Fitness Side Hustles: Extra Money Each Week
How to Increase Your Weekly Income Fast!
10 Ways to Make an Extra $200/week Teaching Fitness
If you’re like many people, an extra $200 a week would make a big difference in your budget and your lifestyle. Here’s the good news; it’s easier than you think when you learn how many ways there are to add a side hustle that takes little or no time to implement. You may already have the education and professional certification to start. And, if you don’t yet, NESTA and Spencer Institute have professional education and certification programs that let you quickly earn a professional credential for less than $18 a month. We will discuss that later.
Right now, let’s talk about why you may want a side hustle in the health, fitness, wellness and nutrition industries. First, you love fitness and living a healthy lifestyle. And, people want your help. No matter what’s happening in the world, people still workout and want to look great. They still need you.
There are two ways to interpret the side hustle listed below:
If you are an existing fitness or coaching pro, look at this list and consider additional ways you can add to your weekly income. Some side hustle may make more sense to offer in the morning, evening, or weekend (or just in the summer).
If you are new to the industry, review the list and decide which side hustles can be added to your current occupation (after hours, or on the weekends). It’s possible if you can start 2-3 side hustles, you may let go of your other career. It’s certainly not required. These are just things you may consider over time.
Here are 10 fitness business side hustles in no particular order:
1. Kitchen Clean Out Service
Offer families the opportunity to learn about their eating habits and how the food currently in their kitchen may not be optimal for their health and well-being. You teach about food and cooking as you clean out the pantry, fridge, and cupboards. This is simple, fast, fun and puts money in your pocket the same day.
Time: 2-3 hours. Income $200.
Helpful certifications: Certified Personal Fitness Chef, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach
2. Grocery Shopping Tour
You can offer private or small group educational tours of the local grocery store. Speak to the manager before you go. The manager will most often be very supportive of your service. The store gets more customers, generates more sales, and has positive word-of-mouth advertising. If the manager says “no”, simply go to another store and repeat the process. While doing these tours, you speak in positive terms, give the “better” choices and explain how to come up with creative, healthy and tasty solutions for the entire family of the class participants. Small group sizes can range from 4-10 people per tour/class.
Time: 2 hours. Income $50-250. Charge $50 for an individual. In a group, you can charge $25/person
Helpful certifications: Certified Personal Fitness Chef, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach
3. Do a free fitness and weight management talk to the local PTO or similar group.
It’s unlikely these groups have a budget to pay you. However, in a group of 20 – 100 people, you will get 1-4 new clients for some type of training or coaching service. That makes it well worth your time. You would choose a topic related to “weight” because it is the topic that will most likely resonate with the highest percentage of participants. More than 50% of Americans need to lose weight. Use this unfortunate fact as a way to ensure your topic resonates with the most people in the group.
Time: 2 hours. Income? How much will you earn with 2 new training clients working with you 2 times a week for 6 weeks?
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Specialist
4. Turn your garage into a personal training studio.
Yes, this concept has been around for a long time. Why? Because it works. Always has. Always will. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You can do a lot with your intelligence and proper credentials and a few pieces of equipment such as a kettlebell, jump rope, Swiss ball, medicine ball, yoga mat, and resistance tubes. Anything else is just a bonus. You can take your client outside and do a run, sprints, plyometrics or walk to cool down. You will also want to grab this free training that shows you exactly how to turn your garage (or spare bedroom) into a profitable gym. FREE GIFT: Home Gym Profit Center Complete Training System
Time: 1 hour. Income: $50 – $90/hr
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Certified Kettlebell Coach, Certified Sport Yoga Instructor
5. Offer martial arts conditioning as an additional service.
If you have experience in martial arts, kettlebells, Olympic lifting, Crossfit, or sports coaching, this is a natural progression. It does not combat. It’s the conditioning used by different types of fighters (boxing, MMA, muay Thai, jiujitsu, judo, etc). You can do individual or group instruction in a gym, in your garage or in a park. Equipment needs vary widely depending on your focus.
Time: 1 hour. Income: $50 – $100/hr
Helpful certifications: Certified MMA Conditioning Coach, Certified Muay Thai Fitness Instructor, NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Certified Kettlebell Coach, Certified Sport Yoga Instructor, Certified SAQ Coach.
6. “Old School” travel to a client’s home to train them in their home gym.
This still works. It always works. It’s easy and fast to get started. In short, clients who can afford to have you come to their homes for training will most likely always. Have the ability regardless of the economy. Follow the money. If they want convenience and are willing to pay for it, provide the service they want. In most cases, they already have the equipment needed. If they need more, they will buy it.
Curious how much you already know? Take the NESTA Personal Fitness Trainer Quiz for FREE
Time: 1 hour. Income: $70 – $90/hr
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Specialist, Certified Wellness Coach
7. Become the “go-to-guru” in the alternative and complementary health and well-being space.
Being fit is far more than counting reps, grunting, and getting close to your anaerobic threshold. As your clients get older, they want a better quality of life. They perceive this much differently than someone in their 20s. It’s about overall wellness and contentment. You need special skills for this side hustle. And, you should know a couple of things. First, the clients who want this type of service historically have more discretionary income to hire you for these services. Secondly, this can be so lucrative, it may become far more than a side hustle. It seems to work best when you blend in a variety of skills and services into a hybrid model (sleep, stress, fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, brain function, and quality of life).
Time: Monthly retainer for “x” sessions her month. You can create different service package options. Income: $500 – $1,500/month
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Specialist, Certified Wellness Coach, Certified Master Health and Wellness Coach, Certified Integrative Health Coach, Certified Sleep Science Coach, Certified Brain Fitness Coach
8. Work as a NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer at a local health club or gym.
This is the fastest and easiest way to earn extra weekly income. It’s likely you will earn less than the other options on this list. However, you can have health benefits, an environment where you can learn, and a quarantined amount you will earn per week (with some exceptions).
To learn more about career options as a NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, enjoy a FREE copy of Personal Trainer Magazine.
Time: 10-40 hours per week. Income: $15 – $40/hr
Required certification: NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
9. Document your weight loss or muscle-building journey, then invite others on social media to try your system.
There are a few different ways to make this work. People always want to see what someone has accomplished before they try it themselves. We have two distinct, yet complementary business systems that will give you everything you need. You will learn the step-by-step process for quickly setting up this side hustle and getting money in the bank fast.
Time: 4-6 hours per week. Income: $100-$300/week
Helpful certifications/courses: Fit for Photos Business System, Certified Physique & Figure Training Specialist, Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
10. Start a running program for your community.
Why is this such a great idea? It required no gym, no equipment, no rent, no lease, no franchise fees and no problems. You simply need to learn the nuances of running coaching and use the proven business models. Decide which side hustle you want to implement; a camp, a clinic, a weekly program, a marathon training group or something else. We show you how to do it all. Just choose 1 or more options and implement them. You are on the fast track to running coach business success.
Time: 5-6 hours per week. Income: $150-$300/week
Helpful certifications: Certified Revolution Running Coach
BONUS: Work with seniors in a retirement community.
This will be one of the most rewarding things you can ever do. This group of people will be so grateful for your help. There are many ways to offer your services. You may call a local senior center and learn what they want or need in terms of physical or community activities. It’s just important to remember to slow down, be patient, listen and always focus on safety and fun. You can teach classes on brain health and how to keep their memory sharp. You can offer balance classes. You can do seated aerobics classes or slow range of motion “movement” classes. Safety first. Fun Second.
Time: 3-4 hours per week. Income: $150-$200/week
Helpful certifications: NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, NESTA Certified Group Exercise Instructor, Sleep Science Coach, Certified Brain Fitness Coach
Do You Want More of a Traditional Career Path?
If you are more interested in gaining employment at a health club, gym or fitness center, these statistics will be of interest. The good news is that you have endless options as a trainer or coach: You can have a part-time side hustle as an entrepreneur, a part-time gig at a club, a full-time home-based business, or a full-time career with benefits at a large health club chain.
NESTA and Spencer Institute have what you need to succeed.
Choose your path, earn your certification(s), and let us guide you along the way. We’re always here to help.
Here’s some data for your reference: Bureau of Labor Statistics employment growth projections from 2020 to 2030 per occupation. For this report, we only considered occupations that require no degree and that have a positive projected employment growth. Occupations were ranked based on the projected employment growth from lowest to highest. The median annual wage is for 2021, also from the BLS.
#2 out of all occupations:
Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
Employment growth projection (2020-2030): 39.3%
Median annual wage: $40,700 — #169 highest out of 350 jobs
Total employment: 309,800– #79 highest out of 350 jobs
Yes, fitness careers ranked #2 out of all jobs for growth opportunities in the U.S.
Employment of fitness trainers and instructors is projected to grow 39% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations.
About 69,100 openings for fitness trainers Personal Fitness Trainers and Group Exercise Instructors are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
According to Zippia.com: The fitness industry revenue declined by 32.45% in 2020 but rebounded to 0.55% pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2021. By the end of 2028, the expected revenue for the fitness industry in the United States is expected to be $434.74 billion. By 2030, there are predictions that the fitness industry will have 230 million members.
Currently, the United States has the highest gym industry revenue in the world. If the US wants to retain its leadership in the fitness industry, it would need to increase by 15.6 million members by 2030, or 1.33 million new gym members each year.
According to smallbizgenius.net:
Hispanic people contributed the most to gym and fitness club membership growth, with a 94.5% increase in signups.
In 2020, the median wage of a fitness instructor and trainer was $40,510 per year. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The European fitness and health club industry is a $36.5 billion market.
Germany and the United Kingdom have the highest fitness revenue in Europe, with $6.3 billion each.
According to ibisworld.com:
There are 823,652 people employed in the Gym, Health & Fitness Clubs industry in the US as of 2022.
The average Gym, Health & Fitness Clubs business in the US has 7.3 employees.
So, you can see, that there are opportunities, and there is significant growth for the foreseeable future.
As you can see, there are always ways to generate an income as a fitness pro. Creating a side hustle while serving others is a great way to go. NESTA and Spencer Institute help you each step of the way. Our courses are designed with you in mind. They are appropriately challenging, easy to follow, and give you specific skills to help you reach your goals.
Now it’s time to take action.
Decide which side hustle you will start now, get any credentials needed, and start immediately.
Remember, we now offer very affordable monthly payment options for your favorite training course. Some payments are less than $17/month. This means you can begin your lucrative side hustle without being concerned about the investment in your education. We make it easy for you. Start now!