It is often a dream job for people who are interested in pursuing a career in the fitness industry.
You get paid to exercise, motivate other people to exercise, and help them stay healthy and fit. However, like any profession, personal training always faces problems.
If you want to become a personal trainer, are at the beginning of your career, or want to understand whether personal trainers regret their decision, this article will tell you about the regrets and non-regrets of PTS.
Personal training appears to be a business that anticipates and fulfills many important consumer desires.
This article explains why many people considering the personal trainer profession may have dreams of a high-paying and highly satisfying job, motivated clients, good work hours, and most importantly, people's lives being better because of the personal trainer.
- Passion for fitness - Another advantage is that being a personal trainer helps those people pursue what they love – fitness. It is a platform on which one can tell others about their passion and enable them to do the same.
- Flexible schedule - Unlike other every day careers, specializing in this field, as a rule, offers a lot of options in terms of work and time schedule. Freelance trainers have the ability to endure and thrive which enables them to set their own time schedule, which means they can decide when to work and when to be with their family.
- Impact on others - The ability to make a difference in people's lives is one of the valuable qualities. A common observation that personal trainers make is how their clients go through changes; this change can be physical, spiritual and moral in nature.
- Growth potential - Thus, one can see that personal training becomes quite a promising business when proper strategies are used. Freelance trainers who have their loyal clients can earn relatively high incomes and more and more trainers who become trainers/consultants online or in person start their own businesses.
This article outlines the reality of being a personal trainer
Nevertheless, the idea of personal trainer work can be quite different from the actual profession one always dreams of.
Some of the challenges associated with the profession include the following, which can make some trainers fear the profession.
1. Inconsistent Income
The most significant of all obstacles is the fluctuating level of income that personal trainers will have to face at some point.
Personal trainers are usually self-employed, following a different employment status from traditional paid positions and therefore their income depends on how many people they are training at a given time.
This can be the case during milder months or in activities such as sports that have a corresponding active season and inactive season.
2. Early Mornings and Late Nights
Personal trainers may be forced to take shifts at odd hours of the day.
Some clients want to exercise before or after the work day, so trainers may need to train early in the morning or late at night, up to 5am.
This can be very tiring, often combined with the physical tasks of the job.
3. Physical Demands
Speaking of physical demands, it is important to not only make people do the exercises, but also to model certain exercises, correct the client's form, and in some cases, perform the exercises together with the client.
In the long run, this can lead to fatigue, injury, or even body burnout.
4. Client Retention
Another challenge is the problem of maintaining the constant retention of clients.
The fitness industry is quite saturated and clients may either quit or change trainers for a variety of reasons: they may lose their training and can no longer afford to pay for the trainer's services, they may get tired and no longer feel motivated, or they may simply decide that they want to work with another trainer.
This means that the trainer has to constantly look for business, keep up with fashion in the fitness industry, and provide the best services and products so that they can retain the client.
5. Limited career progression
For some, there is not much clearer idea of a long-term career, which causes anxiety for those who are troubled by the generalized approach.
Some personal trainers who have worked in the line for some time may find themselves stuck, especially if they are ready to become business owners and pursue other careers like owning their own gym or fitness management jobs.
But they do not have experience and the career becomes monotonous after a few years, hence the feeling of dissatisfaction.
Do Personal Trainers Regret Their Career Choice?
Whether personal trainers regret their decision can only be answered with a yes or no.
The results are highly influenced by the responses to the challenges discussed above and individual experiences and expectations.
1. Those who regret
Some personal trainers regret their career choice, and the reasons are often the following:
- Financial instability - Some of the potential drawbacks are unstable income and the lack of regular social perks like medical or retirement cover. Trainers who fail to build a strong base of clients feels frustrated and stressed and this can lead to regrets.
- Burnout - The physical and emotional stress of the job can be very tiring and can cause the employee to suffer from long-term stress. Constantly motivating others as well as maintaining physical activities and diet can be exhausting, especially with difficult clients or clients with zero results.
- Lack of progression - This makes some trainers feel like they have lost their job and their chances of getting a promotion are very low. Of course, if you are someone who needs constant career development and new experiences, personal training may seem a bit daunting to you.
2. Those who do not regret it
On the other hand, most personal trainers love what they do and can’t think of doing anything else instead. They share these sentiments:
- Passion-driven work - Those who have a passion for working and changing the lives of the people they are helping definitely get the better part of the deal. They get a lot of satisfaction at work in their job as they help clients reach their goals and identify their needs.
- Autonomy - Working as an actuary is flexible and offers a lot of independence which is considered an advantage. But it also gives trainers the freedom to either work under other trainers or be independent and work only at their convenience.
- Continuous learning - The fitness market is always dynamic and there are always new trends, approaches and knowledge coming out in this field. The idea of learning and staying updated is challenging for trainers most of the time, but they enjoy it most of the time.
Strong strategies to outdo yourself as a personal trainer and end up without regrets
For anyone who is or wants to become a personal trainer, there are certain strategies that they should adapt to ensure that they never have regrets.
1. Diversify your sources of income
Relying on only one training is also unsafe as there can be potential fluctuations in income.
It may also be possible to diversify your sources of income through online coaching, group coaching or online selling of fitness products like e-books or any workout plans.
This can help in earning more money and also avoid some stress during the presentation of accounts.
2. Prioritize self-care
Thus, one has to pay more attention to their needs and take care of themselves so as not to be overly stressed.
Communicate with clients and avoid working with them beyond your working hours, and aim to get enough sleep and do personal exercises more often.
And as always, the old saying holds true here: you can’t pour from an empty cup; therefore, self-care as a coach is imperative.
3. Invest in professional development
To avoid or minimize the problem of not being able to advance, it is advisable to spend money on professional training, although not too much.
This could mean rising in the ranks and getting certifications or perhaps attending workshops or getting a degree in a field like nutrition or sports science.
Likewise, learning keeps you engaged and also adds more value to the service offering.
4. Build strong relationships
Loyalty is crucial in this business, and so clients have to be retained at all costs.
This is because developing strong mutual trust with your clients is one of the ways you can be assured of their continued patronage.
Make sure you listen to them and have enough patience to understand what they want, what motivates them and what stops them before you try to address them.
5. Stay adaptable
The fitness industry is evolving with the coming trends and expectations of the customers.
Or consistency and flexibility are the most important when it comes to staying in the business for a long time.
By accepting the use of some improvements, for example, practicing one or the other gadget in delivering training or considering a change in the way of coaching such as using online tools of coaching, adaptability will keep you relevant and patient.
Conclusion: Is personal training a good idea?
Well, it seems that not many personal trainers regret their decision to become a personal trainer.
The answer to this question is up to the feeling of every single person, and it can be different from person to person.
Some of the negative experiences are financial insecurity, physical working conditions, and inability to get promotions or advance in career and all these factors result in regrets.
However, for those who can’t imagine their life without fitness work, who get joy from helping people, and don’t mind a lack of variety in their business, personal training can be a very rewarding option.
This is especially true if you are hoping to become a personal trainer or fitness instructor.
When you enter teaching, you should have an idea of what the benefits and drawbacks of the job are and have a strategy on how to deal with the benefits and drawbacks.
Personal training can be an incredibly rewarding job if done correctly, and something that you will never feel like you made the wrong decision to do.