Any Personal Trainers here?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
Any Personal Trainers here?
4
Thu, 05-05-2005 - 11:00am
Hi all, I'm currently unemployed and was thinking about getting ACE certified...I love fitness and I was wondering if any of you recommend becoming a personal trainer? I figured that since I have a business degree I could start my own business after becoming certified...It's an idea anyways. What do you think? Should I go for it? I mean the worse that could happen is that I'd become certified and not be able to find a job in which case I'd go back to doing something with my business degree... I'm just trying to brainstorm my future...
Thank you guys!
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-02-2004
Thu, 05-05-2005 - 12:47pm
I am a trainer, just got certified 2 weeks ago, so I haven't found a job yet, but the knowledge is great!




Lilypie First Birthday tickers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Thu, 05-05-2005 - 1:14pm
Somerandomthoughts (who's already replied), Kel (gymrat), and Soleil are PTs.





Avatar for soleilune
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 05-05-2005 - 3:54pm
I've been in the biz for almost 12 years and if you do it for the love of it (w/ a genuine desire to help others) & don't expect to get rich I say go for it. The info is valuable to you whether you get paid for that knowledge or not.
Soleilune
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-15-2004
Fri, 05-06-2005 - 9:14am

Hi there! As Jean mentioned, I am ACE certified and have been in the business for about a year. The ACE was very difficult to pass but it's well respected. If you decide to take it, give yourself enough time to study. Also, I would highly recommend taking some kind of classes, perhaps at your local community college. Becoming a PT was a career switch for me as well and our local community college offered their own PT certification program. It was a semester long program and I took that while concurrently studying for the ACE. The knowledge I got from the course has been far more useful than what I learned with ACE. ACE requires you to learn a LOT but not much of it is all that useful out in the real world. I don't think I would have been nearly as well prepared for this industry if I'd had *just* the ACE behind me.

I currently work two days a week in a gym, and then do private in-home training the rest of the week. I would strongly suggest starting out by working in a gym. It allows you to meet fellow trainers and also just gives you a feel for the business. I make a lot more money on my own, but stay part time at the gym because I enjoy the atmosphere and the knowledge I get from my colleagues.

Developing a client base takes *time* and I would recommend not relying on it (at least at first) to pay your bills. If I were you, I'd do it on the side just to get yourself going. This industry is so much about establishing relationships. I haven't actually advertised yet and my private clients are actually people who approached me. Word of mouth is obviously pretty powerful.

I hope this helps. If you have more questions, feel free to post them here or you can email me through my profile. :)