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Did anyone attend the NASM workshop? What was it like and was it helpful?
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I have been to the OPT workshop. Especially if you haven't had any formal training (school etc...) they can be really helpful. Seeing things in person is definatly different than reading them. It is also very helpful in helping you past the certification test for the CPT exam. It will outline the whole OPT model.
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Is it possible to start working with a gym part-time - evenings and weekends once I get my certification? Has anyone done this?
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The majority of our trainers are part time right now (YMCA). It will depend on the gym. My former gym (lifetime fitness) hated part time staff and rarely hired them. I think most are okay with it.
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How much hard selling is involved? I don't mind a certain amount of selling - I think a sales aspect is involved in most jobs and I really enjoyed working retail in college (I was consistently the highest seller) - but I don't want to be making cold calls or be a HARD seller like that car salesman stereotype everyone hates. I wouldn't have anything against building relationships with people at the gym - going up to random people, talking with them, showing them moves and determining interest in training.
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I would again say it depends on the gym chain. I have heard horror stories of Bally's trainers being forced to hard sell pretty bad but in the 3 gym chains I have worked for have never experienced it. Its like you said, talking to members, building relationships, and finding who is interested in your services and showing them what you can do for them.
I do spend some time on the phone, but its by choice and it isn't really cold calling. We call inactive members to get them in back in the gym for assesments etc...
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Are most PT jobs 100% commission? What percentage do you typically get?
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Sorry to be repetative but it depends on the gym. Most are base + commission with a low hourly rate for floor hours (usually hours you are working with a member, orientations, assessments etc...) Currently I don't work on a commission scale but do get paid differently depending on if I am with clients or not.
The percentage is usually based on how much work you have to do vs. how much the gym does to help you. At the small places like Anytime Fitness you usually get a pretty high percentage but you do everything, marketing etc... A Lifetime Fitness is between 49-58% of the sale.
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I know this varies a lot, but can anyone give me a general idea of how much trainers make?
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I know trainers who have made over 75 grand a year and I know a couple who were barely at 20 grand. All of this was in the same gym. It just comes down to how hard you are willing to work, how good you are at building relationships, and how thick your skin is.
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Any other resources where I can get information about what being a personal trainer is like? Other message boards for trainers?
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Not sure of other message boards, but search for posts here by John Izzo, they will be really helpful. He also has an e-book called Secret Skills of Personal Trainers (sorry I can't remember the link offhand) that is awesome. Its all about getting started in the industry.
For other authors, Alwyn Cosgrove, Jim Labadie, Dax Moy, and Pat Rigsby all have fantasic fitness business products and websites will a lot of helpful info.
Keep posting here with any more questions you have though, we have quite a few trainers who read and post actively.
Danny
Question about Becoming a Personal Trainer
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