Thread: Personal trainer's salary

well my mate is a pt and charges 60 quid an hour, half of which goes to him

depends on how many clients you have matey and wher eyour owrking also.. aim for the barristers etc.. some gyms will ask you to pay them for using gym space etc.

It depends where you are TBH

IN Bristol for example if you work out by Clifton then you get more toffs with money willing to pay for the service, but then they are likely to cancel due to work committments. One of my friends has a number of rich clients and they cancel half their sessions.

Average wage is £35 an hour, unless you are a high level sports specific person with sh*tloads of qualifications and have worked with professionals then dont expect more than that.

Then you have rent to pay at the gym you work at which is normally about £450 a month if you are at fitness first.

so to bring in a decent wage you'd have to do 50 sessions a week (£1500 before tax)

Then take off your rent (£450) and all the other things (petrol clothes etc) but you can claim against a certain amount for tax purposes, I dont really know about this but others will.

And then you have to remember that most people will want to train at peak times (4-7pm) or even first thing before work (6.30) so you will most likely end up doing very long days on split shifts.

However you have freedom of movement for yourself and you dictate your hours to a certain degree which is very liberating when you have worked in an office all your life.

Most important thing to remember is NOT to devalue the product. People will complain about the cost of PT and try and get you to lower your prices. DO NOT EVER do this as once you start you set a precedent and you'll be working twice as hard for the same cash.

If you are charging a certain price then you justify that with the results.

For example my hypnotherapy tutor charges £70 a session because of his experience and training. If people complain abouut the price he asks them what he thinks their self improvement is worth? More to the point he says 'dont you think YOU are worth £70?' because they are improving themselves and paying for a service.

For example Baz you have competed so you know a thing or two about discipline and committment as well as nutrition and training. More so than the normal certificate plebs you see Premier churning out. If I were you I would be using that to my advantage and charging a premium. Maybe do a 10% discount for block bookings but thats it.

Also take payment in advance. This is to ensure that they turn up and have a focus on training tell them. If they dont turn up then NO REFUNDS. Have a cancellation deadline so if they dont inform you in time then they get NO REFUND.

People will respect this for a proper professional approach to their fitness.

You can get basic terms and conditions of business and give them a copy when you take them on. This enhances your professional image. Give them a 'contract' saying that you will do everything you can to push them to succeed etc and what you expect of them as your clients. Positive reinforcement of your professionalism. Nothing worse than a PT who is disorganised and you see them at the end of the session collecting a bit of change from the client and writing down notes on the back of a scrap bit of paper.

The image you portray will enhance your business and justify your fees.

have a cancellation charge of 50% if i were you because as tom says loads cancel

Good post Tom, except the bit about the hypno sh1te...Queer

I done PT for a while didnt like it one bit, a decent gym will literally rape you for rent your have to work very hard for not a lot, it sounds great comanding £50-£60 an hour but there are a lot of overheads that customers/clients will not see or cannot comprehend and will expect a discount just because they ask for it, you do need to get into an affluent area and do things such as have a cancellation fee as this does happen a helluva lot

Another thing you've got to factor in if you are considering going into this line of work is the state of the country, there are always going to be a market for health & fitness professionals but with people cutting back on there outgoings i would imagine most people see PT's as a luxury rather than a necessity (sp?) and will be one of the first things to cut back on

The PTs charge 30 quid per hour at our gym

DB mate

The worst factor of the job are the 'let-downs'.

As its been pointed out, people cancel. It only takes a sick child or work commitments for someone to send you that text or make that dreaded phonecall.

Another factor is that you often always take work home with you. Lets just say youve got 5 blocked appointments and the one slap bang in the middle cancels, you have to run round trying to fill it, unless you want to sit around for an hour. The other option would be to re-arrange appointments so you get away from work an hour early, only getting hold of each client is a mammoth task, let alone trying to get them to do an earlier or later appointment.

And forget about your social life, week nights and weekends (lets not forget you have to work when your clients aren't at work). If your missus works a 9-5, you will end up like ships in the night - not a bad thing for some people haha.

Ive had a desk based job with a salary and I took a change and became a P.T. The job satisfaction is priceless, however I really miss the security of a salary and paid holidays.

thanks alot for your replys guys really appreciate it

Personally in the current finacial climate think you'd be a bit mad to do it as that IMO would be one of the first things people would cut back on. I know the PT's in my gym are really starting to struggle.

Originally Posted by DB

thanks alot for your replys guys really appreciate it

Baz, I told you b4, just stick to being a rent boy mate, your making a packet, stop being greedy.

pmsl

What are the basic qualifications needed to be a Personal trainer?/

You in london arent you DB?

If you keen to do this then have a look at Reebok gym in Canary Wharf. It's surrounded by all the banks so there is thousands of people in and out everyday and a fair amount get away during the day to train and then in the evening it's packed. 2 massive floors packed!!! In fact I train at 2pm these days cause the evenings can get too full.

It's not a small gym and it's not a cheap gym either. Fee's average around £95/month before all the spa treatment and other things available. I think the trainers charge about £50 to £60 a month. Call up and ask though, could be higher I donno.

Tom gave you some excellent advice but Harry hit the nail on the head. The market at present is not healthy and these luxuries are the first to go. Perhaps the Wharfers will still have spare cash compared to other areas. Or they might be out of job as a another banks goes t!ts up.

And if loosing money makes them make the appointment rather than skip it then it's actually helping them.