getting personal trainer job after passing Nasm

[bigrayjr]

Hello,

I am about ready to take my NASM. I am confident I will pass. Thing is in this economy which they say is improving whats the chance of getting a personal trainer job in a gym like 24hr fitness etc. Hope I can get something putting all this work in. Thanks for any info

[jalundah]

I'll start off by saying that the economy is not improving.

To answer your actual question, it shouldn't be very hard. Commercial gyms like that will hire pretty much anyone. Just work on your sales skills.

[soren_xavier]

I don't think it would be that difficult.

I was in my local 24 Hr a couple of days ago and they had a sign up saying they needed trainers. And I was in another location in San Diego about 6 months ago and mentioned something to the front desk people about becoming a trainer and they seemed excited that someone was expressing interest, like maybe they needed people.

[bigrayjr]

Thanks for the info. I am the type of person who usually likes to go to the job an ask one of the managers personally if there hiring but not sure if this is the proper way to do it in this industry. Also, some of these gyms especially 24hr fitness are in more affluent areas and some are not. Would a PT benefit from this or maybe it really doesnt matter. Thanks

[bigrayjr]

bump

[ProxyViaProxy]

I am the type of person who usually likes to go to the job an ask one of the managers personally if there hiring but not sure if this is the proper way to do it in this industry.

I can't stress this enough. I applied to a dozen places. Never got any calls. The three gyms I took my resume in personally all wanted to hire me. Don't even bother with mail applications.

[nickdavid]

First of all I wouldn't be thinking about doing PT as a JOB because when you rent from a gym like 24hr fitness you're paying them $250-350 per week to use a space in the gym to train your own clients...

Your clients come from your marketing and sales skills as a business owner.

If you have no sales and marketing skills, you'd want to sort that out quick!

And crack into your business knowledge

[bigrayjr]

Well I am ready to go anybody know how it actually is in the San Diego area going to move there with my brother. I am thinking it should be better because of the size of the city. Guess Ill know soon enough. thanks

[rockangel]

I can tell you that the most popular thing right now in SD is for the gyms to be charging 10- 20 bucks for a membership, then many of the gyms pay the trainer crap, expecting them to have tons of clients so they make money off the trainers. I interviewed at a few places and got the vibe that all those types cared about was to hire "corporate salesmen" and they could care less about the trainer or client, as long as you could sell.
Its few and far between that you find a gym who not only cares about their business, but their staff and their customers.

It would be cool if that's what you are looking for, and you have the lifestyle to be able to lead that, but I have kids and cant commit to millions of hours in the gym like some of these places want. Im lucky in finding the positions that I have that don't require all these crazy demands, like split shifts and large overhead payments. Its a tough world to get into and make a decent living, and SD is expensive for living costs!

[bigrayjr]

Damn I was all excited now I am down. So these places like 24hr fitness and Crunch just want you to sell and not train and alot of hours. I mean I dont want to make a fortune maybe 30,000 a year is that doable. This might suck.

[Endevorforever]

Damn I was all excited now I am down. So these places like 24hr fitness and Crunch just want you to sell and not train and alot of hours. I mean I dont want to make a fortune maybe 30,000 a year is that doable. This might suck.

LOL no. Let me break i down for you. I am from SD. You will get min wage which is currently $8/hr and around $12-$14 when training some one. You can make money if you SELL! But you will probably realize that it would be much better training on your own. $32K a year is possible, but you have to really be on your sales game and hopefully they don't have a ton of other good sales trainers in the box with you. Remember they think 1-3% of gym members doing personal training is good. of a gym with 1000 regulars that is about 30 people that they expect to purchase training. Most gyms will have as many trainers as they can get, so you do the math. What is 30 divide by 5 trainers? You will be doing good if you get 20 sessions/hours a week.

[ChessGuy]

Get a job in the most affluent area you can find. Personal Training is a luxury. Wealthy folks can afford higher prices and more frequent sessions.

[rockangel]

LOL no. Let me break i down for you. I am from SD. You will get min wage which is currently $8/hr and around $12-$14 when training some one. You can make money if you SELL! But you will probably realize that it would be much better training on your own. $32K a year is possible, but you have to really be on your sales game and hopefully they don't have a ton of other good sales trainers in the box with you. Remember they think 1-3% of gym members doing personal training is good. of a gym with 1000 regulars that is about 30 people that they expect to purchase training. Most gyms will have as many trainers as they can get, so you do the math. What is 30 divide by 5 trainers? You will be doing good if you get 20 sessions/hours a week.

Yep, that's how a lot of them work, which is why I am soooo very glad that I also have certs to teach classes, I make more money and better hours with that, LOL. One of the places I interviewed with had 9 trainers photo on their wall. I specifically asked them if they all ready have 9 trainers, then why are they seeking yet another trainer?? Do they have more clients wanting trainers than they have staff for?? Nope, they want as many trainers working so they can make all the money while paying you crap to be stressed out over quotas and fighting 9 other people for clients and money. Thanks, but no thanks.... But if that's your thing, they are still hiring (srs)

If you must work in those areas, just do what you can to get some experience and move on up to better things.

[bigrayjr]

Well I hear what your saying. Either way all have to start somewhere. Would you say here in San Diego all have a reasonable chance of getting hired and not getting turned down everywhere. What area in the county would you suggest to look for work I guess like any city there is economic differences. Thank You all for your input and help.

[Kataz]

I can't stress this enough. I applied to a dozen places. Never got any calls. The three gyms I took my resume in personally all wanted to hire me. Don't even bother with mail applications.

This.

[Ronin4help]

Hello,

I am about ready to take my NASM. I am confident I will pass. Thing is in this economy which they say is improving whats the chance of getting a personal trainer job in a gym like 24hr fitness etc. Hope I can get something putting all this work in. Thanks for any info

I think everyone starts at 24 hour fitness or Ballys. The idea is to hone your skills, get your name out there and build your clientele. Also getting to know the mangers and club owners in your area will help you build a network that you can rely on later down the road. The one thing about training is you never really know where you're going to end up so make as many contacts and connections as you can, train as many people as you can and don't burn any bridges along the way.

[lovemelissa]

With your NASM, it should be easy to find a PT job in chain gym. Sales skills are also going to be really important so show them that you can sell and prospect. It is possible to make that much, and you can always learn the ropes and then branch out on your own. I'd kind of feel it out for yourself, these forums got me really discouraged but now working at a chain I'm finding that a lot of the info I read on bb.com didn't match up to what I'm actually making... and in a good way. Good luck!

[bigrayjr]

With your NASM, it should be easy to find a PT job in chain gym. Sales skills are also going to be really important so show them that you can sell and prospect. It is possible to make that much, and you can always learn the ropes and then branch out on your own. I'd kind of feel it out for yourself, these forums got me really discouraged but now working at a chain I'm finding that a lot of the info I read on bb.com didn't match up to what I'm actually making... and in a good way. Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement that's what I am looking for just to learn maybe go out on my own eventually. I was more worried in today's economy that you would go gym by gym and say were not hiring or had to many trainer which they probably do. I just want a chance and try I really enjoy helping people with their health and fitness. Just would suck you do all this studying and you cant get hired. Like they say nothings easy.

[PappaBear76]

Thanks for the encouragement that's what I am looking for just to learn maybe go out on my own eventually. I was more worried in today's economy that you would go gym by gym and say were not hiring or had to many trainer which they probably do. I just want a chance and try I really enjoy helping people with their health and fitness. Just would suck you do all this studying and you cant get hired. Like they say nothings easy.

I made bank selling gym memberships and handing the members off to personal trainers for an assessment. I cant imagine how much more I would have been able to pull for the gym and myself at the time if I would have done what you did. Go in there with a sells attitude, get the job and then prospect! Keep your nose clean and develop a strong and trust worthy reputation as a professional.

[rockangel]

With your NASM, it should be easy to find a PT job in chain gym. Sales skills are also going to be really important so show them that you can sell and prospect. It is possible to make that much, and you can always learn the ropes and then branch out on your own. I'd kind of feel it out for yourself, these forums got me really discouraged but now working at a chain I'm finding that a lot of the info I read on bb.com didn't match up to what I'm actually making... and in a good way. Good luck!

Well I can only tell you my experiences with interviewing for these gyms and being told the pale scale. It might work for some one who is younger and has no kids. I mean, I need to be able to make more than my babysitter for me to work at a place. On top of that, i don't enjoy being treated the way many of these places treat trainers.
Now i work at one gym that's a "chain" for my area and they are wonderful, treat both customers and trainers/instructors with respect, and their business is doing well. So far i haven't heard any other instructor complain, and ive met with the owner several times, they are geniunly good people.
The other place i work at is not a chain gym, pays better, and i enjoy working there. Right now i fill many rolls there, which is what i like and the owner and i get along great.
So its not all doom and gloom, but its not all rainbows and sunshine either.

[JoeCannonMSCSCS]

consider looking beyond working one on one with clients. Do look strongly at getting a website and start blogging about fitness, health and wellness. If you do it the right way -focusing on helping people first - you can eventually make money from your website 24/7. Better yet, if you do it really right, somebody might just try to buy your website from you (think of your website as "internet real estate"). Here is my guide on how I made my websites http://www.joe-cannon.com/install-wo...-step-by-step/ It takes time but it is possible. put people first - not money - and if you give it time, it is possible.
joe

[Kelly0702004]

You don't get paid much at all at big gyms. I have a couple friends that worked at 24 and other places and its very low pay. One of my friends trains out of their home gym. Makes decent money or goes to gyms and meets clients.

Damn I was all excited now I am down. So these places like 24hr fitness and Crunch just want you to sell and not train and alot of hours. I mean I dont want to make a fortune maybe 30,000 a year is that doable. This might suck.

[Dgwear]

ive noticed that commercial gyms are always bringing in new trainers, the problem is they expect you to find your own clients for the most part. At that rate youre really just doing all the work to get half the profit.