What do you get paid for training people?

[wide lats]

A average client, per hour, whats your rate? And how many paying clients do you have?

[xJKAx]

This should help me get a feel for things, I'm in the middle of my ISSA cert. and have a job lined up at a local gym..I'll be the only male trainer and I already have 2 people lined up and another person who apparently has several people that will be interested! Everyone's asked me what I'm going to be charging but I have yet to give them an answer, I just said that we'll discuss it when we sit down and figure out the amount of sessions you would like to do and what not..

I'll only have 1 cert. @ first but I plan to get a few more through different places, so I'm a little more well rounded. I'm under the impression that if you sell yourself too low people won't think you are anything so they won't pick you up..true?

thanks ya'll!

[precisou2004]

On average, I'd say 50$ but some can go alot higher. JMO

[jdmalm123]

Originally Posted by wide lats

A average client, per hour, whats your rate? And how many paying clients do you have?

I'm in Long Island, NY....working part-time as a trainer (out of my home gym)
I have 4-6 clients and charge $50-80 per hour.

[Sicshift]

I charge 65 an hour if you buy 30 sessions in advance.

so $1950.00. 95% of all of my packages sold over the past 3 years are 30 session packages. I push them the hardest as they'll see far better results with a bigger committment. I'd say the average serious client trains about 60 sessions with me.

20 session package is 70 per hour and 10 session package is 75 an hour. All packages must be paid up front or at most split into 2 payments.

Single sessions are 85. In home training starts at 120 per session.


I work at personal training only private gyms for those rates by the way and before my injury, I'd train 5-8 sessions per day.

[precisou2004]

My trainer charges me 35$. He is good but he charges that because he is retired so it's not like he needs to make a whole lot, he can live without it, it's just like a pastime job. Dont get me wrong he loves to do this.. he's a bodybuilder and dang good at it too Im NEVER giving him up

[gischer]

I work for 24 hour fitness as a trainer (still in college so it makes it a little easier to work for a coorporation that gaurentees me clients, and saves me the effort of going out to get them myself). Eventually I will probably get out on my own, I'm still fairly new to the biz (been working for bout 3 months now).

We charge around $55-65 per session. 65 bux is for 5 sessions, 55 is for 27 upfront. We also do half sessions which is about 34-40 per session, 34 for a 20 package, and 40 for a 5 session package.

[bigred90]

Originally Posted by Sicshift

I charge 65 an hour if you buy 30 sessions in advance.

so $1950.00. 95% of all of my packages sold over the past 3 years are 30 session packages. I push them the hardest as they'll see far better results with a bigger committment. I'd say the average serious client trains about 60 sessions with me.

20 session package is 70 per hour and 10 session package is 75 an hour. All packages must be paid up front or at most split into 2 payments.

Single sessions are 85. In home training starts at 120 per session.


I work at personal training only private gyms for those rates by the way and before my injury, I'd train 5-8 sessions per day.

where do you live? and at home training sessions..do they usually have a decent amount of equipment or were there times where you had a hard time due to a lack of equipment they had at there home?

[xJKAx]

It sounds like the best thing to do is a mix of in gym/at home training(if your allowed to). It gives you a consistent client base and also a chance to make some serious cash.

[gischer]

Originally Posted by xJKAx

It sounds like the best thing to do is a mix of in gym/at home training(if your allowed to). It gives you a consistent client base and also a chance to make some serious cash.

most coorporate gyms don't allow you to train clients outside of their premesis'. Conflict of interest... I know 24 hour fitness is one such gym. When they first train us they have a big talk about us not being able to train on the side. Of course the gym you work for doesn't need to know... I suppose some smaller gyms that employ trainers may not care if you train outside...

[xJKAx]

Originally Posted by gischer

most coorporate gyms don't allow you to train clients outside of their premesis'. Conflict of interest... I know 24 hour fitness is one such gym. When they first train us they have a big talk about us not being able to train on the side. Of course the gym you work for doesn't need to know... I suppose some smaller gyms that employ trainers may not care if you train outside...

They aren't really a "chain" considering there are only 2 and they are both in the same county(province)..So I'll talk with them..I believe all of there current trainers are independent contractors though...they only have 2 trainers, both of which are female and train predominantly woman(go figure). Which puts me in a great position as the first male trainer there. Now they are building a larger facility that will be up and running in October but I should be certified and working by the middle of May... so that'll give me a chance to start at the old and work into the new one..but we'll see.

[MegaJay]

holy crap i think i just found my career, you dudes are loaded

[Sicshift]

Originally Posted by bigred90

where do you live? and at home training sessions..do they usually have a decent amount of equipment or were there times where you had a hard time due to a lack of equipment they had at there home?

Santa Barbara, California. It's one of the only places (that I know of) trainers can make $100,000 a year or more if they're at their peak game and working really hard. (I never worked that hard though, but I knew a few who did) When I was working really hard, I made really good money but I never wanted to be a trainer for my career so never worked as hard for the long run as some did. I just never had the work ethic I needed. I saw myself doing it through my mid-twenties and then moving on up somewhere else and that's what I'm doing. This is totally off topic but I felt some explanation due as you can't charge this hourly rate in a lot of places. Just an hour North, trainers charge only about $35.00 an hour.

A lot of people who can afford in-home training have enough money to either have a gym room, or already have some equipment to work with. You really learn how to train someone really well with very little equipment. It just comes with experience. The more you do it, the less equipment you need.

I have a powerblock adj. dumbbell set, incline/flat bench, swiss balls w/ electric pump, medicine balls, jump ropes, resistance bands/cables, bosu ball, foam roller, kickboxing pads and equipment, adjustable stepper and a few other things.

http://www.power-systems.com/ has all the great trainer tools. I spent about a grand initially on equipment but in the long run don't need it all. It keeps them entertained though by switching things up. It's much easier to train women than men at home as men will need some heavy duty weights.

There were definitely times when I had nothing but my adjustable dumb bells. It's not that hard though after a while. You just learn a lot of different body weight exercises and stuff with minimal weight. I used to write down all the different exercises that I could do and combos of exercises and even kept them on my blackberry so I could reference them.

I had a co-trainer who always cut out the exercise pages out of the fitness magazines and made huge binders with hundreds of them in there for ideas. It was really handy when you just are drawing a blank on something new and interesting to do.

[jaybrown]

Originally Posted by Sicshift

Santa Barbara, California. It's one of the only places (that I know of) trainers can make $100,000 a year or more if they're at their peak game and working really hard. (I never worked that hard though, but I knew a few who did) When I was working really hard, I made really good money but I never wanted to be a trainer for my career so never worked as hard for the long run as some did. I just never had the work ethic I needed. I saw myself doing it through my mid-twenties and then moving on up somewhere else and that's what I'm doing. This is totally off topic but I felt some explanation due as you can't charge this hourly rate in a lot of places. Just an hour North, trainers charge only about $35.00 an hour.

A lot of people who can afford in-home training have enough money to either have a gym room, or already have some equipment to work with. You really learn how to train someone really well with very little equipment. It just comes with experience. The more you do it, the less equipment you need.

I have a powerblock adj. dumbbell set, incline/flat bench, swiss balls w/ electric pump, medicine balls, jump ropes, resistance bands/cables, bosu ball, foam roller, kickboxing pads and equipment, adjustable stepper and a few other things.

http://www.power-systems.com/ has all the great trainer tools. I spent about a grand initially on equipment but in the long run don't need it all. It keeps them entertained though by switching things up. It's much easier to train women than men at home as men will need some heavy duty weights.

There were definitely times when I had nothing but my adjustable dumb bells. It's not that hard though after a while. You just learn a lot of different body weight exercises and stuff with minimal weight. I used to write down all the different exercises that I could do and combos of exercises and even kept them on my blackberry so I could reference them.

I had a co-trainer who always cut out the exercise pages out of the fitness magazines and made huge binders with hundreds of them in there for ideas. It was really handy when you just are drawing a blank on something new and interesting to do.

how do you got about making sure you protect yourself legally training out of your home??

[jdmalm123]

Originally Posted by jaybrown

how do you got about making sure you protect yourself legally training out of your home??

trainers can buy industry specific insurance

I have a $2 million liability policy for under $250/year

[jaybrown]

Originally Posted by jdmalm123

trainers can buy industry specific insurance

I have a $2 million liability policy for under $250/year

if u dont mind me askin whos it through???? ace has discounts for its certified professionals but for some reason neither one of those companies offer insurance for the state of louisiana

[Sicshift]

I have insurance through Merkel. I might be off on the spelling. Haven't looked at the policy in almost a year. It was about 200 bucks I believe.

[adoniscomplex]

i charge 70 an hour , and less with larger packages
which i do 6,12, 24, 36

i make 60% , 40% pays my rent at the studio

right now i have like 10 clients but i think i have like 5 new ones starting in the next week or so , which is gonna be huge for my wallet

[xJKAx]

Originally Posted by adoniscomplex

right now i have like 10 clients but i think i have like 5 new ones starting in the next week or so , which is gonna be huge for my wallet

thats gotta be a great feeling!! I'm really looking forward to this career! Its just a matter of getting my cert. finished/passed/sent in and returned! I'm really hoping to get this done soon, considering the lack of $$ I currently have =(

[adoniscomplex]

Originally Posted by xJKAx

thats gotta be a great feeling!! I'm really looking forward to this career! Its just a matter of getting my cert. finished/passed/sent in and returned! I'm really hoping to get this done soon, considering the lack of $$ I currently have =(

good luck dude
after you get certified , really search out for more solid training info because you are going to encounter alot of things you would never think of and the better you are ready to deal with the , well the more successful you will be

[xJKAx]

Originally Posted by adoniscomplex

good luck dude
after you get certified , really search out for more solid training info because you are going to encounter alot of things you would never think of and the better you are ready to deal with the , well the more successful you will be

Thanks!! I'm really buckling down now, I've been "skimming" through the book and looking over stuff that I "think" I know and just getting to the "goodstuff". Which I have started over completely over and studying properly b/c I don't want to miss anything and now that I've got a feel for everything, I know what I'm getting into..Thanks a lot man, I'll definitely be doing more research!

[John Prophet]

Originally Posted by xJKAx

I'm under the impression that if you sell yourself too low people won't think you are anything so they won't pick you up..true?

thanks ya'll!

thats been my experience. I am about to increase my prices and also ONLY sell packages. Im sick of the day by day or weekly deal....its just 2 hard to get those type to show up consistently

[xJKAx]

Originally Posted by John Prophet

thats been my experience. I am about to increase my prices and also ONLY sell packages. Im sick of the day by day or weekly deal....its just 2 hard to get those type to show up consistently

Thanks man! Noted!

[Sicshift]

Originally Posted by John Prophet

thats been my experience. I am about to increase my prices and also ONLY sell packages. Im sick of the day by day or weekly deal....its just 2 hard to get those type to show up consistently

I've only ever sold packages. 10, 20 or 30 session packages. No less than 10. 95% of all my packages sold over the past 3 years has been the 30 session package. That way I can charge them if they don't show. I'm very strict. 24 hours notice cancellation or your session is forfieted.

[Retardo-pex]

I'm only a part time trainer with only a few years of certified training under my belt, not running a business or living of the pt income, so I'm fairly lenient with my pricing.

The first place I worked at (a YMCA) charged $45 a session, I got $25 of it. My job now lets me free range with the training as I'm really the only certified trainer on site and they don't offer their own training programs. I feel $40 an hour is a fair range for most people, its not insanely cheap but its also not unaffordable.

If this was my business and its all I did I would probably charge upwards of 70-90 a session or more depending on the location. Rich people will pretty much pay anything but again, since I deal with the finances one on one and don't feel like ripping people off I keep it pretty reasonable.

[SFT]

I am also a Kin. major looking to become a trainer, I'd like to have my own facility after a few years of internships and other training jobs getting the experience needed.

I am sure some have read this article, but check out: http://www.elitefts.com/documents/business.htm. Some pretty good information in there and everything.

As far as certifications, everyone I have talked to or mostly read has said that the certification is just the way to open the door. Collecting certifications would seem to be quite a useless practice to me. People are going to come to you or not based on the results of your clients.

Also, in order to make a lot of money you do not have to train rich people. Many trainers have talked about semi-private training I believe they call it, where you actually train more than one client at once. Although this is probably difficult when you are first starting out and have few clients that may or may not be similar in goals/strength/sex/etc, over time it would probably be more likely that you have 3-4 high school athletes that you could train at the same time for $30-40/session each, and that means $90-120/session for you, while still being affordable.

This may be difficult for you if you are working at a commercial gym that does not allow it or equipment wise would not be plausible, but if you find a facility that would allow you to do this over time, could be worth it.

Hope some of this information helps. I have been researching a lot of this over the last few years and finally about the age where I'm planning on volunteering some hours at a training facility while getting a certification.

[jdmalm123]

Originally Posted by jaybrown

if u dont mind me askin whos it through???? ace has discounts for its certified professionals but for some reason neither one of those companies offer insurance for the state of louisiana

C.M. MEIERS Co

(sorry for the delay)

[Richoss]

that can be some cash, but to make that cash you have to be consistently training people.

lets say you only train 2 peoples a day, 3 times a week, and the session goes for a hour, and you are charging $50 an hour. thats $100 in a day, thats $300 a week. so your client level is low. lets say you train 6 people a day, 5 days a week at $50. thats $300 a day, $1500 a week.

see how much difference there is. it doesnt matter how much you charge, heck if you charge $35 and you are training 6 people a day/5 days a week, you are still bringing in $1050 a week. i wouldnt worry so much about how much to charge until you have a big list of clients, or other methods to bring money in.

you will need to find out just how much you need a week to survive, pay bills, food etc etc plus a little extra for fun, and then work out if you charge this much how many clients will you need, or if i charge this ill need this many etc.

but this is coming from someone who isnt qualified, trains a couple people out of his garage for free couple times a week after work. but i will be making a career out of it. but thats just something to think about guys, get people first

[Retardo-pex]

The best way to charge whatever you want is to come up with a gimmicky program name. Even if this program is just an individualized upper lower split if you call it and advertise it as "SoandSo's Fullbody bootcamp" or something dumb like that people eat that **** up. Alliteration is key, Eight minute abs, perfect pushup etc. All basic crap that doesn't need to be paid for to obtain but lazy people love it.

[sixzebra]

I charge $40 per training session. I also do contest prep so I offer posing/show prep sessions for which I charge $30. My gym charges me a small percentage.