Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place. I was not sure where this should go.
I often hear people talk about how personal training does not pay, but then I realize the most personal trainers don't deserve to make much money anyway.
So I am curious. Let's take a competenet trainer with a couple years of experience, working a 40 hour week in a major city like NYC. How much can this trainer make?
Is $50K realistic? $75K? $100K? $150K?
It has a lot to do with where you work, first of all. Is the person a part of the giant "GloboGym" machine, or working freelance? Training in small, powerlifting gyms or visiting stockbrokers' wives in their condos? How about marketing? Is the person going to be aggressive on the net (like Eric) or hit the local hot spots and hand out business cards? Do they KNOW somebody? Competent, perhaps, but able to handle NYC personalities and maintain a clientele with bigtime competition? All of this would make a big difference in annual income.
In my market the better trainers (which still doesn't meet my standards, BTW) are making in the 40-50K range.
My second year in business (1994) I had a small studio, and before paying expenses (which weren't that much at the time) I made around $75K. That was back when I only charged between 30-35 per hour. In NYC, good trainers are charging $100+ per hour, so I imagine that they can probably make pretty decent money. There are a lot of trainers who get all the attention who are woefully underqualified though, so don't underestimate the importance of marketing.
I would try to get in touch with Mejia just to get a sense of what it takes. Who knows, if you're good enough he may take you at his gym.
He was at the time. I have another friend named Terri Walsh who charges about $120 an hour and gets it (haven't talked to her in years, so her price may have gone up). She trains people in their homes (a few famous people). She used to have a facility, but they closed it so she wouldn't be a resource to you, but her price tag is probably some indicator.
Thats just incredible. $120/hr? I believe every bit of it considering what people spend on things, but does anyone think a person charging $120/hr is going to be that much better than someone charging $60/hr? I dunno, I mean if you really know your stuff get what you can, but I can't imagine spending my discretionary budget like that.
Someone else to contact in the NYC area would be Joe Dowdell of Peak Performance. AWESOME gym. Probably one of the best gyms I have ever walked into (Eric and Mike Robertson held a seminar there this past summer) and Joe is a brilliant guy.
Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place. I was not sure where this should go.
I often hear people talk about how personal training does not pay, but then I realize the most personal trainers don't deserve to make much money anyway.
So I am curious. Let's take a competenet trainer with a couple years of experience, working a 40 hour week in a major city like NYC. How much can this trainer make?
Is $50K realistic? $75K? $100K? $150K?
Do you live in NYC? I can tell you here in central CT, trainers get paid probably around $20-$35/hour in a commericial gym setting. 85% of commercial gym trainers get paid a "floor rate" too which is between $9-15/hour. If yuo are an independant contractor and pay a gym to use their space/equipment, you can charge between $50-100. It also depends on where you live.
If you work in an affluent community, you can charge $75-100/hour and get it. However, with any golden salary, the skill of retaining clients is what makes or breaks you.
$100/hour sounds good....but if Mrs. Jones is does renew with you after 10 sessions and you need to replace her and can't...say goodbye to that predicted salary.
Hmmm.... at my Fitness First, here in Jersey (Channel Island) the trainers pay the gym £120 per week and charge clients £25 per hour.
Wayne Stewart is the best, he charges £40 and tells the clients when to train! He has a waiting list for clients and works 6am -4pm Mon-Fri and has the weekends off.
The other trainers might have between 20 and 30 clients a week spread out over 12 or more hours a day 6 days a week. They have to hang around the gym for hours at a time between clients and are plagued by cancellations - but to be fair, of the 15 trainers only about three of them really know what they are doing and the rest have a 2 week Premier training qualification. Still - that means a lot of hours, unsociable ones at that, to earn a decent living.
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Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. -- Sidney J. Harris
Wayne Stewart is a smart business personal trainer. He dictates his schedule and knows how to create "the need", so that he is not a slave to the client's time schedule...they are to his.
Someone else to contact in the NYC area would be Joe Dowdell of Peak Performance. AWESOME gym. Probably one of the best gyms I have ever walked into (Eric and Mike Robertson held a seminar there this past summer) and Joe is a brilliant guy.
Do you live in NYC? I can tell you here in central CT, trainers get paid probably around $20-$35/hour in a commericial gym setting. 85% of commercial gym trainers get paid a "floor rate" too which is between $9-15/hour. If yuo are an independant contractor and pay a gym to use their space/equipment, you can charge between $50-100. It also depends on where you live.
If you work in an affluent community, you can charge $75-100/hour and get it. However, with any golden salary, the skill of retaining clients is what makes or breaks you.
$100/hour sounds good....but if Mrs. Jones is does renew with you after 10 sessions and you need to replace her and can't...say goodbye to that predicted salary.
I live in one of the boroughs (Queens), 15 minutes away from NYC (Manhattan).
This sounds encouraging. Sounds like retaining clients is a skill that can be aquired with practice, so this suggests that the earning potetial is there.
Wayne Stewart is a smart business personal trainer. He dictates his schedule and knows how to create "the need", so that he is not a slave to the client's time schedule...they are to his.
Another encouraging piece of information. That is one of my concerns.
You have to pay some dues before you get to that point. If some upstart trainer tried that too early he would risk losing all of his clients. You can only do that once you've established you're not just another "dime-a-dozen" trainer.
Incidentally, here in LR I charge $50 per hour and I have no problem getting that. I pay my trainers between 15-20 to start, and the ones who do well easily make in the 40's. By do well, I mean that they need to be able to retain clients.
Terri is a unique case. She is sort of a famous trainer... She was the host of Crunch! for 2 years on ESPN, and she wrote a book that did pretty well (I think the name was D.I.V.A.), plus she trained a bunch of celebs and Broadway actors/dancers. You can't base what you charge on her rate in other words.
Thanks for your input. I understand about paying the dues completely.
At this point I want to see if I like this stuff.
I love training myself. I love reading about training. I read articles, books, listen to podCasts etc. But I am sure there is difference between that and training other people, so I have to try to find out.
I don't spend ANY time reading stuff about my profession (software engineering/project managemnt). So it seems logical to switch fields.
I look 10 years ahead and in my coporate job I see lots of $ and lots of hours at work, but I kind of feel that it will suffocate my soul. Nothing wrong with software, and I don't hate it, but I don't particularly enjoy it either.
At my gym the trainers start making $23/hr per session. It then increases to $28 and $34 I believe...but we're getting raises starting in January so it's all changing. I know a bunch of trainers who also train privately and it depends how much they charge. Some of the newer trainers charge about $50-$60 and the older ones charge between $75-$100+. Personally I think some of the people are way underqualified to be charging those prices, and myself I would not feel comfortable charging those prices. Maybe after I get my NSCA-CPT, which is coming up soon, but there are some people who are not even certified who charge that. I had a friend who was working at a PT Studio in NYC and also doing private home sessions that if he wanted to he could be making about 90K a year, but he also needs time for himself.
Just a word of advice and maybe since I'm new it takes up a bunch of my time, but I spend A LOT of time at the gym, and not always training. You have to understand that when you start out you're the low man on the totem pole and so you're the one who gets the odd floor shift hours and stuff...If you're really interested you're going to have to stick it out for a while.
like most people have noted, you'll make a lot more (typically) when working for yourself. Definitely try it out at the commercial settign first, though. I started out at Ballys...(shudders) at started at $20 per session, I worked my way up with certifications and my degree and made $36 per session when I left (still there one day a week for a few clients that wanted to stay there) I typically charge $60 per session for private training now, which is actually cheaper than what they are at Ballys, but I don't have to give any money to the big man.
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"Nothing tastes as good as being lean feels."
Sorry for semi-hijacking, but what about strength coaches? I'm thinking of working with teenage sports teams after I finish school instead of working for a commercial gym, what should I expect to be making? Can I even jump right into that? I haven't really looked into it as I'm not graduating for another year and a half.
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And major action will certainly make you feel a bit uncomfortable, which is absolutely fine. You've gotta get excited about feeling uncomfortable, you've gotta love feeling slightly uncomfortable, because you know that you're stepping outside the boundaries that you used to create.
Zach Even-Esh
I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.
-Dave Tate
Sorry for semi-hijacking, but what about strength coaches? I'm thinking of working with teenage sports teams after I finish school instead of working for a commercial gym, what should I expect to be making? Can I even jump right into that? I haven't really looked into it as I'm not graduating for another year and a half.
I am actually considering this option as well. I plan to get my CSCS in August and then volunteer at a local high school or college.
I have an off-campus unpaid () internship in fourth semester, so I might try to get in at my old high school and train one of the teams there. It would be cool if I could get a job there afterwards, but I've never known them to hire (pay) a trainer for the sports teams. Maybe I'll do such a great job that they'll have no choice but to hire me! hazaa!
I'm not sure a college would take someone that doesn't have a fairly decent rep built up for them yet. A highschool would look good on a resume though if you want to ultimately end up working for a college.
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And major action will certainly make you feel a bit uncomfortable, which is absolutely fine. You've gotta get excited about feeling uncomfortable, you've gotta love feeling slightly uncomfortable, because you know that you're stepping outside the boundaries that you used to create.
Zach Even-Esh
I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.
-Dave Tate
well, I have my CSCS, but don't work as a strength coach. I can tell you that at least in my area, only the most elite of private high schools have one, so that's not an option.... colleges... it's a fairly hard position to get. I've looked but come up emty handed and ended up training for myself instead. Although I have looked, I'm also not too worried as I am starting PT school in june and this is only a temporary thing for me.
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"Nothing tastes as good as being lean feels."
Ya, I was afraid high schools wouldn't find a trainer necessary enough to actually hire. Maybe I can work with the players instead of the school? If I can volunteer there for my internship and meet the players, I could get them to hire me after the internship is over. I don't know, I'm just spitballing here, it's still too far away to start planning now.
__________________
And major action will certainly make you feel a bit uncomfortable, which is absolutely fine. You've gotta get excited about feeling uncomfortable, you've gotta love feeling slightly uncomfortable, because you know that you're stepping outside the boundaries that you used to create.
Zach Even-Esh
I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.
-Dave Tate
Personal Training Income
) internship in fourth semester, so I might try to get in at my old high school and train one of the teams there. It would be cool if I could get a job there afterwards, but I've never known them to hire (pay) a trainer for the sports teams. Maybe I'll do such a great job that they'll have no choice but to hire me! hazaa!
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