Wanting to become a PT

[ashleeyniicole]

I've been wanting to become a trainer for a while now, and I have read through some of the other threads on here, but I'm still a little lost. I am looking to go through NFPT, would you recommend it? I had a million questions before I decided to post and now I'm drawing a blank. I really just need general advice on how to get started, where to go for certification, and what to do once I am certified. I would like to work at a gym, but branch into doing training independently. Is anyone an independent trainer that has some advice?

[ashleeyniicole]

Also, are there additional requirements to teach a class? Extra certifications?

[m3ndo]

here's my honest advice:
-if you just go get certified and try to be an independent trainer, you'd better have a lot of contacts or be a marketing god. No one's going to hire you if you have no experience.
-if you've never trained anybody before, chances are you suck at it. Don't doom yourself by jumping into training and not being practiced.
-ideally you would find a legitimate health club or gym that allows you to be an apprentice trainer while you're getting your certification. Clients get a deal on apprentice training, and you get much needed experience.
-don't think you'll get paid more than you're worth...

I don't know where you live but the pay scale here is as follows:
apprentice - $12-20 per session (hour) || $25-35 independent
certified - $25-35 || $40 independent
professional - $35-45 || $50-60 independent
master - $45-55 || $65+ independent
elite - $55-65 || $85-100+ independent

Good luck though with whatever you decide

[ashleeyniicole]

Thanks m3ndo,
I am in no hurry to go independent until I am comfortable and have had successful clients, I was just curious how to get started. I haven't trained anyone, so I most definitely suck (LOL), but I am passionate about wanting to pursue it. I have always toyed with the idea, then I joined the military and since have absolutely fell in love and have decided to pursue it. I'm not concerned with the pay, I am just looking for something I actually enjoy. I've been reading through the threads some more, and I haven't seen very much talk about certification through NFPT, do you know much about it? My head is spinning by the amount of certifications there are, I'm so lost as far as where to start. I want to make sure the certification I get will be useful!

[RyouBakua]

here's my honest advice:
-if you just go get certified and try to be an independent trainer, you'd better have a lot of contacts or be a marketing god. No one's going to hire you if you have no experience.
-if you've never trained anybody before, chances are you suck at it. Don't doom yourself by jumping into training and not being practiced.
-ideally you would find a legitimate health club or gym that allows you to be an apprentice trainer while you're getting your certification. Clients get a deal on apprentice training, and you get much needed experience.
-don't think you'll get paid more than you're worth...

I don't know where you live but the pay scale here is as follows:
apprentice - $12-20 per session (hour) || $25-35 independent
certified - $25-35 || $40 independent
professional - $35-45 || $50-60 independent
master - $45-55 || $65+ independent
elite - $55-65 || $85-100+ independent

Good luck though with whatever you decide

thats a pretty good list

unfortunately i dont have any experience with NFPT


but i would check with chain gyms to see if that certification is right for you and that gym

[itasquo]

here's my honest advice:
-if you just go get certified and try to be an independent trainer, you'd better have a lot of contacts or be a marketing god. No one's going to hire you if you have no experience.
-if you've never trained anybody before, chances are you suck at it. Don't doom yourself by jumping into training and not being practiced.
-ideally you would find a legitimate health club or gym that allows you to be an apprentice trainer while you're getting your certification. Clients get a deal on apprentice training, and you get much needed experience.
-don't think you'll get paid more than you're worth...

I don't know where you live but the pay scale here is as follows:
apprentice - $12-20 per session (hour) || $25-35 independent
certified - $25-35 || $40 independent
professional - $35-45 || $50-60 independent
master - $45-55 || $65+ independent
elite - $55-65 || $85-100+ independent

Good luck though with whatever you decide

that sounds about right

[MikeyCPT]

Obviously, you need to become a CPT first and get insured. After that, the way I started my business was to post an ad on Craigslist offering a free month of personal training to a few people in exchange for them allowing me to use them as a reference. I picked out 4 people and gave them all 4 free sessions with no pressure to continue. A couple stayed on after the free sessions were over and the other couple I use as references for possible future clients... Seems to be working for me.

If you google "freetrainingbiz.webs" you can find a good guide that is relatively inexpensive and shows a good way to get started. It's only like 5 bucks, so it worth it for the info.

[OutdoorFitPro]

Hi
You should definitely get qualified first but don't worry too much about which certification to choose. None of them will really teach you what you need to know. You will learn more by doing and from hanging round with experienced trainers and coaches.
So get qualified then go find a mentor - someone to learn from - and start your real education. Find what interests you and learn as much about that as you can. Specialists always do better than generalists and it will help you identify the types of clients you want to train.

[m3ndo]

Thanks m3ndo,
I am in no hurry to go independent until I am comfortable and have had successful clients, I was just curious how to get started. I haven't trained anyone, so I most definitely suck (LOL), but I am passionate about wanting to pursue it. I have always toyed with the idea, then I joined the military and since have absolutely fell in love and have decided to pursue it. I'm not concerned with the pay, I am just looking for something I actually enjoy. I've been reading through the threads some more, and I haven't seen very much talk about certification through NFPT, do you know much about it? My head is spinning by the amount of certifications there are, I'm so lost as far as where to start. I want to make sure the certification I get will be useful!

Don't be concerned with which cert to get, mainly because you will get certs from many organizations if you continue to be a personal trainer. Basically just find one that embodies what you feel like doing. For example, don't get a USAW Olympic Lifting certification if you don't want to teach Oly lifting. Then again if you want to use pilates or yoga in your training, then pursue that as a continued education.

[ashleeyniicole]

Obviously, you need to become a CPT first and get insured. After that, the way I started my business was to post an ad on Craigslist offering a free month of personal training to a few people in exchange for them allowing me to use them as a reference. I picked out 4 people and gave them all 4 free sessions with no pressure to continue. A couple stayed on after the free sessions were over and the other couple I use as references for possible future clients... Seems to be working for me.

If you google "freetrainingbiz.webs" you can find a good guide that is relatively inexpensive and shows a good way to get started. It's only like 5 bucks, so it worth it for the info.

Thank you, I will definitely take a look at that site.

[ashleeyniicole]

Hi
You should definitely get qualified first but don't worry too much about which certification to choose. None of them will really teach you what you need to know. You will learn more by doing and from hanging round with experienced trainers and coaches.
So get qualified then go find a mentor - someone to learn from - and start your real education. Find what interests you and learn as much about that as you can. Specialists always do better than generalists and it will help you identify the types of clients you want to train.

As a personal trainer, does it ever bother you when a new PT asks you to mentor them? I don't want to bother anyone, ya know? I feel like this is a competitive field so I don't want to ask a trainer to mentor me and them worry about if I'm going to take potential clients from them or anything.

[ashleeyniicole]

Don't be concerned with which cert to get, mainly because you will get certs from many organizations if you continue to be a personal trainer. Basically just find one that embodies what you feel like doing. For example, don't get a USAW Olympic Lifting certification if you don't want to teach Oly lifting. Then again if you want to use pilates or yoga in your training, then pursue that as a continued education.

Thanks for the help!

[ChessGuy]

If that is your real picture I don't think you'll have any problem finding Personal trainers to help you. Especially the younger guys.

[RyouBakua]

If that is your real picture I don't think you'll have any problem finding Personal trainers to help you. Especially the younger guys.