Being a personal trainer seems like a glamorous job from the outside. You get to make your own hours, work out whenever you want, and try out the newest and coolest gym equipment and accessories. More importantly, though, you have the privilege of helping many people lead happier and healthier lives. Nothing compares to that, no matter the price tag.
The life of a trainer gets romanticized all too often, though. What may seem exciting and permanently stimulating from the outside is actually a stressful, unstable job at times. Trainers, especially in the beginning career, are left wondering if they will get enough clients, sell enough programs, or pay their gym’s rent. That isn’t to say it’s not a rewarding job, though. Even when times get tough, most trainers find immense joy seeing their clients succeed, which is what keeps them on their path.
One of the most common questions people wonder when they’re thinking about transitioning into the career of fitness is, how much do trainers make? What’s the average salary of a trainer? Here are the facts you need to know.
Trainers Make Less Than You Think They Do
You may have heard that trainers make up to $200 an hour. That’s true, but only for very high-level trainers who have been in the industry for a long time. Yes, celebrity trainers make a ton of money, but they’re the exception, not the rule. In fact, the normal pay for a trainer is pretty bleak. According to Glassdoor, the average base salary for a trainer in the United States is $32,798. Ouch. ZipRecruiter says $48,683 is the average salary for a personal trainer. Neither of those numbers are exciting.
At the YMCA, the average hourly rate is $18, at LA Fitness it’s $13 an hour, and at Gold’s Gym it’s $22 an hour. Of course, if you’re an independent trainer that doesn’t work for a brand, you’ll be able to set your own rate (more on that below), but when you work for a corporate gym, you can only make so much per hour.
A Trainer’s Salary Depends on a Lot of Factors
Before you totally toss out your dream of becoming a personal trainer, though, know that your salary will depend on quite a few factors. Your education and certifications help determine your rate, as does your experience. If you only have a basic certification like NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) with only a year of experience under your belt, chances are you won’t be making $200 an hour right off the bat. But if you put in the time and effort and pay your dues, you’ll certainly make your way up the ladder.
If you work as a personal trainer outside of corporate gyms, you have the chance to make much more. Independent trainers who do online coaching or corporate wellness small group classes, for example, end up making much more than a trainer at a place like Equinox. If you’re trying to make more money as a trainer, you have to expand your network and find different places to train other than your local gym.
Simply Being a Personal Trainer May Not Be Enough to Survive
This might sound discouraging if you want to become a trainer, but it can actually be a motivating fact if you look at it with a different perspective. When you’re a personal trainer, you have a wealth of knowledge to disseminate to a wide range of people. You don’t have to limit your coaching to one-on-one clients. You can teach workshops, host retreats, build an online platform, partner with big brands, etc. The possibilities are endless.
If you simply train clients in one-on-one sessions, you might not make enough money to lead the life you want. But if you think outside the box and invest your time in unique ways to share your knowledge, there is no limit to how much influence you can have — and how much money you can make.
The Final Word
A personal trainer’s salary will differ from case to case, so don’t let the average numbers stop you from pursuing a career in fitness if it’s a big goal for you. Whatever you choose, though, be smart about your decisions and always expect to have to work hard to earn your money. Being a trainer is one of the most under appreciated jobs in today’s world, which means you’ll run into a moment at some point in your career where you’re being underpaid. Once you get through that rough patch, though, and learn how to be prosperous and influential, you’ll find a way to pay your bills and live a comfortable life.
I appreciated the different avenues of ways to reach out to serve people in different areas. Such as the workshops, getting your face out there. Having an open mind and seeing that it is not always glamours to avoid burnout is better information going in rather than finding out at the peak of frustrating. Great Blog Post
This article is 100% true.
One things that was not shared in this article is the fact that there are also typical busy times and typical slow times Trainingwise during the Calendar year. For example, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is typically a Slow period at the gym. Clients who are bussiness people have a ton of goid reasons to cancel or not come to the gym during that time period. You have the Thanksgiving holiday, which makes that week shorter, so they are busy at work and can’t come right before Thanksgiving because they are at work late foing the things they want to get done because they won’t be at work on Thanksgiving Thursday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, forget about Saturday and Sunday because they’ve either been away at relatives since Wednesday night or they’re going to be. The same thing goes for Christmas and Hanukkah, where Clients are either getting work done late and not coming to the gym so that they can get the work done they will not be getting done on Christmas and Hanukkah, not to mention making those Holiday weekends into extended long get away weekends as well. Now, everything I said previously also holds true for the upcoming New Year’s! Also, let’s remember that there is, “End of the year Bussiness things” that must be done “Before the Claendar year ends” which can also keep clients out ofthe gym. The same exact rhing happens all Summer long as well as client’s families who are bound to the school calendar year realize that if they don’t go on vacation over the summer they never may get that chance again until next summer. Also, obviously in the Northeast the weather in the summer is great- so clients want to be outside and not, “Stuck in the gym.” Also regular Monday through Friday-five day work weeks, during the summer become 3 and 4 day work weeks and many, many long weekends occur keeping people away from the gym. Many of my clients in NYC used to go to rhe Hamptons for the entire summer. In New Jersey, the moms and the kids go to the shore while dad works and joins later in the week.
Of course, the opposite is also true when THE NEW YEAR STARTS! Everyone has their, “NEW YEAR’s RESOLUTION;” which is usually brought on by all the excess that occurs between Thanksgiving and New Years! Some actually stick to their New Year’s Resolutions, and others, as usual fall off after a month.
I just want all of the up and coming people who are considering becoming trainers to know that there are busy and non busy cycles EVERY CALENDAR YEAR!