Am I too Old To Become a Personal Trainer at 44?

[EvertonFC2010]

Never too old brah.

all the best.

[philatonian]

I'm 44 and became a personal trainer about 7 months ago. Since this is an old thread I'm curious to know if the OP ever ended up becoming one. Does anyone know?

Just kind of curious, how was it getting started? I'm working on my ACE certification right now.

[penafitness]

You don't really start at the 'bottom' in this profession, so your age can never work against you. It isn't like a profession that requires a tenure to get into the real money. As long as you are qualified, motivated, smart, passionate and ambitious, you can rock n roll from the get go. There are plenty of different markets and so establishing a clientele may be more viable than you think.

[13sjay]

Don't be silly, if you can give it your full time and effort, you could be better than some of the youngins. I think about some of my best trainers and coaches, even if they couldn't demonstrate, they were master motivators.

I think you have a long career ahead of you in PT.

[PTBAW]

It's actually an advantage.

Most of my clients are in your age range. They'd be able to relate to you more.

this

[tleather2]

this

I passed my NASM at age 52 in October and was hired by my gym in March. My first client was a man older than me who wanted someone older because he was intimidated by the gym. My second client was a woman my age who wanted an older trainer, someone her age. I have a new client, a 71 Year old woman that I will start training tomorrow. She specifically asked if I was a trainer because she wanted an older woman. I was an insurance agent for almost 30 years and abruptly switched gears and decided to become a trainer because I loved going to the gym and I had a trainer for almost 2 years and he really loved his job and I wanted to transform people's lives and wanted to love my job! I wanted what he had. He is only 23 but very smart and mature for his age. He is also very muscular and buff and some people don't want that, they want someone they can relate to. When I first decided to become a trainer friends would ask me if is was intimidated going up against 20 year olds competing for the same job. To be totally honest, that thought didn't even cross my mind. I think my age is an asset and not a hindrance in this career. I love my job, enjoy going to work, and enjoy talking to my older clients, just the members of the gym. they share their life stories with me and they know I am interested in them.

[penafitness]

Never too old brah.

all the best.

well.... a 93 year old may be a bit too old.

[KyleAaron]

I don't see why, pena. This is my client Rosemary, at 66yo with a history of herniated discs and osteoarthritis, she is squatting 67.5kg 5x3 in preparation for CAPO Nationals in August. She's been lifting for two years. She'll go part-time at work next year, and may start working to becoming a coach.

When she has another 27 years of lifting experience, and maybe 25 years of coaching experience, where will she be? She'll have lifted more than she does now, then eased back - but learned a lot.



The only time you must stop achieving things is when you're in the grave.

[FitnessFan76]

I'm 44 and became a personal trainer about 7 months ago. Since this is an old thread I'm curious to know if the OP ever ended up becoming one. Does anyone know?

Congrats! I'm just waiting for one bit of paperwork to come back and then I'll have my REPS Level 2 in Fitness Instructing; next up is REPS Level 3 - Personal Training.

[stevek46]

I'm 46 in November, will qualify as a PT next Friday, and have my first gym position good to go straight after that. Never too late.

[stephangreco70]

I needed to see this post!! Thank you so much. I'm 45, an attorney, and ready for a change. All of the comments are fantastic.

[hieun]

Becoming a personal trainer is something I always wanted to do. A little personal background. I have worked out on and off most my life. I am in the process of separation and getting a divorce. I plan on moving to Florida and want to become a personal trainer. I have worked in a gym before in membership sales. I have been in sales and retail management mostof my life. Do you think it's too old at 44 to start as a personal trainer? I am working hard on getting that hard lean look. Not so much geared at getting huge but rather ripped. I understand that in the beggining it may have to be my part time job to get it started. I don't have get rich dreams. Just dreams of doing something I really want to do. What do you think guys. Am I too old?

I'm the same age as you and am starting out as well. I have a good daytime career so my endeavour is strictly as a part-time hobby/passion. I say go for it, you have a sales background which is a strong asset in the PT industry, something I wish I was good at. As others have mentioned, being older and in good shape can be inspirational to others as well.

I'm in pretty good shape myself but am always learning to improve my lifestyle and daily habits so that I can pass them onto my clients. PT is such a broad and interesting profession, you can tailor this in whichever direction you'd like. As long as you have a passion for learning, you should be alright because the learning never stops.

Some of the realms I've embarked on and continue to research on: Exercise mechanics (Ben Pakulski & Brad Schoenfeld), movement assessments & corrective exercises (FMS, Gray Cook), nutrition (Precision Nutrition), gut & digestive system (books & youtube), behavioral changes (books), life coaching (future cert), sales and marketing, older populations etc...... There's an abundance of good stuff that can be learned and applied to your own lifestyle as well, which is largely why I'm enjoying this journey. I've chosen this jack-of-all-trades holistic path type of trainer but there are so many ways to brand yourself into the type of trainer that you want to become. At the end of the day, it's your client's long-term results is all that matters.

I'm grateful to be given an opportunity at the YMCA where they don't expect me to be pushy with sales. For me, it's not about the money I'm loving it so far. Any time that I can learn a new concept and be able to effectively apply them to my clients as well as to myself, it makes it all worthwhile. Good luck!

[Ronin4help]

I'm the same age as you and am starting out as well. I have a good daytime career so my endeavour is strictly as a part-time hobby/passion. I say go for it, you have a sales background which is a strong asset in the PT industry, something I wish I was good at. As others have mentioned, being older and in good shape can be inspirational to others as well.

I'm in pretty good shape myself but am always learning to improve my lifestyle and daily habits so that I can pass them onto my clients. PT is such a broad and interesting profession, you can tailor this in whichever direction you'd like. As long as you have a passion for learning, you should be alright because the learning never stops.

Some of the realms I've embarked on and continue to research on: Exercise mechanics (Ben Pakulski & Brad Schoenfeld), movement assessments & corrective exercises (FMS, Gray Cook), nutrition (Precision Nutrition), gut & digestive system (books & youtube), behavioral changes (books), life coaching (future cert), sales and marketing, older populations etc...... There's an abundance of good stuff that can be learned and applied to your own lifestyle as well, which is largely why I'm enjoying this journey. I've chosen this jack-of-all-trades holistic path type of trainer but there are so many ways to brand yourself into the type of trainer that you want to become. At the end of the day, it's your client's long-term results is all that matters.

I'm grateful to be given an opportunity at the YMCA where they don't expect me to be pushy with sales. For me, it's not about the money I'm loving it so far. Any time that I can learn a new concept and be able to effectively apply them to my clients as well as to myself, it makes it all worthwhile. Good luck!

Personal training is awesome when it's 'not about the money'. Unfortunately, for most, the money is a major component in the quality of their livelihood.

[Hallite]

Hi Guys, I starting my PT journey on Monday 01/08/16 at the ripe old age of 47 so should have done this years ago I am really looking forward to it, when you have a passion about something you might as well follow you dreams you never know where it may lead.

[Ronin4help]

Hi Guys, I starting my PT journey on Monday 01/08/16 at the ripe old age of 47 so should have done this years ago I am really looking forward to it, when you have a passion about something you might as well follow you dreams you never know where it may lead.

Well.. you kinda know but there are always exceptions.