How to Earn More Money as a Personal Trainer
You have options.
You have far more choices to make a good living as a personal trainer than you may first think. You may be looking for a side hustle where you work just a couple of hours a day, or maybe just 1 or 2 days per week. Or, you may want a full-time career in a corporate environment with all the extras. Maybe you want to operate your own fitness studio. Or, maybe you have thoughts of running a home-based fitness business with some work online and some in-person training.
Read on and prepare to be amazed.
As you read through each personal training money-making opportunity, remember that you can combine different opportunities. Maybe you will do one job Tuesday and Thursday each week, and maybe another job is only done on a Saturday. Mix and match in a way that works best for you.
Here are your 9 ways to make money as a NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer (in no particular order):
- INCOME: $100-$300/per person per month
Train Clients at an Apartment Community: You may have a few thoughts that come to mind when you think of this option. First, you may wonder if people who rent, as opposed to own, may not have the resources to hire a trainer. In the past, that may have been true. However, many very wealthy people prefer to rent nowadays due to simplicity, ease of moving, incredible amenities and a desire for a more simplified life. They can afford you. Many new apartment communities are like mini-cities. They have yoga rooms, conference rooms, game rooms, social gathering areas, Wi-Fi throughout the property and incredible gyms. Some apartment gyms rival those at 4-5 star hotels. You can start by training a client and then let other residents know of your services. You may also communicate with the management to let them know of your services. They may require you have standard personal training insurance.
- INCOME: $200-$500/per person per month
Turn Your Garage, Spare Bedroom or Basement into a Gym: Functional training makes this easy, fast and affordable. Yes, of course, you can put in big and bulky equipment, but it’s not needed. You can use TRX, a Swiss ball, medicine ball, kettlebells, dumbbells, a yoga mat, resistance tubes and your world-class education. Your investment is small and your earning potential is huge. To really understand this opportunity, click over to get the FREE Home Gym Profit Center. It gives you a step-by-step blueprint for earning a strong income by running a personal training business from your home. You will also learn how to save a lot in taxes due to the allowable write-offs for your home-based fitness business. Just the tax savings alone make this venture worthwhile.
- INCOME: $200-$500/per person per month
Work as a Personal Trainer at the Local Country Club: People at country clubs have more money (on average) than people who do not belong to country clubs. They have the resources to hire you. In some cases, you may work as an employee at the country club. In other cases, there may be an opportunity for you to work as an independent contractor. The gyms are usually smaller and modestly equipped. Because you will more likely be doing “general fitness” and “functional movement” exercises for golf and tennis, you will be using your skills learned through your professional certifications such as the NESTA Certified Biomechanics Specialist.
- INCOME: Employee – $20/hr or Contractor $200-$500/per person per month
Work at a Big Box Gym as an Employee: NESTA’s NCCA-accredited Personal Fitness Trainer Certification is accepted at major health clubs, gyms, and fitness centers including (but not limited to): 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Gold’s Gym, Anytime Fitness, UFC Gym, Xsport, Snap Fitness, Urban Active, Lifetime Fitness, Sports Club LA, New York Sports Clubs. Here’s a list of current personal trainer job opening. Why get a job working at a large gym or fitness center? You will gain a lot of experience working with a wide range of people. It’s a common first step for many fitness professionals. You have the opportunity for upward mobility including fitness management, general management, regional director, etc. In many cases, you will also qualify for benefits including 401k, health insurance, paid sick days, etc. These benefits are a nice perk. There are many instances where a person like you started out as a personal trainer at a big box gym, and ended up owning one or more locations, or became a high-level executive in the company. You have options and opportunities.
- INCOME: Floor Trainer as an Employee – $10-20/hr, Fitness Management Positions – $25-$50hr
Open a Small Warehouse Gym: Are you feeling more entrepreneurial and adventurous? Good, that’s what it will take to go this path. There are some clear benefits of having a warehouse-style gym as opposed to a storefront (strip mall) type of studio. First, you will save a lot on rent. A warehouse type of location will usually cost 20-50% less than a storefront. The drawback is that you won’t get any walk-by or drive-by traffic. So, you will need to understand marketing, social media, email marketing, and client referral systems. Great news: All of that is taught in the Online Coach Training we give you for free. You will have a lot more responsibility with this type of income model. You will be responsible for rent, insurance, cleaning, employees or contractors, legal agreements, utilities, equipment maintenance and more. The good news is that you have a huge income opportunity. In general, terms, if you had 5 trainers working at your gym, and you received 30% of each of their training revenue, that could be $10,000 in revenue. Obviously, you could have more. Of course, you would need to factor in all your hard costs. The variables are too numerous to list here.
- GROSS INCOME: $13,000 – $25,000 per month. NET INCOME: $6,000 – $10,000 per month.
Concierge Fitness: You may be asking, “What the heck is that?” It may take on different meanings to different people. In short, with this type of exclusive opportunity, you are at the beck and call of just 1 to 2 very exclusive clients. There are people who have the desire and resources to have a very elite fitness professional work with them to optimize each aspect of their well-being. These are clients of exceptional means. To them, time is money, and they will do whatever it takes to give them a strategic advantage in life. This can include increasing their daily energy, and mental clarity, reducing chronic pain and keeping them accountable regarding their eating. In many cases, for these exclusive clients, the trainer travels with them to ensure they stay on track. You better know your stuff if this is your goal. You will want to earn as many certifications as possible and have a wide range of skills. You need to know, act and look the part. In most cases, you will train this client in his or her home gym, at a hotel gym, or maybe outdoors if they are traveling and you arrange a unique workout experience for them.You could be with this person 5x/week for 3 hours per day when you factor in coaching, training, food, and travel. NOTE: If you are going to market yourself as an expert for this type of service, you CAN NOT be offering any discounted or “ordinary” services. This is exclusive and needs to be marketed as such.
- INCOME: $5,000 – $8,000 per month
Outdoor Personal Training: Of course, if you live in Alaska, you can skip this one for 10 months of the year. However, for a huge percentage of the population, this works really well. You can offer early morning or evening classes if the temperature is a challenge. And, if you offer small group personal training outdoors, you may only need to work a couple of hours in the morning to make enough money for the entire day.Small group personal training income example: 4 people pay $20/class = $80/class. Teach 2 classes a day (M-F) = $160/day or $800/week or $3,200/month.You may just decide to train clients one-on-one outdoors along a hiking/running trail, in a park, or at the beach. You can do bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, tubes and a range of plyometric exercises for most clients. Your start-up costs are almost nothing, and you can just put your equipment in a backpack. You have no rent, no big ongoing costs and a very fun, simple lifestyle. Just market your services online to your local community on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google. You only need a few clients to make a good living. It can happen very quickly.
- INCOME: $2,000 – $4,000 per month
Corporate Personal Trainer: Companies now understand that every dollar they invest in an employee’s health and fitness gives a significant return on investment. Many companies have installed gyms on-site to encourage employees to exercise. However, as you can imagine, many people don’t know how to use the equipment properly, and may not use it at all without the guidance of a professional like yourself. In many cases, the employee allocates X amount of money per month for fitness instruction or health coaching for employees. In other cases, an employee may match the amount an employee spends on a trainer who works with them at the company gym. In other cases, the personal trainer may become an employee of a large corporation and be on-site to work with all employees who want help. The trainer may offer group programs, or be available for one-on-one training at the request of the employees. The corporate personal trainer may also offer lunchtime seminars, back care classes, nutrition workshops, health-related incentivized games, and other programs which improve employee health, wellness, and productivity. If you are already a NESTA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, you may now want to consider getting the additional credential as a Spencer Institute Certified Corporate Wellness Coach. This course teaches you about corporate policies, protocols, procedures, and common practices that get employees motivated and involved. You will also learn the most effective ways to create, manage and facilitate wide-ranging employee health and fitness plans that can work in a wide range of company sizes. You can work as an independent contractor. You may work as an employee. You may be onsite, or you may facilitate your coaching and training online. It may be a hybrid model. You have options.
- INCOME: $3,000 – $5,000 per month
IN CONCLUSION: Now, you should be motivated and excited about the opportunities that await you. Personal training has come a long way, and we are going to guide you each step of the way to ensure your successful career.
YOUR NEXT STEP: If you are new to the fitness industry, you will want to start with the NESTA Personal Fitness Trainer Certification. You need this foundational professional credential. It’s accredited, accepted, and affordable.
If you are already in the fitness industry and are ready to make your next step, be sure to earn the credentials needed to perform your job at the highest level.
We have a gift to you. Click over to claim your FREE copy of Personal Trainer magazine. It’s filled with specific information and strategies for your success.
Please contact us with any questions.
