So, how much are you guys making as PT's ?

[WhatSupDudE]

I'm planning on getting 1-2 certificates to become a personal trainer, I was wondering how much most of you charge and how many clients you have? Also, would it be easier for someone with a GREAT transformation to get clients?
If you don't want to say in public could you pm me?

[KyleAaron]

This discusses it in detail. Straight-talk: you're 18 so you won't earn much. People don't want 18 year olds telling them what to do. Trainers start becoming successful past 25yo or so, the most successful ones are 30+ with 5+ years of experience. But speaking generally...

Most trainers are unsuccessful, so they won't tell how much they earn. As well, the nature of the work means that you can sometimes get paid cash in hand and thus can avoid taxes. I don't give a sht and I pay my taxes, so I will tell you,

Year 1 (FY 10/11) - I earned $32,471 while working 23.7hr a week
#2 (11/12) was $32,466 at 21.1hr pw
#3 (12/13) was $34,365 at 21.3hr pw
#4 (13/14) was $37,294 at 21.2hr pw
#5 (14/15) was $36,259 at... it's become harder to say.

Some explanation.

Community gyms like the YMCA will generally pay you for gym shifts, but then the gym decides PT session rates and takes a large chunk of it before giving you your bit. For example they charge $80ph and give you $40. A commercial gym like Fitness First will not pay you for gym shifts, and in fact charges you rent to be there, but you can charge whatever you like for PT sessions. Financially this works out about the same for a moderately successful trainer.

My gross income for the 4yr4mo at the community gym was $147,650 (the other $24,866 comes from my own place). However, I did 4,213 half-hour PT sessions, which (adjusting for different rates of casual vs direct debit, plus price rises over those years) earned the gyms I worked for $151,375. Basically it cost them nothing to have a trainer there for more than 4 years.

It becomes a profit for them once you realise that my presence helped retain a lot of members, each of whom was paying when I left about $23 a week for membership, or about $1,000 a year once you factor in concession rates and absences due to holidays etc. I started up 100 people a year as new members, left to themselves about 40 of them would have stuck around 12 months, talking to an instructor (not just me) meant 80 of them stayed, so that is $40,000 a year they got from my presence.

For the first 4 years the work was a mixture of paid shifts on the gym floor, and personal training sessions. The gym shifts paid $20-$25ph and the PT sessions $35-$45. Over time I did less gym shifts and more personal training, so that PT went from 35% of my income in year 1 to 70% in year 4.

Year 1 I worked at 3 different gyms and my hours were all over the place. Halfway through it I quit the 3rd gym and just worked at two related ones within 3km of each-other.
Year 2, halfway through one of the 2 gyms closed and I just worked at the other.
Year 3 I argued myself a pay rise for PT sessions at the gym.
Year 4 was a further pay rise, however at the end of it I decided to go private.

Year 5, in July I opened my place, by October all my PT clients had either come to my place or gone to other trainers, in November I did my last gym shift and walked out for good. Since then all my income has come from my 350 square foot garage.

December I away in Texas doing the Starting Strength seminar so money was down then. You can say I really started full-time my own business in January. Jan-Jun I earned $19,416 from that, which comes to $38k annually, ie about the same as at the community gym. However, I am financially MUCH better off now overall. This is because I now have zero commute, and instead of filling my car for $50 every 10 days, it's every 50 days; this is about $1,000 a year. As well, running a business from home allows many tax breaks, like I can claim a chunk of my mortgage and electricity bill. So my taxable income has dropped a lot, meaning another $1,000 or so in my pocket after tax.

All through these five years I have consistently worked 20-25hr a week. This was my choice. Who has money for PT? People with jobs, most of which are mon-fri 9-5. So 80% of PT sessions happen 6-9am and 6-9pm. The other 20% are stay-at-home parents, students and retirees, but you can usually stick them immediately after the morning rush or before the evening rush, so your hours are effectively 6-10am and/or 5-9pm. This means for a 40hr week you need to be at the gym from 6am to 9pm, though obviously you can do other stuff about 10-4.

A young single person will just get a poky little apartment five minutes from the gym and work every hour god sends. Only 4 of 15 trainers earned as much or more than me, and they all worked all the time while I just did the mornings after the first year. I restricted my hours because I am married and a father, my presence at home is worth more to my family than another $20k or so. But my wife is a professional so we can do that. Point is, put no limits on your hours and your income can be greater than mine.

Obviously there are benefits and problems working in a commercial vs a community gym, or you own place, and lifestyle benefits etc, but you just asked about money.

[rdferguson]

In my case, very little. I do PT part-time and uni full-time, so I have a good reason for not making a lot of money out of PT, but many PT's make very little for bad reasons -- and I was one of those PT's for a long time.

I charge $40/30min session. I'm currently doing an average of 5 sessions/wk, which is all I care to deal with on top of study. So that's a whopping $200/wk. But then a portion of that goes to the owner of the facility, so I only get to use about $120/wk. Given that a lot of uni students would have to do many more hours to get that same amount, I'm okay with this. But if you're responsible for anyone other than yourself, then this isn't much to go around, obviously.

Last I checked, the owner charges $60/hr for PT, but most of his gym-based income isn't from sessions. He also charges $20/wk for general entry to the facility and $40/wk for programming. There's also the pittance I pay him, there's a couple other trainers who make about as much as I do, and another trainer reels in much more money for him. I think between us trainers we cover the costs of renting out the facility. I don't know the exact number of members he's got on his different pay scales, but I'd guestimate that he has 30-40 people paying him. Assuming that he's got 40 people, 20 of whom pay him $20/wk, and 10 of whom pay $40/wk, that's $800/wk before he has to show up to a single PT session with the remaining 10 clients. That's a bit more desirable.

Key things to note: He's been doing this for about 5 years; It's taken a long time to get to this stage (although you certainly *could* get there faster); He has multiple streams of income as outlined above.

[JohnSmeton]

This discusses it in detail. Straight-talk: you're 18 so you won't earn much. People don't want 18 year olds telling them what to do. Trainers start becoming successful past 25yo or so, the most successful ones are 30+ with 5+ years of experience. But speaking generally...

Most trainers are unsuccessful, so they won't tell how much they earn. As well, the nature of the work means that you can sometimes get paid cash in hand and thus can avoid taxes. I don't give a sht and I pay my taxes, so I will tell you,

Year 1 (FY 10/11) - I earned $32,471 while working 23.7hr a week
#2 (11/12) was $32,466 at 21.1hr pw
#3 (12/13) was $34,365 at 21.3hr pw
#4 (13/14) was $37,294 at 21.2hr pw
#5 (14/15) was $36,259 at... it's become harder to say.

Some explanation.

Community gyms like the YMCA will generally pay you for gym shifts, but then the gym decides PT session rates and takes a large chunk of it before giving you your bit. For example they charge $80ph and give you $40. A commercial gym like Fitness First will not pay you for gym shifts, and in fact charges you rent to be there, but you can charge whatever you like for PT sessions. Financially this works out about the same for a moderately successful trainer.

My gross income for the 4yr4mo at the community gym was $147,650 (the other $24,866 comes from my own place). However, I did 4,213 half-hour PT sessions, which (adjusting for different rates of casual vs direct debit, plus price rises over those years) earned the gyms I worked for $151,375. Basically it cost them nothing to have a trainer there for more than 4 years.

It becomes a profit for them once you realise that my presence helped retain a lot of members, each of whom was paying when I left about $23 a week for membership, or about $1,000 a year once you factor in concession rates and absences due to holidays etc. I started up 100 people a year as new members, left to themselves about 40 of them would have stuck around 12 months, talking to an instructor (not just me) meant 80 of them stayed, so that is $40,000 a year they got from my presence.

For the first 4 years the work was a mixture of paid shifts on the gym floor, and personal training sessions. The gym shifts paid $20-$25ph and the PT sessions $35-$45. Over time I did less gym shifts and more personal training, so that PT went from 35% of my income in year 1 to 70% in year 4.

Year 1 I worked at 3 different gyms and my hours were all over the place. Halfway through it I quit the 3rd gym and just worked at two related ones within 3km of each-other.
Year 2, halfway through one of the 2 gyms closed and I just worked at the other.
Year 3 I argued myself a pay rise for PT sessions at the gym.
Year 4 was a further pay rise, however at the end of it I decided to go private.

Year 5, in July I opened my place, by October all my PT clients had either come to my place or gone to other trainers, in November I did my last gym shift and walked out for good. Since then all my income has come from my 350 square foot garage.

December I away in Texas doing the Starting Strength seminar so money was down then. You can say I really started full-time my own business in January. Jan-Jun I earned $19,416 from that, which comes to $38k annually, ie about the same as at the community gym. However, I am financially MUCH better off now overall. This is because I now have zero commute, and instead of filling my car for $50 every 10 days, it's every 50 days; this is about $1,000 a year. As well, running a business from home allows many tax breaks, like I can claim a chunk of my mortgage and electricity bill. So my taxable income has dropped a lot, meaning another $1,000 or so in my pocket after tax.

All through these five years I have consistently worked 20-25hr a week. This was my choice. Who has money for PT? People with jobs, most of which are mon-fri 9-5. So 80% of PT sessions happen 6-9am and 6-9pm. The other 20% are stay-at-home parents, students and retirees, but you can usually stick them immediately after the morning rush or before the evening rush, so your hours are effectively 6-10am and/or 5-9pm. This means for a 40hr week you need to be at the gym from 6am to 9pm, though obviously you can do other stuff about 10-4.

A young single person will just get a poky little apartment five minutes from the gym and work every hour god sends. Only 4 of 15 trainers earned as much or more than me, and they all worked all the time while I just did the mornings after the first year. I restricted my hours because I am married and a father, my presence at home is worth more to my family than another $20k or so. But my wife is a professional so we can do that. Point is, put no limits on your hours and your income can be greater than mine.

Obviously there are benefits and problems working in a commercial vs a community gym, or you own place, and lifestyle benefits etc, but you just asked about money.

nice. thanks for inspiration

[WolfBeast]

It depends on your location, and what gym(s) you choose to work at -or go independent. I know a lot of anytime gyms don't pay hourly, they only pay commission off of the client packages you sell. That being said, I make a decent living off of being a primarily online coach w/ a few in persons, it's taken a few years to really build up my business and make this my full-time gig

[Ronin4help]

This discusses it in detail. Straight-talk: you're 18 so you won't earn much. People don't want 18 year olds telling them what to do. Trainers start becoming successful past 25yo or so, the most successful ones are 30+ with 5+ years of experience. But speaking generally...

Most trainers are unsuccessful, so they won't tell how much they earn. As well, the nature of the work means that you can sometimes get paid cash in hand and thus can avoid taxes. I don't give a sht and I pay my taxes, so I will tell you,

Year 1 (FY 10/11) - I earned $32,471 while working 23.7hr a week
#2 (11/12) was $32,466 at 21.1hr pw
#3 (12/13) was $34,365 at 21.3hr pw
#4 (13/14) was $37,294 at 21.2hr pw
#5 (14/15) was $36,259 at... it's become harder to say.

Some explanation.

Community gyms like the YMCA will generally pay you for gym shifts, but then the gym decides PT session rates and takes a large chunk of it before giving you your bit. For example they charge $80ph and give you $40. A commercial gym like Fitness First will not pay you for gym shifts, and in fact charges you rent to be there, but you can charge whatever you like for PT sessions. Financially this works out about the same for a moderately successful trainer.

My gross income for the 4yr4mo at the community gym was $147,650 (the other $24,866 comes from my own place). However, I did 4,213 half-hour PT sessions, which (adjusting for different rates of casual vs direct debit, plus price rises over those years) earned the gyms I worked for $151,375. Basically it cost them nothing to have a trainer there for more than 4 years.

It becomes a profit for them once you realise that my presence helped retain a lot of members, each of whom was paying when I left about $23 a week for membership, or about $1,000 a year once you factor in concession rates and absences due to holidays etc. I started up 100 people a year as new members, left to themselves about 40 of them would have stuck around 12 months, talking to an instructor (not just me) meant 80 of them stayed, so that is $40,000 a year they got from my presence.

For the first 4 years the work was a mixture of paid shifts on the gym floor, and personal training sessions. The gym shifts paid $20-$25ph and the PT sessions $35-$45. Over time I did less gym shifts and more personal training, so that PT went from 35% of my income in year 1 to 70% in year 4.

Year 1 I worked at 3 different gyms and my hours were all over the place. Halfway through it I quit the 3rd gym and just worked at two related ones within 3km of each-other.
Year 2, halfway through one of the 2 gyms closed and I just worked at the other.
Year 3 I argued myself a pay rise for PT sessions at the gym.
Year 4 was a further pay rise, however at the end of it I decided to go private.

Year 5, in July I opened my place, by October all my PT clients had either come to my place or gone to other trainers, in November I did my last gym shift and walked out for good. Since then all my income has come from my 350 square foot garage.

December I away in Texas doing the Starting Strength seminar so money was down then. You can say I really started full-time my own business in January. Jan-Jun I earned $19,416 from that, which comes to $38k annually, ie about the same as at the community gym. However, I am financially MUCH better off now overall. This is because I now have zero commute, and instead of filling my car for $50 every 10 days, it's every 50 days; this is about $1,000 a year. As well, running a business from home allows many tax breaks, like I can claim a chunk of my mortgage and electricity bill. So my taxable income has dropped a lot, meaning another $1,000 or so in my pocket after tax.

All through these five years I have consistently worked 20-25hr a week. This was my choice. Who has money for PT? People with jobs, most of which are mon-fri 9-5. So 80% of PT sessions happen 6-9am and 6-9pm. The other 20% are stay-at-home parents, students and retirees, but you can usually stick them immediately after the morning rush or before the evening rush, so your hours are effectively 6-10am and/or 5-9pm. This means for a 40hr week you need to be at the gym from 6am to 9pm, though obviously you can do other stuff about 10-4.

A young single person will just get a poky little apartment five minutes from the gym and work every hour god sends. Only 4 of 15 trainers earned as much or more than me, and they all worked all the time while I just did the mornings after the first year. I restricted my hours because I am married and a father, my presence at home is worth more to my family than another $20k or so. But my wife is a professional so we can do that. Point is, put no limits on your hours and your income can be greater than mine.

Obviously there are benefits and problems working in a commercial vs a community gym, or you own place, and lifestyle benefits etc, but you just asked about money.

Great response brother.

[Footballa_19]

1st year: 24K, took a lot of clients just to pay the bills, lower hourly rates, worked about 30 hrs a week on avg

2nd year: 36K started building credibility, consistent clients from first year contracts acted as advertisement, worked about 30-40 hrs a wk

3rd year: 45K built a strong group of clients with recurring contracts who needed the longer term help, charging more per hr as my demand went up, worked 40hr a week

4th year and since: 60K , one of the best known health pros in my community, I pretty much state my hourly pay (around 75/hr), have a waiting list to train, work 60 hrs a week

I have made great progress each year, but I wont lie, my problem is I try to help everyone, so I work WAY too many hours some weeks, the wife doesn't like that lol

[vanfreak]

This discusses it in detail. Straight-talk: you're 18 so you won't earn much. People don't want 18 year olds telling them what to do. Trainers start becoming successful past 25yo or so, the most successful ones are 30+ with 5+ years of experience. But speaking generally...

Most trainers are unsuccessful, so they won't tell how much they earn. As well, the nature of the work means that you can sometimes get paid cash in hand and thus can avoid taxes. I don't give a sht and I pay my taxes, so I will tell you,

Year 1 (FY 10/11) - I earned $32,471 while working 23.7hr a week
#2 (11/12) was $32,466 at 21.1hr pw
#3 (12/13) was $34,365 at 21.3hr pw
#4 (13/14) was $37,294 at 21.2hr pw
#5 (14/15) was $36,259 at... it's become harder to say.

Some explanation.

Community gyms like the YMCA will generally pay you for gym shifts, but then the gym decides PT session rates and takes a large chunk of it before giving you your bit. For example they charge $80ph and give you $40. A commercial gym like Fitness First will not pay you for gym shifts, and in fact charges you rent to be there, but you can charge whatever you like for PT sessions. Financially this works out about the same for a moderately successful trainer.

My gross income for the 4yr4mo at the community gym was $147,650 (the other $24,866 comes from my own place). However, I did 4,213 half-hour PT sessions, which (adjusting for different rates of casual vs direct debit, plus price rises over those years) earned the gyms I worked for $151,375. Basically it cost them nothing to have a trainer there for more than 4 years.

It becomes a profit for them once you realise that my presence helped retain a lot of members, each of whom was paying when I left about $23 a week for membership, or about $1,000 a year once you factor in concession rates and absences due to holidays etc. I started up 100 people a year as new members, left to themselves about 40 of them would have stuck around 12 months, talking to an instructor (not just me) meant 80 of them stayed, so that is $40,000 a year they got from my presence.

For the first 4 years the work was a mixture of paid shifts on the gym floor, and personal training sessions. The gym shifts paid $20-$25ph and the PT sessions $35-$45. Over time I did less gym shifts and more personal training, so that PT went from 35% of my income in year 1 to 70% in year 4.

Year 1 I worked at 3 different gyms and my hours were all over the place. Halfway through it I quit the 3rd gym and just worked at two related ones within 3km of each-other.
Year 2, halfway through one of the 2 gyms closed and I just worked at the other.
Year 3 I argued myself a pay rise for PT sessions at the gym.
Year 4 was a further pay rise, however at the end of it I decided to go private.

Year 5, in July I opened my place, by October all my PT clients had either come to my place or gone to other trainers, in November I did my last gym shift and walked out for good. Since then all my income has come from my 350 square foot garage.

December I away in Texas doing the Starting Strength seminar so money was down then. You can say I really started full-time my own business in January. Jan-Jun I earned $19,416 from that, which comes to $38k annually, ie about the same as at the community gym. However, I am financially MUCH better off now overall. This is because I now have zero commute, and instead of filling my car for $50 every 10 days, it's every 50 days; this is about $1,000 a year. As well, running a business from home allows many tax breaks, like I can claim a chunk of my mortgage and electricity bill. So my taxable income has dropped a lot, meaning another $1,000 or so in my pocket after tax.

All through these five years I have consistently worked 20-25hr a week. This was my choice. Who has money for PT? People with jobs, most of which are mon-fri 9-5. So 80% of PT sessions happen 6-9am and 6-9pm. The other 20% are stay-at-home parents, students and retirees, but you can usually stick them immediately after the morning rush or before the evening rush, so your hours are effectively 6-10am and/or 5-9pm. This means for a 40hr week you need to be at the gym from 6am to 9pm, though obviously you can do other stuff about 10-4.

A young single person will just get a poky little apartment five minutes from the gym and work every hour god sends. Only 4 of 15 trainers earned as much or more than me, and they all worked all the time while I just did the mornings after the first year. I restricted my hours because I am married and a father, my presence at home is worth more to my family than another $20k or so. But my wife is a professional so we can do that. Point is, put no limits on your hours and your income can be greater than mine.

Obviously there are benefits and problems working in a commercial vs a community gym, or you own place, and lifestyle benefits etc, but you just asked about money.

Once again KyleAaron nails it..
Similar story to his although I am only private part time..
I work in a very prominent place, I mostly train but I do one or two Gym shifts of 4 hours each a week-but I get a pension and additional benefits. In addition to that I also work at a place closer to home but clients only, My cut after they take their percentage is 50$ [Canadian dollars] I have about 6 regular clients there and its growing, I have been there for about 6 months , all of those six though do multiple sessions with me per week.
On top of that I teach PT and do workshops..for a 4 hour workshop I get 400$, I do a few of those a year.The PT courses are about 6 hours a week when running at 35.00$ an hour. So on top of that when I do a skills asessment on the students I get an extra 75$ per student.It's a good chunk of my income per year.
On top of that there is also the odd private clients who buy asessions in bulk, a couple of random classes and covering shifts so my income can vary anywhere between 45-52,000 a year.Lowest it ever was was around 28,00 when I first started.I work very long hours at times but earn every penny I make..also keep in mind wages etc. in Canada are much higher than the USA.....

[jwarrenfit]

Wow some poverty trainers in here... in ****ty Lubbock Texas I made a low of 40 and a high of 48k the three years I trained there 18-21

In orange county the last 6 years made 50k year one 55 year 2, 60 year 3 and hung out around 65 for another 2+ years. This last year I finally broke out of corporate gyms, since January I have earned 70k so in track for my first 100k year training

Rates are 60-125 hr depending on frequency and which gym I train out of

[Voltri]

It's been two years since I got my cert; I train out of my own studio, and am on pace this year to gross ~ $60 000 (at least) from training alone.

[KyleAaron]

Wow some poverty trainers in here... in ****ty Lubbock Texas I made a low of 40 and a high of 48k the three years I trained there 18-21

How many hours were you in the gym for that?

[jwarrenfit]

when i was in west texas I hustled for a month putting in probably 50 hours a week at the gym while in school full time. After that i was able to dial it down to about 30-35 hours a week which balanced much better with school.

Passive money is where its at though without a doubt.. I train about 30 hours a week now with one group class and also have some online clients and income from writing for a supplement website.. I have about 5 hours a week of training being done by other trainers on my clients that i make 40% on, trying to build that up so I can keep hours to around 30 or so and dedicate more time to building a community/brand

i dont have or want a family lol so i can get a little more obsessive i guess

[KyleAaron]

In other words, it's as I've said:

If you are willing to work every hour God sends, then you can make good money. If you choose to restrict your hours, then you are restricting your income, too. Some of us don't mind that, some will. You're paid by the hour, so your income is determined by your hours. There's a lot of unpaid stuff, too, which drops down the effective hourly rate.

And the real money in fitness is not in actually training people. It's seminars, certificates, DVDs, meal plans, online stuff, affiliate marketing, managing other trainers and taking a slice of their income, etc. But before anyone will pay us to do any of that, most of us will have to start by actually training people, which brings us back to the previous paragraph.

[DeadlyStriker]

Wow some poverty trainers in here... in ****ty Lubbock Texas I made a low of 40 and a high of 48k the three years I trained there 18-21

In orange county the last 6 years made 50k year one 55 year 2, 60 year 3 and hung out around 65 for another 2+ years. This last year I finally broke out of corporate gyms, since January I have earned 70k so in track for my first 100k year training

Rates are 60-125 hr depending on frequency and which gym I train out of

What corporate gyms do you suggest in cali? I am going to be doing the same as you did and move to cali most likely by the end of this year. I am looking at the Santa Monica area. Obviously I am looking at job postings in that area and surrounding areas, but are there certain chains I should stay away from? I figure I need to do that for a little while to gain more experience and build a following/client base before going on my own.

Are there a lot of private gyms in your area? Or any higher end facilities as opposed to commercial gyms?

[jwarrenfit]

Tons of private gyms up there in Santa Monica I'm down in Newport beach. You will probably need to work the corporate circuit to get your feet wet and gain experience. Golds gym doesn't have a location over there except west Hollywood. Not a good location i would try to get in at equinox and make some good connections. Before going private

[gekkoboy14]

80k

[WoofieNugget]

Just to give you a frame of reference, I moved to a new city five years ago knowing nobody and had to basically start from scratch working at a chain gym, but I had ten years of experience and knew how to build a business.

My first year at that chain gym I think I made 25k, I left after 11 months and most time was spent building business and at crappy pay I didn't have a choice over. I averaged about $25/hour when I was working. Probably averaged 15-20 sessions a week by year end.

Second year at a new gym where opportunity was better for clients I made about 35 because again, my pay was limited by the facility. Still averaged about $25 per hour but had more hours overall (30-35/week).

After that I went independent, starting my rates at $50/hour (sort of cheap for my area). I made 48k working 1/3 less hours than the previous two years. Started at about 10-15 hours a week and then built from there through marketing and referrals.

My rates are now $70 per hour and I work on referrals only, about 20-25 hours a week having a steady clientele. Most of my clients are with me for over two years. You do the math, but last year I cleared 72k training an average of 100 hours per month. I could work more but I'm limited by having two small children and want to have a life. If I actually worked even 30 hours per week I'd be making six figures. So in four years I basically tripled and could have quadrupled my income by being really good at my job.

As a PT, the first year where you are BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS takes time, you don't make a lot of money and the hours typically suck. Focus on where you want to be in five years and the money will grow exponentially, as it will in any industry where you work for yourself. Don't expect to make decent money for the first two years and have realistic expectations. No business gets off the ground floor quickly. And yes, to be successful as a PT, just like in any job you have to WORK HARD. Many new PT's don't realize that and that's why the attrition rate is 80-90% in the first two years.

[KyleAaron]

Woofie makes a good point. Here in Australia it's said around half of trainers quit after six months. Thinking back, best guess is of 15 trainers at one gym, about 6 would be quitting and we'd hire 6 new ones each year, so 12 month retention of staff at the Y was 55-65%. Coincidentally, member retention was about this, too.

I just called a FF gym manager I know where all the staff pay rent, he says staff retention at the gym floor level is about 25% over 12 months. This is also the member retention rate.

Only two data points there, but...

Something to consider: staff retention and member retention correlate well. The sort of place that doesn't care about its members won't care about its staff. So visit a gym and work out there before applying for work there.

[2020Wellness]

Last year I hit 100k almost on the dot. The year prior was 75k and the year prior to that was 50k, so business is growing.

Use my numbers and growth as motivation, because it's entirely possible for you to hit these numbers quickly, especially the 50k first year.

[EvanCPT]

A great transformation is just proof -- a step in the sales process, not the process itself and alone wont close any sales.

If the transformation is you, it's a much less powerful sales tool than a client transformation.

IMHO, you don't need two certificates, one is plenty -- and a piece of paper on its own will not make you anymore money.

Back when I was a PT Manger, people with multiple certs would make the same as anyone else...

And the person who made the most was the trainer who could sell and deliver results.

I'd suggest buying a book on sales versus getting a second cert.

How much you make depends on where you live, and whether you are an independent trainer or a club trainer.

At my old club trainers starting payout was $25 a session and capped out at around $65

At $65 an hour you can hit the 6 figure mark, but most clubs don't pay NYC rates.

As an Independent trainer in NYC you can get $100 or more a session... But have to get your own clients... and need a place to train them.

If you are in a smaller city, you can still make $50 - $60 a session as an independent trainer.

As an independent trainer I cleared $100k and had the free time to start a business. ***That's not to boast or brag, just sharing the potential you have to earn a lot as a trainer (and you can charge more, especially if you offer a guarantee).***

I would also charge my clients for programs for the days they didn't train with me (it was the cost of a session for 4 workouts, doing this generates instant extra income and sets your clients up to become online training clients when they can't continue with in person training).

Chances are if you're a trainer, you probably give stuff like that out for free before -- you should be paid what your worth for your passion and knowledge.

[Ronin4help]

I would say that most gyms have one very successful trainer, one moderately successful trainer and the rest are considering a second job or a complete career or location change.

[2020Wellness]

I would say that most gyms have one very successful trainer, one moderately successful trainer and the rest are considering a second job or a complete career or location change.

Also, the most successful one doesn't stick around forever, as they eventually realize they can start their own business and give away zero commission.

[italianplaya30]

Also, the most successful one doesn't stick around forever, as they eventually realize they can start their own business and give away zero commission.

I agree with this 100%...Commerical gym setting are not the way to make money...the only way to make money is to become management and live at the gym 50-60 hours per week

Go on your own and live a normal life hour wise

[KyleAaron]

Worth bumping.

[2020Wellness]

Saw the bump above and had to chime in with something interesting.......

Last December I told my local clients that I'd no longer be doing sessions because I transitioned to 100% online clientele. Surprisingly, I had my highest earning year to date.

While I do miss the NEAT associated with standing and moving during actual sessions, I don't miss having to have appointments on my schedule.

[jwarrenfit]

nice bump of an old thread. when i posted in here i had just recently went on my own and let corporate gyms. i did end up earning just over 100k in 2015. 2016 i cleared 140k before taxes, with only about 10k of that being online. my wife (physical therapist) are thinking of opening our own spot this year but im so comfortable its tough to take that risk right now!

[jalundah]

I work at a private facility where I make between 40-45 per hour, mostly 1 on 1s with some small group training. I just started this past September, and between October-December I made about 7k(28k if you extrapolate for the year).

Through February this year I was will have made about the same, 7k(42k if extrapolated for 2017, but my schedule is continuously growing and I could easily see myself making over 50k this year, potentially 70k next year.

No passive income yet, but I am going to eventually get a base salary on top of training to run the corrective exercise program for our gym, and not just my own clients.

[2020Wellness]

I work at a private facility where I make between 40-45 per hour, mostly 1 on 1s with some small group training. I just started this past September, and between October-December I made about 7k(28k if you extrapolate for the year).

Through February this year I was will have made about the same, 7k(42k if extrapolated for 2017, but my schedule is continuously growing and I could easily see myself making over 50k this year, potentially 70k next year.

No passive income yet, but I am going to eventually get a base salary on top of training to run the corrective exercise program for our gym, and not just my own clients.

Nice planning for the future. You have a nice pay-rate going on. Just keep doing a good job and you'll keep moving on up.

[Ronin4help]

I work at a private facility where I make between 40-45 per hour, mostly 1 on 1s with some small group training. I just started this past September, and between October-December I made about 7k(28k if you extrapolate for the year).

Through February this year I was will have made about the same, 7k(42k if extrapolated for 2017, but my schedule is continuously growing and I could easily see myself making over 50k this year, potentially 70k next year.

No passive income yet, but I am going to eventually get a base salary on top of training to run the corrective exercise program for our gym, and not just my own clients.

Be careful assuming this is a financial move up. Often it can be a stagnant lateral move with little to no growth potential. Do the math and be sure before you make the switch.

[321fitleuven]

I think this is a very region-bound isssue... In Leuven (Belgium), where I coach, standard fee is around 60 euro/hour.

What i believe though is that any price is appropriate as long as you can justify it. Does it come with a custom-made program? Transfer costs? How much time do you put into that client? How much are results worth to him/her? And can you give them those results?