PT Career

[Chemo]

Hey so im about to do some training as a PT.

Although a secondary career path, I wouldn't mind making the swap to having a career in fitness.

Any PT's and or clients of PT's got any hints on what it takes to be a good PT?

What do you want to see from a PT, and things you dont want to see form a PT.

Any practicing PTs here have advice for landing a job once im out of study?

Cheers

[soundsgood]

Start with the fairly obvious

Don't target bodybuilders or athletes! Market is way to niche and clients are to wary :pfft:

Your zumba mums wanting to lose a baby belly and middle age men going thru midlife crisis are bread and butter \:D/

[Grover]

middle age men going thru midlife crisis

Damn you been talking to my wife!!!!

[teamfatboy]

Start with the fairly obvious

middle age men going thru midlife crisis are bread and butter \:D/

bread and butter's what got us into this mess :grin:

But seriously, I'd think about your market/ services... can a PT really claim to be able to get a 30%bf novice ready for a spring BB Comp, AND train a chain-smoker to their first marathon, AND help a new mum shed baby-fat, all with the same levels of expertise, enthusiasm and commitment ?

What do you WANT to teach ? That's where you'll excel.

And as a PT's client, I do not want:

a. boring routines;

b. cookie-cutter body-for-life routines;

c. diets photocopied from Mens' Health; and

d. the same routine I see all your other clients doing - dude, we are NOT the same !.

Good luck

[Grover]

Too true TFB

Also the PT should look the part!

ie fit, toned at least for a general purposes PT but if specialising need to be able to walk the talk and look the part if not perform.

The middle aged clients though are generally the ones with the money!

[tomsammce]

Look the part as said earlier is very important. this will be your most valuable marketing tool.

skills... broaden you skill base... do a boxing course, crossfit course, kettlebell course... update you practical knowledge on a regular basis. the more skills u have on ur resume the more clients u will attract.

keep your sessions fun and interesting, most of the ppl who go to a pt arent motivated and dont like exercises so it has to be fun and not boring to keep them as your client.

these are just a few things, but the more important ones imo. good luck with your career.

[Dr Squat]

Start with the fairly obvious

Don't target bodybuilders or athletes! Market is way to niche and clients are to wary :pfft:

Your zumba mums wanting to lose a baby belly and middle age men going thru midlife crisis are bread and butter \:D/

I tend to go the opposite view of this. The best "PTs" are specialists. Follow your passion and head in that direction. The generalist PTs are a dime a dozen and they come and go. Counting to 10 for people who really don't want to be in the gym isn't my cup of tea. If you can specialise you will get far greater job satisfaction and be able to command a higer price.

In the first instance you may be forced to take the middle aged corporates. But think about where you want to end up. I would even consider training some people for free in addition to your regular client base. If you have successes with this group then you will be able to use this as a selling point.

[tomsammce]

Start with the fairly obvious

Don't target bodybuilders or athletes! Market is way to niche and clients are to wary :pfft:

Your zumba mums wanting to lose a baby belly and middle age men going thru midlife crisis are bread and butter \:D/

I tend to go the opposite view of this. The best "PTs" are specialists. Follow your passion and head in that direction. The generalist PTs are a dime a dozen and they come and go. Counting to 10 for people who really don't want to be in the gym isn't my cup of tea. If you can specialise you will get far greater job satisfaction and be able to command a higer price.

In the first instance you may be forced to take the middle aged corporates. But think about where you want to end up. I would even consider training some people for free in addition to your regular client base. If you have successes with this group then you will be able to use this as a selling point.

i agree with your point doc but there isnt a big enough market in chch, or auckland etc for specialists if everyone wants to be a specialist (of course if your the best then its ok, but there can only be one). i think the most sucessful pts money wise are not those who nessarcerily know the most but know how to market themselves the best.

[Dr Squat]

Start with the fairly obvious

Don't target bodybuilders or athletes! Market is way to niche and clients are to wary :pfft:

Your zumba mums wanting to lose a baby belly and middle age men going thru midlife crisis are bread and butter \:D/

I tend to go the opposite view of this. The best "PTs" are specialists. Follow your passion and head in that direction. The generalist PTs are a dime a dozen and they come and go. Counting to 10 for people who really don't want to be in the gym isn't my cup of tea. If you can specialise you will get far greater job satisfaction and be able to command a higer price.

In the first instance you may be forced to take the middle aged corporates. But think about where you want to end up. I would even consider training some people for free in addition to your regular client base. If you have successes with this group then you will be able to use this as a selling point.

i agree with your point doc but there isnt a big enough market in chch, or auckland etc for specialists if everyone wants to be a specialist (of course if your the best then its ok, but there can only be one). i think the most sucessful pts money wise are not those who nessarcerily know the most but know how to market themselves the best.

Tom, I agree. Hence my point about slowly working on this as you find your feet. Don't sell yourself short. Follow your dreams bro.

[soundsgood]

I agree, its a good idea to keep the dream being to train your passion, but he's just starting out Doc. I would think it would be VERY hard to entice clients who are looking for a strength conditioning coach unless you were A. Experienced and had extensive background bringing guys up to comp level or B. A top level lifter yourself.

Personally If I was looking for a strength coach and had to choose between you or say Phedder (sorry Phed) I would go with the more experienced trainer every time.

I have mates who very successfully market themselves to the masses and they cream it! The ones who come and go generally don't market themselves right. Go for the niche markets after you have done the hard yards making a name for yourself first

[michaelk]

Single most important rule: Get comfortable and skilled walking the floor making conversation with members about THEIR goals NOT YOUR skills....

..then set up appointments to discuss their training needs and offer a solution

[Phedder]

Wouldn't expect anyone to even consider me for serious strength coaching yet, still gotta do my time. In the fitness industry I see strength as a component which requires the most experience, diet etc is easy to learn, strength requires doing.

Being able to market yourself really will bring the most success. You could have the best methods for training someone that would get fantastic results, but if you don't put yourself out there you won't have anyone to help. I'd suggest trying a bit of everything, just to get that base level of experience and then begin narrowing down to A) what you really enjoy doing, and B) what brings in the most cash. Balance the two, and hope that one day A and B can be the same thing.

Also, be their friend as much as their trainer (without sacrificing results, i.e not pushing them hard enough) would make the whole experience more pleasant for both parties. Chat to everyone in the gym, offer help and advice where you can but don't force it. If people like you, they'll come to you if they need further help.

[Rookie]

Would have to say create a point of difference, set yourself apart from the rest. I did the CPIT cert and there were only 3 successful PTs from the whole course (25-30people). I used it as a pre -req for my degree, like Tom said if you can do boxing circuits etc or something different your client base will widen too.

You`ll have to do a practical (work experience) so do it at a place you could see yourself working at, the people who got jobs from my course all got their jobs from placement. Create a huge first impression, personal communication is a huge one, also agree with Phedder build a good relationship with your clients.

Rookie

[Chemo]

All good advice, cheers.

Yeah I had considered the CPIT course, but I've settled with NZIHF, had a browse and gotta say some of them dont look the part. Definitely something I'm gonna have to bust my balls over to win the top spots coming out of there.

Coming from a martial arts background, I guess thats where I'd like to focus my skills back at, but making a decent living out of it is my first priority.

So...

-Look the part and promote the service you provide

(good thing my main career involves design and advertising)

-Obviously know what your talking about.

-Be friendly, confident and communicate with clients/gym goers about themselves. As a follow on from this I assume this will spark the whole word of mouth referral, if the training/results are good.

-Middle aged corporate types, are ideal for building a client base.

But specialist training may lead to a more profitable and rewarding options.

-Individual and interesting(dynamic) fitness strategies for clients

What do most of you charge per hour? If you don't mind me asking

Or what services do you offer and for what cost?

How is your income set up? Wage/Salary by a large gym, or business run out of the gym?

Anyone sell or refer supplements alongside nutritional advice for a profit?

[Grover]

there was a thread a few months ago on what PTs charge, look it up was interesting reading.

Most charge by the hour, why not charge by results?

examples

overweight person seriously wants to lose 20K's in 1 year

1 PT hour per week at $60 =3120 in the year

pluck a figure say $5k to guarantee that they lose this amount.

Obviously have to be sure they stick to diet etc

and

you could do same for serious body builder etc- X amount to achieve X

Charging by hour you can only earn a set amount! unless you build up a team of PTs working for you

[andy s]

Ive never used a PT but seen plenty in action. Remember they are your paying customer. They are paying you for a service. They are not paying to have you talk on or even answer your cell phone during their session. The customer needs to be your one focus. The most successful PT will most likely be the one who is best at sales and motivation.

[Chemo]

Interesting plan off attack Grover, bold for sure.

"Charging by hour you can only earn a set amount! unless you build up a team of PTs working for you"

I like this

I'll go hunting for that thread, I'm sure price per hour is something I'll figure out on course but real world figures would be nice to think about going into the course.

[Phedder]

Happy Birthday Chemo! Hard day for it

[Chemo]

Oh shit, na not my bday just changed lol. Im an april fools baby 8)

[Phedder]

Haha, April fools is probably just as bad..."here's your present...APRIL FOOLS!" :roll:

[MyPTChch]

I'm doing a big marketing campaign in the next 2 weeks for a 6 week course including pt sessions and non pt sessions, weigh ins, measurements, nutritional advice and assistance 24 hrs aday all for $120 per person - now that's cheap, effective and having been questioned about price i have already told them - i am starting out so trying to make a name for myself by charging less and giving results!

[Daniel]

As Dr Squat mentioned, the best "PTs" are specialists - don’t be a general PT, you will end up just another number and you want to stand out from the rest

Here are a few things that might help you when you start personal training that helped me when I started out:

• Walk the floor talk to everyone

• Know them all by first name

• Build a good rapport with your clients and other members as word of mouth is free and fast advertising for you

• Plus show that you have knowledge and people will come to you for advice which could turn into potential clients.

• If you can’t afford business cards don’t be to worried, people generally put them in their wallets and forget about them. If you can take their name and number and call them later on.