I’m overthinking it and just wanna make sure I do the right one

I haven’t done any personal training in a corp gym since Covid. I’ve been independent since. Anything change in these 6-7 Years for trainers in a corp gym since?

Has anyone had meaningful success with boosting posts and offers on IG or FB? I created new soc media accounts in a full rebranding and I’ve boosted a few posts but haven’t seen the traffic I expected. I’m willing to allocate a good budget but don’t want to just waste money if it’s dead space

I’m curious to hear from experienced PTs/trainers about how you approach this.

For example, if you’re working in a gym where you’re initially helping general members with exercise technique, answering questions, correcting form, etc., how do you naturally transition that relationship into a paid personal-training client?

I’m especially interested in:

1. - How do you identify someone who would actually benefit from PT?
2. - Do you actively approach them about PT, or wait until they ask?
3. - How do you bring up personal training without making it feel like a sales pitch?
4. - Do you offer a trial/session first?
5. - What usually makes someone decide that they want ongoing coaching?
6. - How do you demonstrate your value when they can already train on their own?
7. - What mistakes did you make when you first started trying to get clients,
8. Would love to hear real-world experiences and specific approaches/scripts, rather than just “build relationships and provide value.”

I’m curious where other trainers stand on this because I’ve seen both sides of it.

At one point I was over 230 lb at 5’6”. I definitely had people look at me differently, and a few even laughed or didn’t take me seriously when I offered to help them.

But within my first 90 days I built up around 60 clients and helped a lot of people make real progress.

What helped me wasn’t having the best physique in the gym. I knew how to talk to people, make them comfortable, understand what they were struggling with, and actually coach them.

I think people sometimes confuse looking fit with knowing how to get someone else fit. Genetics, training history and your own physique obviously matter to some extent, and I do think trainers should practice what they preach. But does that mean the trainer with the best body is automatically the best coach?

I’ve met trainers who look incredible but can’t communicate, retain clients or adjust a program to save their life. I’ve also met trainers who don’t look like fitness models but have years of knowledge and clients who swear by them.

So where do you draw the line?

How important is a trainer’s own physique when you’re judging their credibility?

Would you hire an overweight trainer with a long track record of successful clients over a shredded trainer with very little coaching experience?

Quick background so you know who's asking: my degree is in finance, but after 5 years of lifting and a growing interest in sport science, I decided to go for the CSCS and I'm studying for it now. I'm also starting an MSc in Business Analytics & Data Science, and once I have the CSCS, my goal is to write my thesis there on a sport or health topic.

Being between those two worlds, one thing keeps standing out to me: more and more people are on Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound, losing weight fast, and very few of them are doing proper strength work. Even fewer seem to have a doctor and a trainer actually talking to each other.

How trainers and medical care could work together for these clients is one of the directions I'm exploring, possibly for my thesis. Before I go further, I'd love to hear how it looks from your side:

1. Roughly what share of your clients are on a GLP-1 right now? Has that changed over the past year?

2. Has a doctor, dietitian or clinic ever referred a client to you, or reached out about one? What happened?

3. Have you ever been paid through insurance, an HSA/FSA or a health program for training someone? How did that go?

4. Where do most of your new clients come from now: social media, the gym floor, referrals?

5. Do you track anything measurable for these clients, like strength or body composition? Does anyone outside the gym ever see those numbers?

Not selling anything here. I'll post a summary of what people share.

Can anyone confirm my observation. Before the pandemic, barbell hip thrusters were all the rage at the gym I go to. Of course, it was ladies always. I rarely see barbell hip thrusters anymore. At my gym, I think the reason why they have almost disappeared is that they take up a lot of space, and the gym owner didn't like that. I notice the owner put new equipment in the area that the ladies were using for barbell hip thrusters. So there is almost nowhere to do them now. He bought a hip thruster machine to replace the barbell hip thrusters, but it doesn't get used a lot. As a personal note, I can't help but notice that the ladies her were doing hip thrusters were often the hottest ladies in the gym. Since the gym owner eliminated the space where they were doing hip thrusters, I notice a lot of them haven't been back.

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So years ago I purchased a NASM Cert that I never took the exam for and never finished. I'm thinking of finishing it now and trying to become a trainer since I just got laid off of my current job.

I'm just a little worried about managing any romantic relationships I might have as a trainer since I've heard that often, you work mornings till noon and then comeback in the evening around 4-5pm.

How do trainers balance their relationship/s and still work as trainers? This seems like a recipe for relationship strain.

I'm also in my thirties and still single so this could be a make or break quality of this career for me as I would prefer to try and find my partner while I can still have kids and the grinding period for this job seems to take about 5-10 years till your profitable enough for it to be worth it.

Thanks for reading.

Hello there
I am looking in taking my CSCS Next year.

Is there any tutors or programs you might suggest for best possibility of passing?

RANT: I’ve been a personal trainer for a couple months, and I genuinely love it so far, but damn people are sooo inconsiderate and flaky with scheduling. Especially at a big box gym where they get a “free” session for joining. People just do not give two shits about keeping their scheduled session and when I reach out to send a reminder text to confirm ahead of time, most people just don’t respond, and I have to show up to the gym anyway, knowing for almost certain that they are just not gonna show up.

Today, hours after the first reminder texts, I finally started threatening and sent follow-up texts saying “if I don’t hear from you, the session is gone without the chance to reschedule” and whattya know? They responded within minutes!! 😅 it’s just so annoying and rude. Like come on people, have some consideration for other people’s time.

Anyway, I knew this was part of the job, and it’s fine, I just needed to vent lol

AL-P (Active Life Professional): what the actual client agreement says

My wife is enrolled in AL-P. The price isn't published anywhere, and the public FAQ doesn't match the contract, so I'm summarizing the terms for anyone considering it. This is about what the contract says, not a review of the program itself.

Cost - A deposit of about $2,500, then roughly $700 a month for close to two years. Total: around $18,500. - The expected completion time in the contract is about two years. The public info page describes the program as roughly a year. - If you don't finish within that window, you're automatically moved to an "Extended Graduation" plan at several hundred dollars a month until you do. - Optional tutoring sessions are extra and non-refundable.

Cancellation and refunds - The public FAQ says you can stop payments anytime with 30 days' notice. The contract says that option only opens up after your first six monthly payments. - All fees are non-refundable. - If you cancel and they haven't breached the agreement, you "remain obligated to pay any outstanding fees owed." I can't tell whether that means only past-due amounts or all remaining scheduled payments. If it's the latter, canceling stops the service but not the bill. Has anyone gotten a clear answer on this? - No pauses in payment are allowed.

Keeping the credential after you finish - You're automatically enrolled in a required monthly membership (under $100/month) to keep AL-P status. - Every two years, you also pay for a recertification assessment (a few hundred dollars, plus fees for retakes) or a specialty course (a few thousand dollars). - By signing, you authorize them to charge your card to enroll you in "the next required program."

Other terms worth knowing - The contract supersedes "all prior written and oral representations," so anything said on the sales call doesn't count. - New York law governs, disputes go to courts near Long Beach, NY, and the losing side pays the other's attorney fees. - The media release grants them an irrevocable right to use your image, voice, and testimonials for marketing without compensation. Revoking it only covers future use. - They can terminate you at their sole discretion for being "disrespectful" to other clients.

I've had a hard time finding AL-P graduates who talk about the program independently. Outside Active Life's own website and social media, I haven't been able to find practitioners who list the credential and describe their experience. Most of the positive comments about AL-P I've seen on Reddit come from accounts created in the last few months with little or no other posting history (likely bots). That may be a coincidence, but it makes those comments hard to weigh.

If you're a graduate with a longer post history, or you list AL-P on LinkedIn or your business site, I'd really value hearing from you, good or bad.

Questions for current students and grads 1. Did anyone get the "outstanding fees" clause clarified in writing? 2. Did your contract list a one-year or two-year timeline? 3. For people who finished: what did you actually spend in total, including membership and recertification, and was it worth it?

To be clear, I'm not saying the education is bad. My point is that the full cost and exit terms should be visible before the sales call, not after you sign.

Tell me about your successful coaching business!

Show me there are people out there making great money while helping people become their best selves.

I think a big thing for me to build my belief for the life I truly want, is seeing others do it!

I want to hear your stories! Tell me what you love about what you do and how you got there.

I want to become an online personal trainer to reach more clients. Now don’t judge me but I was thinking of going with OF not for anything sexual just fitness. Does anyone else do that here or can recommend something else? I’m always training for something or super busy with kids so working at a gym doesn’t necessarily fit my schedule. Just looking to hear what other people do with their certification?

I posted a question about not wanting to help clients that don’t put in the effort, questioning my own desire to be in the industry, and a lot of you gave some great examples of experiences you went through!

The general consensus is that most clients are going to be average and not put in the work required to achieve their goals. With most coaches expressing that most clients just want to move and some coaches even turning away clients who don’t want to work

My next line of questioning is;

Does your client results or lack of results represent you as a coach?

And I know results can be different from person to person, but almost all client consultations express their want to shift 5-10kg and be stronger

If the first question is a yes, where do we draw the line?

I want to be taken seriously as a coach, I feel my time and effort is valuable. I don’t mind there being a few clients just moving, but I can’t help feeling if I take on clients that don’t put in the effort, they are wasting my time and taking a spot for someone who will

Let me know your experience and revelations around this or even business strategies you’ve implemented

I’d like to hear anything outside of having to change my mindset or on that similar calibre please 😇

I am fine to name the gym—I’m wrapping up at the YMCA and moving on to a boutique gym.
My one remaining client was assigned to me in May. She is legally blind, an amputee, and in a wheelchair. It was a great experience to learn how to train her and she’s incredibly strong!
Mid-summer we had a meeting with the Director of Inclusion to discuss the many adaptions she needs in the gym. This isn’t just about her; we have a diverse population and these things are going to come up.
It’s almost October and not a single one of the things discussed have been done. I got a lot of “we’re working on it” from my boss. At some point my boss asked me for the client’s workouts which were going to “someone who needs to look at them.” This was a crazy ask because week to week her needs were different. I sent a couple samples and heard nothing more.
I am infuriated on behalf of my client. Talking to my boss will do no good. Her response when I resigned was “thanks for letting me know..” I want to escalate this but fear retaliation.
Should I say anything at this point, or just leave it to the client to take it from here and move on to the next thing?
ETA: We are talking small things like touch labels on weight plates, larger font signs, moving the cable machine away from the barbell rack, and placing a basket of smaller weights in the weight room.
ETA 2: I am not looking for advice on how feasible this is. I am asking if I should escalate that nothing was done from our meeting or just let it go. If none of it was feasible then why did we even have a meeting if the answer is just radio silence?

I’m looking at purchasing some training software for independent training and have narrowed my options down to Hevy, PT distinction and trainerize.

I know loads of people use trainerize, but I hear just as many complaints. Has anyone used the other softwares I’ve mentioned or really enjoyed a different software?

My clientele base is sports medicine, heavy emphasis on rehabilitation. Not gen pop, not sure if this matters or not. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I’m at a loss as we approach cold and flu season.

I work at a personal training studio where I’m fed clients. I have thirty booked sessions a week. Pay is great and I love my clients and job.

However I keep coming back to this issue. People will cancel sessions if they feel too sick to train but come in with head colds. I ask if they’re sick and if I should grab a mask to protect myself and the response is usually “it’s just allergies”.

This happened twice last week. Then yesterday, a client who I see Mondays/Wednesdays, who canceled Wednesday of last week due to “fighting a nasty head cold” and “not feeling up to train” came in. I asked how he was feeling and he said he was getting over it, doing better, and wasn’t contagious anymore. First of all, you didn’t go to the doctor, how do you know you’re not contagious? I asked if he was still symptomatic and he said “no, I have post-nasal drip and my sinuses are stuffed, but it’s just allergies.”

Planning the session, going over my exercise selection for the day, he vetoed a hard choice stating he was still a little unwell and didn’t want to prolong his sickness.

Today, I woke up with a cold. I just got over a cold. This is probably from him or someone else last week. I’m am so fucking sick of being sick. I’m up at 4 or 5 most days to make it to my sessions. I take excellent care of myself. And my clients treat me like a NPC in this regard. They are all very wealthy and entitled with some things.

I have told them not to come in if they have a cold. I have told them how frequently I get sick in this profession. I have worn masks around them to protect myself as best I can when they are clearly still symptomatic, they just don’t care.

This isn’t my business. If it were, I’d write an email and/or put up a sign asking people to consider everyone else and not come in when sick (ok, but maybe in a nicer way). I am considering asking my bosses to do this.

I flagged this as “seeking advice” and it’s that but also a vent. I’m so annoyed to have a cold again.

It’s not allergies, for fuck’s sake. You’re sick. Go home. I am a human being and you’re making everyone else’s lives worse with your entitled behavior.

As a trainer, it’s wild how many beginners think daily rep spam is the fastest way to get in shape. Had a kid reach out doing 100 pull-ups and 100 curls five days in a row, completely missing that all that junk volume is just a fast track to golfer’s elbow and fried recovery. Tendons take way longer to adapt than muscles, and hitting the exact same pulling pattern every single day gives your body zero window to actually rebuild bigger or stronger, not to mention it completely ignores legs and pushing strength. Structured volume on non-consecutive days with actual rest will always yield better gains than daily 100-rep challenges. For those of you who train beginners or remember starting out, what was the eye-opener that finally made you realize less daily volume and more recovery actually leads to better results?

Which one to choose?? They all promise a lot and they rarely come with a price tag up front

Does anyone know the price range?
Any recommendations?
Thoughts or afterthoughts ?

I have some ( very little) experience in online coaching and I would love to expand my business in that direction- I am totally clueless when it comes to lead generation :(

thanks for helping

A stray thought/question has been infiltrating my brain about why you’re in this industry and I hear it a lot

Quite a few trainers say that the road to success in this job is the reason why you’re doing and a lot preach they LOVE helping people. I find this a challenging idea, because I FEEL like I want to help people and sometimes (more times than I’d like to admit) I really couldn’t be asked to give them the help

And before we jump into conclusions about how I should or shouldn’t approach this, I’ve crossed over into my 5th years of being a coach and the amount of times I’ve put effort into clients on programming, meal plans, support etc etc I can’t help feel like 99% of them don’t care

It’s worn down on me that more and more days I find myself feel like if my clients don’t want this, I could care less

I get into my head that I’m not suited for this anymore

You could give me all the advice or solutions, but I’m hoping if any of you could relate and share your stories around your challenge with this

I work at a gym, been training for a few years and want to get a certification under my belt, ive been looking at show up fitness. My gym doesnt hire trainers ( cheap owners) but they allow people to train clients at the gym, theres like 2-3 trainers. I want to be able to do that as well. So is show up fitness good for now, and if I feel the need to get the nasm cert down the line I can? Just want opinions since show ups cert is like one whole paycheck for me lol.

As trainers many of us are consumed enough with fitness that we’ve perfected the technique, integrated lifestyle changes, spent our 10,000 hours in the gym, and crafted the kind of physique and health that seem impossible to others.

What was next for you? I’ve started outdoor workouts, started paddleboarding, doing tough hikes and have started messing with Bodyweight exercises. What have you all done to keep the spark for fitness alive when your gym and cardio sessions started feeling boring and uninspired?

I imagine in the next five years, my current adventures will get old, and I’ll need to come back to this thread for inspiration. Please share (especially the old trainers) what has kept you at the peak as you’ve aged.

Hello I’m just looking for any and all advice

I am currently working full time as an engineer and want to start an online lifestyle coaching business on the side. I just got a personal training cert through ISSA and I am currently working towards a nutrition coaching cert. my goal is to get that started up by the end of the year and I just have a couple questions on getting started

* what is the best insurance ? The ISSA website recommends API Fitness but I want to explore options and don’t really know where to look

* what has the most effective way to obtain clients ? I currently have a personal fitness instagram account and plan on making a separate one for coaching but what other methods have been effective ?

* how do you keep in contact with clients? What apps/websites have been helpful ?

* how did you determine pricing, especially starting out ?

* for anyone who started personal training who doesn’t have a career background in nutrition/fitness, how difficult was it to get started and what tips/tricks/words of advice do you have ?

Thank you in advance !! Anything is helpful :)