smooth out, also confidence in yourself and your abality to motivate and get the results needed both commercially and with the clients can only come from practise.

It would seem to me that if there is a market then perhaps if you could join with a sucessful personal trainer work under him/her for a few years etc then that would be benificial.
But much like a young chef working for a known chef/resturant there would have to be strong branding and brand indentification to ensure that the "consultant "personal trainer was in control.

something like this

Jim Boyle personal trainers or something with Jim Boyle at the head and seen to be the driving force and then other trainers working with him in a more junior capacity. I'll bet that something like this exists in america.

something like this
http://www.aspenpt.com/6901.html

i have had a few trainers that have worked with me in the past and have gone on to run their own business. You get to learn all the things you should NOT do but just pick someone you like the look of their work and contact him/her.

Overall, setting up a business is a risk and a risk many are not willing to take - you end up missing 100% of the shots you never take

Tigger

whirlpool wrote: »

Holy ****, look at all of his experience!!

i was trying to show a concept

Zamboni

whirlpool wrote: »

I am looking for a rough idea of the rate of demand vs the rate of supply for a specific good/service in a particular economy at this current moment in time.

It would fall into the category of "market research." No it is not even 0.00001% of the required market research. For the purposes of explanation, however, it would still fall into that category "market research." Also, I am interested to know.

Hi Whirlpool,

Nobody here can even give you a rough idea because nobody here knows the demand for personal trainers.
Individual trainers can give anecdotal evidence based on their current experience/location but as I mentioned earlier there are no qualitative reports/data/surveys studies into the personal trainer market in Ireland.
The whole 'industry' has zero regulation and anybody can start up a personal training business tomorrow (provided they can get some form of appropriate insurance).
Another point is what the hell is a PT anyway? There are plenty of sports/fitness/athletics coaches who operate a one on one service that would never use the term personal trainer.

From a supply perpsective you could very roughly work out how many graduates are being pumped out of the various bodies (NCEHS, NCEF etc) on an annual basis but even then that still does not cover professionals and graduates from Sports Science courses, strength & conditioning, martial artists etc that also provide a one to one service.

I suppose what I am trying to say is there is no solid way of knowing what the demand is other than to suck it and see

Good luck if you do go for it.

whirlpool

Tigger wrote: »

i was trying to show a concept

I was just making a general comment.

whirlpool

Zamboni wrote: »

Hi Whirlpool,

Nobody here can even give you a rough idea because nobody here knows the demand for personal trainers.
Individual trainers can give anecdotal evidence based on their current experience/location but as I mentioned earlier there are no qualitative reports/data/surveys studies into the personal trainer market in Ireland.
The whole 'industry' has zero regulation and anybody can start up a personal training business tomorrow (provided they can get some form of appropriate insurance).
Another point is what the hell is a PT anyway? There are plenty of sports/fitness/athletics coaches who operate a one on one service that would never use the term personal trainer.

From a supply perpsective you could very roughly work out how many graduates are being pumped out of the various bodies (NCEHS, NCEF etc) on an annual basis but even then that still does not cover professionals and graduates from Sports Science courses, strength & conditioning, martial artists etc that also provide a one to one service.

I suppose what I am trying to say is there is no solid way of knowing what the demand is other than to suck it and see

Good luck if you do go for it.

Thanks for the message and the Good Luck!

A personal trainer is someone who designs a training program for someone to reach their individual goals in fitness, muscle mass and bodyfat. You can give that professional whichever title you prefer.

Re: demand levels. One way of gauging whether there is high demand or not is by an existing personal trainer who has sought clients stating how successful they were in finding people who were interested in attending a personal trainer.

Another way is by the amount of personal trainers who reply and say "I have x amount of clients."

Another way is by personal trainers saying "I had x amount of clients before the economy went downhill, I now have y amount of clients."

Another way is by fitness professionals stating how well or how badly their colleagues'/peers' businesses are performing at the moment.

etc etc.

But I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that nobody on here knows. Simple as.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

anewme

Was quoted 60 per hour today for a personal trainer. Crazy money.

cmyk

whirlpool wrote: »

But I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that nobody on here knows. Simple as.

You've hit the nail on the head with that statement. The first 3 replies were basically a direct answer to your question. There's really only a very small percentage of irish pt's that post here to be honest from what I can see.

anewme wrote: »

Was quoted 60 per hour today for a personal trainer. Crazy money.

May I ask why you think this is crazy money, I presume this was a 1 to 1 price?

anewme

If by 1-1 you mean just me and them, yes, that is what it was. Rates were 35 per half hour or 60 per hour.

While I appreciate that Personal Trainers do not work 8 hours a day and get 60 x 8 per day, I am wondering if the recession did not effect the rates of personal trainers, as it has everyone else. Or is it just now less people go.

I would consider it at 40 per hour for a 1-1, but at 60 per hour, think it is a wee bit expensive in today's economy.

G86

anewme wrote: »

o.

I would consider it at 40 per hour for a 1-1, but at 60 per hour, think it is a wee bit expensive in today's economy.

I don't agree, yes it's expensive but some are worth paying the extra for and to be honest if you want a decent trainer you'll pay anything from €60-€90 an hour. The problem if you go down the cheap route is that you'll just get what you pay for.

Inspector Coptoor

My opinion on the cost of a PT would be similar to G86.

If they have the qualifications, preferably to degree level, and the experience/results to back it up, there;s no reason why they couldnt be charging 60 euro plus.

On the other hand, someone fresh out of a 4-12 week course couldnt possibly be charging anything near that.

Zamboni raised an interesting point there re: Strength and Conditioning coaching courses etc.

I just complete the 6 month setanta RTWTS course with the Olympic Weightlifting Level 1 Coaching Course and I have trained some people on a 1-1 basis, mostly students on the school football team, but I wouldnt consider myself a PT at all

Transform

G86 wrote: »

I don't agree, yes it's expensive but some are worth paying the extra for and to be honest if you want a decent trainer you'll pay anything from €60-€90 an hour. The problem if you go down the cheap route is that you'll just get what you pay for.

totally agree you get what you pay for and YES good trainers work 8hrs + per day easily (the ones i know and have worked with side by side)

whirlpool

Liam Henners257 wrote: »

someone fresh out of a 4-12 week course couldnt possibly be charging anything near that.

Is it wise for a personal trainer to charge well-below the average price if trying to gain clients?