Many people want to become a Personal Trainer (PT) and the idea sounds very attractive at first! Being a PT can allow you to hang out in the gym all day, talk about the things you love, help others, and potentially be your own boss and set your own hours.

This all sounds great! Yet the reality is most new Personal Trainers struggle to stay in the fitness industry and exit it in under 6 – 12 months. Even worse, some aspiring PT’s never even finish their Certificate 3 & 4 in Fitness due to a variety of reasons, despite having the potential to make a true impact.

Why does this happen?

Clearly there are many reasons behind this, yet the reality is that success in the fitness industry is a lot harder than most realise. To become an in-demand coach, you need more than just big Biceps and great Glutes!

Many new PTs overlook the simple reality that personal training is:

1) A business

2) A service you deliver

Whilst your own physique may help get some new clients in the door, what keeps them isn’t your body. Rather it is your ability to help develop their body and/or help that client become healthier which is the key!

So, if you can achieve great results with your clients and provide a high-quality service, this strongly impacts your pricing potential, your ability to retain clients, plus the likelihood that others will refer potential clients to you. All of this can naturally aid your business success too!

If your PT business is more in-demand and profitable, the result is that you’re able to further develop your business and also better finance your own life too. Doing this can help ensure you’re able to stay in the fitness industry longer. So, whilst it’s important to be passionate about everything health and fitness, the reality is if you’re unable to provide a good service and your business model is poor, eventually you may struggle to simply pay your bills.

This is why at Carroll Performance we preach that it is crucial to not just develop your technical knowledge as a coach and trainer, but also to focus hard on developing your business too.

Whilst we strive to equip you for success with our Fast Track Personal Trainer Certification, it’s important to remember that completing your Certificate 3 & 4 in Fitness is only the first step that allows you into the industry. It doesn’t guarantee your success and automatically ensure you will be able to stay within the fitness industry in the long run.

To ensure longevity in the fitness industry you must keep learning, working and evolving over time after completing your Certificate 3 & 4 in Fitness. This is also why we are so passionate about professional development for coaches, and why we offer additional courses in Program Design and Periodisation, plus also The Fitness Business Strategy to help you build and sustain your business.

So, when it comes to Personal Training, two keys to always remember are that you are operating or working for a business, and secondly, you are providing a service. You want to be professional and deliver a quality service, whilst not overlooking what your client needs and wants. If you do this well and nail other essentials for success, you’re well positioned to become an elite coach and build a great fitness business, whilst changing lives along the way.

Thanks for reading,

Glen Carroll