First day as a PT tomorrow!

[BadgerDave]

Hey guys,

About a month ago I posted a thread about my desire to be a PT. Long story short, I wanted to be a PT back in high school, but I chose to listen to the wrong people when I was a freshmen in college and ended up going into accounting hoping to make lots of money. Found out it really sucked and that I couldn't do something I wasn't passionate about for the rest of my life, so I quit my accounting job and realized that I should have gone with my true passion. Oh well, you live and learn.

Anyway, I have my NASM exam scheduled for February 12th (I've been studying for 6-8 hours a day) and last week I got hired at a Xperience Fitness as a PT. Needless to say I'm really excited to finally start doing what I love to do. And no, this is not a please give me some advice on how to be successful kind of thread, there are plenty of those already. Just wanted to share with the rest of you that tomorrow I'll finally start working as a PT. I know I have a long road ahead of me of continuous learning in order to become a great PT, but I'm up for the challenge, and I must say, it feels damn good to have successfully dropped a career I hated to do what I had always wanted to do.

[dbh332]

Nice to see this op, Hope you have fun!

[ProxyViaProxy]

Hey man, I'm a fellow Milwaukee trainer! Which Xperiance you work at? I actually just got a job in the Anytime Fitness right by you in New Berlin. Corner of National and Moorland. Maybe we'll bump into each other sometime.

[BadgerDave]

Hey man, I'm a fellow Milwaukee trainer! Which Xperiance you work at? I actually just got a job in the Anytime Fitness right by you in New Berlin. Corner of National and Moorland. Maybe we'll bump into each other sometime.

The Xperience in Hales Corners. Glad to see other people from the Milwaukee area here, it's a great city. Good luck at Anytime.

[BadgerDave]

Nice to see this op, Hope you have fun!

Thank you, looking forward to it.

[tinapt]

Congratulations! Lol I also went into accounting hoping it would make money but I too have realised I can't do it for the rest of my life. Leaving once I go on maternity leave then will stick with PT full time.

[JohnSmeton]

goodluck. its a learning process

[ProxyViaProxy]

The Xperience in Hales Corners. Glad to see other people from the Milwaukee area here, it's a great city. Good luck at Anytime.

I'm actually a member there, I'm keeping it for the pool. I hope you have alot of success too!

[kandufitness]

So how was it? I remember my first "real" session (getting paid it was someone who I didn't know at all unlike before). I was a little nervous in the beginning, but by the 10 min mark, it was in my comfort zone and the session went well.

I hope it was the same for you.

[BadgerDave]

So how was it? I remember my first "real" session (getting paid it was someone who I didn't know at all unlike before). I was a little nervous in the beginning, but by the 10 min mark, it was in my comfort zone and the session went well.

I hope it was the same for you.

The first day was kind of lame, but understandably so with training, paperwork and what not. Had my first client yesterday and she was a very nice lady who seems very motivated herself so it definitely made it easier. But being the first session we just talked about her goals, went through the PAR-Q, got measurements and a basic fitness test. I'm really excited to design her workout and get her going.

I think the biggest challenge for me is going to be becoming a good salesman for PT. I don't think it'll be that tough to get good at it, just a learning process of trial and error seeing what works in getting people excited enough to realize that a PT could really help them achieve their fitness goals. What's great about selling PT sessions though is that you know you're selling them a service that will really improve their quality of life and overall health, so it's not like selling a car that they don't need.

[PeteratCastle]

The first day was kind of lame, but understandably so with training, paperwork and what not. Had my first client yesterday and she was a very nice lady who seems very motivated herself so it definitely made it easier. But being the first session we just talked about her goals, went through the PAR-Q, got measurements and a basic fitness test. I'm really excited to design her workout and get her going.

I think the biggest challenge for me is going to be becoming a good salesman for PT. I don't think it'll be that tough to get good at it, just a learning process of trial and error seeing what works in getting people excited enough to realize that a PT could really help them achieve their fitness goals. What's great about selling PT sessions though is that you know you're selling them a service that will really improve their quality of life and overall health, so it's not like selling a car that they don't need.

If you keep this mentality, you'll be fine.

[nickdavid]

Hey guys,

About a month ago I posted a thread about my desire to be a PT. Long story short, I wanted to be a PT back in high school, but I chose to listen to the wrong people when I was a freshmen in college and ended up going into accounting hoping to make lots of money. Found out it really sucked and that I couldn't do something I wasn't passionate about for the rest of my life, so I quit my accounting job and realized that I should have gone with my true passion. Oh well, you live and learn.

Anyway, I have my NASM exam scheduled for February 12th (I've been studying for 6-8 hours a day) and last week I got hired at a Xperience Fitness as a PT. Needless to say I'm really excited to finally start doing what I love to do. And no, this is not a please give me some advice on how to be successful kind of thread, there are plenty of those already. Just wanted to share with the rest of you that tomorrow I'll finally start working as a PT. I know I have a long road ahead of me of continuous learning in order to become a great PT, but I'm up for the challenge, and I must say, it feels damn good to have successfully dropped a career I hated to do what I had always wanted to do.

Awesome work with completing your qualifications and now it's time for the next challenge in your journey!

Sales and Marketing + Business SKILLS.

Developing your business acumen is crucial to the success of any self-employed personal trainer, especially if you're renting from a gym with rent to pay.

You'll want to start leveraging online marketing, ********, youtube, viral blogging system, and even direct marketing through referrals and word of mouth.... But let's be honest...

the most powerful way for you to get new clients is through going VIRAL.

People talk about you direct to their friends, share your posts and articles on ********, twitter, pinterest etc

Just as a quick example.

I actually teach how to do all of this using a simple 3 step system but that's for another day.

All the best with it man!

[BadgerDave]

Really starting to like this now. Closed my first sale of PT yesterday and my first floor pick-up of a very interested prospective client. Plus I found a couple more prospective clients out on the floor, I'm really starting to like working the floor.

And thanks for the advice about viral marketing Nick. Definitely something I've kept in mind and will start to develop soon...the one part in this profession where my business degree should come in handy.

[nickdavid]

Really starting to like this now. Closed my first sale of PT yesterday and my first floor pick-up of a very interested prospective client. Plus I found a couple more prospective clients out on the floor, I'm really starting to like working the floor.

And thanks for the advice about viral marketing Nick. Definitely something I've kept in mind and will start to develop soon...the one part in this profession where my business degree should come in handy.

Nice work on closing your first client!

Viral Marketing is the bomb.. comes in many forms.. but the most successful pt's I've seen are the ones that fire up their marketing funnel... so don't wait to get cracking into that!

[areese1803]

Great jobDave! Similar story with me... Luckily for me I realized my sophomore year that accounting was not for me! I took off the next semester and studied for my cert. it's a long hard challenging road, extremely frustrating at times, but your attitude will set you apart from the thousands of other trainers who are in it thinking its easy money and a way to meet "friends with benefits."best of luck!!

[kayser13]

Really starting to like this now. Closed my first sale of PT yesterday and my first floor pick-up of a very interested prospective client. Plus I found a couple more prospective clients out on the floor, I'm really starting to like working the floor.

And thanks for the advice about viral marketing Nick. Definitely something I've kept in mind and will start to develop soon...the one part in this profession where my business degree should come in handy.

Are you still working there as of now?

[health4life24]

Hey guys,

About a month ago I posted a thread about my desire to be a PT. Long story short, I wanted to be a PT back in high school, but I chose to listen to the wrong people when I was a freshmen in college and ended up going into accounting hoping to make lots of money. Found out it really sucked and that I couldn't do something I wasn't passionate about for the rest of my life, so I quit my accounting job and realized that I should have gone with my true passion. Oh well, you live and learn.

Anyway, I have my NASM exam scheduled for February 12th (I've been studying for 6-8 hours a day) and last week I got hired at a Xperience Fitness as a PT. Needless to say I'm really excited to finally start doing what I love to do. And no, this is not a please give me some advice on how to be successful kind of thread, there are plenty of those already. Just wanted to share with the rest of you that tomorrow I'll finally start working as a PT. I know I have a long road ahead of me of continuous learning in order to become a great PT, but I'm up for the challenge, and I must say, it feels damn good to have successfully dropped a career I hated to do what I had always wanted to do.

Good luck OP!

[UnemployedCSCS]

Wow, you left accounting for personal training?! I'd trade careers with you in an instant.

Have fun selling and working from sunrise to sunset for the rest of your life.

[Simmo0508]

Wow, you left accounting for personal training?! I'd trade careers with you in an instant.

Have fun selling and working from sunrise to sunset for the rest of your life.

Who said anything about sunrise to sunset? If you're working super long hours as a PT, you're doing it wrong and one hasn't set up their availabilities correctly or managed their clients in certain ways.

[UnemployedCSCS]

Who said anything about sunrise to sunset? If you're working super long hours as a PT, you're doing it wrong and one hasn't set up their availabilities correctly or managed their clients in certain ways.

Its really hard to find people available in the middle of the day. Usually when you're a trainer you have to work a split shift which sucks balls.

[rdferguson]

Its really hard to find people available in the middle of the day. Usually when you're a trainer you have to work a split shift which sucks balls.

To make a sustainable living as a PT, you're looking at roughly 20-30 hours worth of sessions per week, depending on how much you charge and what your expenses are. Let's assume you charge $100/hr (obviously the viability of this will depend largely on your location and the subsequent socioeconomic status of your clients), and half of that income becomes tax, gym fees and other business expenses. That leaves you with $50/hr to take home. With 20 hours worth of sessions, you'll get $1,000. Not the incredible take-home pay that a lot of gyms will sell you on, but a reasonable living. Now, 20 hours works out to be 5x4hr shifts. You could do that as pure morning shifts 5 days a week, or as pure evening shifts 5 days a week, or as morning/evening/morning/evening/morning three days straight followed by a four day weekend. If you like a 9-5 lifestyle (which, frankly, is rather appealing, considering that all your family and friends probably operate around the same lifestyle, so 9-5 is socially functional), then none of these options are ideal, however each of these options is quite workable. If, however, you've got 1 client at 6am, 1 at 9am, 1 at 12:30pm, 1 at 5:30pm, and 1 at 8pm, yeah, life's going to suck.

[Simmo0508]

To make a sustainable living as a PT, you're looking at roughly 20-30 hours worth of sessions per week, depending on how much you charge and what your expenses are. Let's assume you charge $100/hr (obviously the viability of this will depend largely on your location and the subsequent socioeconomic status of your clients), and half of that income becomes tax, gym fees and other business expenses. That leaves you with $50/hr to take home. With 20 hours worth of sessions, you'll get $1,000. Not the incredible take-home pay that a lot of gyms will sell you on, but a reasonable living. Now, 20 hours works out to be 5x4hr shifts. You could do that as pure morning shifts 5 days a week, or as pure evening shifts 5 days a week, or as morning/evening/morning/evening/morning three days straight followed by a four day weekend. If you like a 9-5 lifestyle (which, frankly, is rather appealing, considering that all your family and friends probably operate around the same lifestyle, so 9-5 is socially functional), then none of these options are ideal, however each of these options is quite workable. If, however, you've got 1 client at 6am, 1 at 9am, 1 at 12:30pm, 1 at 5:30pm, and 1 at 8pm, yeah, life's going to suck.

lol Exactly. It's what you make of it. What you create and how you want to set it up.

If you want to work day times, you have to target a different demographic whom have free time during that part of the day. Mothers, nearby workers with time in their lunch breaks, seniors etc. And to be honest, there's actually a huge demand for "day time" trainers because most of us do indeed do the morning/night split shift routine which neglects that demographic's availability.

- set your hours and your availabilities in when you WANT to work
- what demographic is available at those times generally?
- group the sessions back to back to increase productivity and reduce "down time" sitting around in between sessions