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Business Models: Group Fitness Classes VS One-on-One Training

Group Fitness Classes VS One-on-One Training

Hello Team NESTA,

There is nothing more rewarding for a personal fitness trainer than working with clients one-on-one. Not only do you get to dedicate yourself completely to your clients during your training sessions; you are rewarded tenfold when you see the progress they’re making firsthand.

But, can you really build a $20,000/month personal fitness business working with private clients alone?

Unless you’re charging exorbitant per-session prices or working 80+ hour weeks, the answer,  unfortunately, is no.

Adding group fitness classes and online offerings to your business arsenal is the best way to build your business fast and create more time and freedom to do the kind of work you enjoy most.

Here is how to balance your preference for personalized treatment with the needs of your pocketbook:

Create a Varied Schedule

If you’re adding more group fitness classes to your schedule, but prefer working with clients one-on-one, do your best to vary the group classes with personal training sessions.

Scheduling personal training sessions before and after group classes will fulfill your need for face time with private clients while ensuring that your cash flow is consistent.

You can also invite private clients to participate in group fitness classes….

Make Group Fitness Classes More Personal

There are two ways you can make group fitness classes more personal and more fulfilling to you as a trainer.

  1. Keep classes small to ensure you can provide more individualized attention to each participant. You’ll still be making more money than you would with a single session, but you’ll get to use your expertise to enhance relationships with each group member. This will make the group fitness experience more rewarding and less impersonal.
  2. Invite your private clients to take group fitness classes together. Since you are already familiar with each person’s health history, fitness level, and fitness goals, you’ll be able to easily transition them into a group environment while maintaining that personal touch.

Your students will bond over their shared experiences working with you, and enjoy the added benefit of a class that’s more affordable than one-on-one training (but that is still more lucrative for you as the trainer!).

Develop Online Offerings

Group fitness classes don’t necessarily have to be live, in–person training.

Through your website and social media, you can develop and offer fitness classes and courses that can be accessed by people all over the world.

Using the same knowledge and expertise you use with your one-on-one clients, you can create educational content in the form of videos, blog posts, tutorials, and online courses.

In this way, your message is available for purchase to an exponential number of people and you position yourself to generate more and more passive income.

Once you add online group training classes to your arsenal, the passive income you generate will free up your time to take on more one-on-one clients. You’ll then have the flexibility to do what you love and the cash flow to be more selective with your in-person services.

If working with private clients is your passion, you can build a business that continues to include one-on-one services. As long as you remain flexible and are willing to add some online and offline group fitness classes to your business, you’ll easily generate enough income to keep working one-on-one.  

You may also find that you enjoy group fitness classes, or that the excitement of generating passive income online far outweighs that of private coaching.

Allow your fitness business to grow and evolve over time. It’s very common to start out with one goal in mind and then make a substantial shift as you experience (and enjoy) unexpected successes.