Career Overview: What I Do As a Personal Trainer
With much of my fitness knowledge from reality TV, I guess the primary role of a personal trainer is to yell at people to exercise. Of course, nothing is easier; A good coach understands how different exercises and diets will affect the body and what their students need to do to achieve their fitness goals.
To learn a little about what personal trainers actually do, beyond the TV stereotype of being more workout instructors than fitness guides, we spoke with Christopher Huffman , CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) … Chris runs his own business and has been in this field for about ten years.
Tell us a little about your current position and how long you have been in it.
I am a certified personal trainer and strength trainer at a private personal training studio. I am the owner of the institution and we have been in Boise, Idaho for about 5 years now, we currently have two full-time trainers. In general, I have been involved in fitness to a certain extent since 2005, including developing strength training programs as an independent online trainer, doing online marketing for a large nutritional supplement company, or working as a project assistant on a large drug trial involving exercise. program.
What prompted you to choose your career path?
A major turning point in my interest in the fitness industry was my experience with physical therapy after a back injury. Through my experience in rehabilitation, I have come to understand the importance of physical therapy in restoring general capacity, but I have also realized the disadvantages in restoring previous performance. In other words, I felt good, but not fully. Ultimately, this experience turned into a desire for a career that would have a more immediate and long-term impact on a person’s individual fitness and well-being goals. Personal training and strength training meet these desires.
As I pursued my own fitness goals, from weight loss to bodybuilding and powerlifting, I came to realize how difficult it was to find a direct answer to how to get very specific results from the exercises I was doing. The fitness world is full of misinformation, outright lies and marketing schemes; my goal was never to be a part of it all. I wanted to work in a career that provided people with scientific, practical ways to achieve fitness goals. All these ideas and experiences led me to become a personal trainer.
How did you get a job? What kind of education and experience did you need?
Education and experience in this area are secondary to the results obtained. Some of the best coaches in the world have no formal education, they only spend their entire lives under the barbell. Some of the worst coaches in the world have all the certifications and formal education available but fail to deliver in the real world. In most situations, a good balance between formal education, voluntary training and practical experience lays the foundation for a good coach. For myself, I have been involved in strength training for almost 15 years, have a BA in Health and Sports, and Exercise Science, and have many core certifications, including the NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certificate.
I started my business about 5 years ago, creating my own career path. My previous experience of owning a business made it easier for me to build my own coach career, but it was definitely a tough battle. In addition to the scientific and practical knowledge required to conduct safe and effective training programs, this career requires a wide range of business skills and experience. Sometimes the job itself was about sales, advertising and marketing rather than training, especially when starting a business. Whether a coach owns his own studio or gym, he is still the main ambassador of his own “brand.” It takes experience and excellence in customer service, sales and marketing if you count on continued success. You are your own billboard, brand ambassador and business staff all rolled into one.
Do you need any licenses or certificates?
Licensing is not required for personal training or strength training in the United States. Certificates are generally required by employers or insurance agencies to demonstrate a minimum level of education and become insured, but are not required to run a business as an independent instructor (although not insured). Certificates can vary in requirements and level of prestige, with many requiring the applicant to be 18 years old, a high school graduate, and have CPR and AED certifications. Multiple advanced certifications require a bachelor’s degree or higher in exercise (or related), clinical experience, internship, or a combination.
What are you doing besides what most people see? What do you actually spend most of your time on?
The vast majority of time as a personal trainer is spent teaching clients individually or in a group. This time includes training and criticizing movement patterns, assessing overall performance and scaling training intensity to current fitness levels, as well as general support and helpful nudges to help clients break through plateaus and set new personal bests. Rest time on rest or non-training days with clients is spent discussing training goals, assessing body composition, or teaching nutrition and exercise aspects that can be applied outside the gym in the real world. Clients are typically provided with workouts to perform outside of our studio in addition to their regular weekly sessions, especially with time-consuming cardiovascular procedures where frequent monitoring is not required.
The rest of the time I spend planning training programs, running general business operations, or working on overall business improvement, including my personal fitness. Building training programs usually takes 5-10 minutes for every hour of studio training for the average client. For experienced clients or those with health problems (including injury rehabilitation), planning can take hours a month. My most advanced clients have programs that usually take 1-2 hours to build (for a program of 4-16 weeks), with a few weekly updates that may take a little longer. Overall, I spend about 5 hours or more per week working with spreadsheets, training journals, or other customer data.
General working hours include advertising, marketing, social media, web design, consulting, answering calls and emails, networking, and anything else that keeps doors open. The hours spent in this effort are countless.
What misconceptions do people often have about your job?
Even though I wear workout clothes to work every day, it’s not an easy job. Hours can be absolutely grueling, in part due to the most requested time slots in a typical workday (early morning before work, late evening after work). Cancellations and scheduling of clients usually result in a completely reversed schedule from week to week, making it difficult for normal schedules and social life.
We do not shout at everyone. This is not a TV show. There are revelations to be had, but the music doesn’t bloat and the flashback montages don’t spin when it does. We just keep working. It’s not glamorous, it’s just hard work.
Plus, not all of us are cutting edge chicken and broccoli trainers. I lead a balanced lifestyle including resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, and a healthy eating plan. But I also eat ice cream. And no, all year round I do not have a sharp press. I do my job best when I pursue my own fitness goals, focusing more on performance than aesthetics. While I might intimidate a beginner with less muscle and more fat, I cannot make that impression on a very lean and muscular bodybuilder. My appearance has nothing to do with the results I provide or the knowledge I possess.
What’s your average uptime?
I make my own schedule. At the same time, I work in a separate shift, starting from 4:30 to 12:00 and ending from 16:00 to 20:00. I usually work 8-12 hours a day, but this depends on commitment and customer retention. The average workweek consists of 40-45 hours of study and 5-10 hours of behind-the-scenes work.
What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?
Taking care of my own health, including my mental well-being, is paramount to my success in this area. Nobody wants a worn out trainer who has a hard time demonstrating a healthy and energetic fitness-related lifestyle; they want someone to be positive, optimistic, and enthusiastic to help them cope.
Also, explore all the possible ways to label the exercise in any possible communication format. Understanding that people learn in different ways, whether visually, through verbal explanations, or kinetically, is by far the most effective learning tool we have.
Also, there are no shortcuts in fitness. I believe I am making it clear to everyone I meet that nothing in this world beats good old-fashioned hard work when it comes to reaching your fitness goals.
What are you doing differently from your colleagues or colleagues in the same profession? What are they doing instead?
I am proud to provide a level of professionalism and integrity that is clearly lacking in this area. Unfortunately, the industry itself gets a bad reputation for highly unqualified coaches who lack the energy and enthusiasm to make the job a career. Many come into this field believing that their passion for their own fitness is enough to become a trainer, or that their own successes can be easily replicated on another person.
The industry is rife with trainers who just count reps, rewrite between sets, are late for class, or just don’t show up at all. I hate that the industry is perceived in this way, but that’s to be expected with such a low barriers to entry in this area.
Our business is to make sure our clients are given the full attention they deserve and that their results are important to us, not just keeping doors open and lights on. Clients who have worked with other instructors are often baffled by the amount of work we put into our clients’ success, or simply by the fact that we put our mobile phones aside for more than an hour at a time.
What’s the worst part of a job and how do you deal with it?
Client commitment is by far the hardest and most frustrating part of being a coach. We only want to see the very best results from our clients, especially considering the investment they have made to be here. Some clients absorb as much information as we can offer them, while others feel that information bounces right off them. Regardless of how easy it is to complete certain tasks, repeated failures can lead to disappointment for the coach and, if continued for too long, lead to apathy. For example, many simple dietary changes can be ignored or avoided altogether, including those that are dietary supplements rather than cuts. Getting some customers to drink more than one or two cups of water a day can be an epic struggle, as the goal setting or calendar-based reminder apps on their phones coax them into simply drinking a little more liquid in their daily intake. Moving on to more challenging tasks, such as doing extra workouts for a week or eating more protein in their diet, may take some clients months, if not years, to develop into a habit.
What is the most enjoyable part of the job?
The most enjoyable moments are when clients finally show independence in their personal pursuit and motivation. This may sound somewhat counterintuitive for a business that relies on people walking in the door, but higher adherence leads to better results, which ultimately leads to great reviews, word of mouth, and customer retention as the customer strives for more advanced fitness. goals. Goals take care of themselves when clients realize they have the knowledge, willpower, and support they need to achieve the best results.
How much money can you expect at your job? Or what is the average starting salary?
According to many certification bodies, coaches receive an “average” salary in excess of $ 50,000 per year. This is far from the truth. Although the total cost of tuition is high (averaging around $ 50 per hour for private tuition, $ 5 to $ 30 for group options), the coach will usually see a significantly reduced fraction of that hourly rate, either due to overhead costs or reduced premises. or rental of premises. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the average wage is $ 31,720 per year.
An independent trainer monitors his rate, usually comparing his value and experience with current market rates. Gross margins can vary greatly depending on your overall sales, customer retention, and your desired schedule. Typically, a coach conducts an average of 30 workouts per week if considered “face-to-face”. The rest of the week should be devoted to business responsibilities and customer service (coding, correspondence, additional jobs, etc.). All of these factors lead to unpredictable wages, especially in the early years of doing business. Taking into account overhead costs, including advertising, rental and purchasing of equipment, the break-even point is very far from the typical industry turnover rate of 6 months for new coaches.
How are you “progressing” in your field?
Independent trainer and “in the gym” trainer go through different stages of career development. The “gym” usually works to attract clients and work in the gym, ultimately seeking pay increases or accountability to other training staff. The independent trainer is obviously responsible for his business and, if successful, may have the opportunity to pursue other types of fitness, including owning a gym or studio. Personal Trainers, depending on their general education, experience and certification level, can transition to coaching positions in strength and training programs for professional or student sports teams.
In particular, the success of this career is based on an overall reputation for delivering results, having a personality that is compatible with a given customer base, and delivering a level of service that surpasses and surpasses others in this area. This allows the trainer to charge “what they are worth” while the clients are aware of the value they are getting for the premium.
What do people underestimate / overestimate in what you do?
Too many clients assume, at least initially, that we are just buddies for expensive workouts. Many believe that until they get a complete training program, including pre-planned workouts, objective measurements of progress, and ongoing guidance, we are there to make sure they are honoring their purpose and to count the numbers of our representatives. In the end, they find that we care about their results as much as we care about ourselves, and that we pull our noses into books, research articles, and websites every night to find the best solution to get the most out of their goals.
What advice would you give to those who want to become your profession?
Don’t think that certification is enough. Continuously delivering results to clients for different purposes requires an unusually broad knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry that can be applied in practice. Read everything, learn from everyone, and learn to separate fact from fiction. Get ready to work continuously.
Finally, show genuine empathy for anyone trying to achieve any fitness goal. Not everyone wants to be a bodybuilder. Not everyone wants to achieve the highest sporting achievements. Sometimes they just want someone to talk to them through pain, give them some kind of actionable guidance, and hopefully make more progress than themselves.