Personal Trainer

For qualified instructors, there’s a stack of money to be made in January. Gym memberships, trial days and personal trainer bookings soar in the New Year – every year.

Ahead of January 2013, ThinkMoney put the figures in the multi millions, with research suggesting 29% of the adult population would make a resolution to lose weight and a further 19% would look to improve their fitness. Let’s do the (theoretical) math…

  • 29% Plus 19% = 48%
  • 48% of 44.9 million (UK Adult Population – England & Wales) = 21,552,000
  • 21.6 million Multiplied by £50 (regular cost of single PT session) = £1,080,000,000

So, in theory, personal trainers across England and Wales could be sharing billions of pounds in January 2014.

Now, we know for fact not everybody will go down the personal training route – especially if they’re new to the gym. That doesn’t stop them being potential mid-to-long-term clients. What these wild calculations confirm, is that there is a lot of money to grab in the fitness sector, particularly during the New Year period. You need drive, commitment and qualifications to become a personal trainer and get your hands on it.

If you’re reading a post like this, then chances are you already possess the first two traits. And at the end of this blog, you’ll find a way to get your qualifications before Christmas. But first, let’s take a look at somebody who’s already trodden the path…

Karen Fraser Knight, a self-confessed gym dodger, loved keeping fit but always found traditional exercise boring – one of the most common reasons for avoiding exercise in the UK.

After having kids, Karen took to Zumba to shake off her baby-weight and get back into shape. If you’ve been to a Zumba class already – then you know the method is far from dull. Naturally, Karen fell in love with the form and shed six stone in two years.

She valued it so much, that she decided to start teaching her own classes. Karen got her Level 2 Exercise to Music qualification from Health and Fitness Education – today, she operates her own Zumba training business.

Karen’s story is just one example from a pile of fitness career success stories on the HFE blog.

The 6-Week Personal Trainer Course

Karen zoomed in on Zumba and if all goes well, she’ll develop into a specialist for that portion of the marketplace. It’s a solid career plan and one that’s already off to a strong start. You can do the same.

Owning a particular fitness niche (Zumba, nutrition, kettle bell training etc.) means you can gain a reputation in your locale and offer something different from the competition. Still, you have the option to cast a much wider net and generate business from a variety of client-types, all with different fitness goals in mind. None of this is easy – but you don’t have to be a lifelong expert to do it (as proven by Karen’s Zumba success).

It takes roughly six weeks to complete a personal trainer course with HFE. As with all their programmes, you can take the Level 3 Diploma at your own pace but if you want to capitalise on the New Year boom, then you need to register today. Don’t worry – you’ll be making the right call.

The course is one of the cheapest and best-supported for all ages. If you’re hesitating to make the first step, use the HFE frequently asked questions to get some reassurance. And Happy New Year! Sorry…still too early for that, isn’t it? 😀

*ThinkMoney statistics taken from this pdf.