Personal Trainer Job Description Become a Personal Trainer

If you have the experience and necessary expertise, you can train athletes for sports in which they compete. You can go to clients’ homes, to gyms, to recreation facilities or to businesses that have training equipment and workout areas for their employees. You can go to schools, senior citizen daycare centers or child daycare centers on a contract basis to give fitness classes. You will need to do some market research to find out what age group or people would be most likely to use your services, because any of these activities could be part of your personal trainer job description.

What you need to know about this business

• Start up cost for this business is between $3000 and $6000
• Income potential is $20,000 to $80,000 depending on your credentials, your clients, what other classes and groups you teach or give talks too.
• Some trainers charge from $50 to $200 per session, while others charge $20 to $50 per hour for classes. The going rates very according to your market area. One option is to charge $400 for a six week, twice a week program that teaches basic exercise principles and techniques (stretching, cross training. prevention of athletic injuries), plus instruction on the proper way to use fitness equipment.
• You can be certified by the American Council on Exercise or the American College of Sports Medicine

How to market this business

• Encourage personal referral from clients. Arrange for referrals from the gym where you are a member. (You may even hold classes or training sessions for members of the gym)
• Give talks and presentations, and demonstrations to community group, workers at businesses that promote employee fitness and at hospital wellness fairs or teach classes at adult evening schools.

• Advertise on local cable television. See if you can host a daily or weekly exercise program.
• Give workshops for coaches
• Write a weekly column on fitness for your local newspaper.
• Be fit yourself run in benefit races to garner good PR for your business and keep in shape.
• Put together a portfolio of “before and “after” photos of clients. (Get the clients to sign release forms of course)
• Send out direct mail to nursery schools, day care centers, and senior citizen centers offering fun fitness sessions.
• Create a website with great fitness information.
• Business cards and brochures

Target Market

• Professionals who do not have the time or motivation to exercise by himself or herself
• School centers that do not have the funds to hire full-time exercise professional
• Athletes who want specialized training for a competition
• Individuals who just want to look and feel better
• People who told to get into shape for the health reasons

Home business equipment required

• Portable DVD/CD player for CD/DVDs you create
• Portable fitness equipment
• Equipment for children, if you work with children
• Reference books on physical fitness, weight training, fitness games, and exercise
• Dedicated phone with voicemail or answering service
• Cell phone with pager ability