Is Personal Training Rewarding?

Is Personal Training Rewarding?

Oct 30, 2020 mindpump

Most people who become trainers have no doubt probably had some sort of transformational journey themselves. Whether it was to put on size, or lose weight, we’ve all had that point in our life where we created a fitness goal and at some point achieved it. Not only that, the feeling of satisfaction we got was exhilarating. So exhilarating in fact, that it’s made you enter the fitness space, or now consider entering it. Having said that, some do wonder though – is it really that rewarding?

There’s no doubt pro’s AND con’s to becoming a trainer. For the focus of this article, I would just like to keep it positive (for now), and focus on what exactly makes being a trainer rewarding. In other words, why SHOULD anyone become a trainer?

The Process of Helping People

Hands down the most rewarding aspect of this field is the amount of people you get to work with and potentially change their lives. If you thought hitting a goal for yourself was contagious, imagine helping tens of hundreds of people. You can probably name 10 people easily within your current network that have complained of back pain, injuries, weaknesses, and weight issues. What’s worse is most of them continue on with their day accepting that things can’t change for the better.  

Yet that’s where you come in. A trainer becomes that beacon of hope. A great trainer knows how to guide, and create a protocol for that stubborn client, and showing them what’s actually possible. I had a friend tell me they missed their college days because that’s when they were “hot and in great shape”. Why does it have to stop there? I can tell you right now, at 33 years old, I’m in the best, healthiest shape of my life. DEFINITELY way better than during college.

People keep these negative stories on repeat. As a trainer, you can help them rewrite this story. Show them the better version they are capable of being! Challenge them each session to do thing’s better than the week before. It may take some time, but if you can chip away little by little at their goals, they will see one day that we are forever malleable. We can change our negative stories in our heads.

The Career Path

The other rewarding aspect of being a trainer, is the sky’s the limit. Being a trainer doesn’t have to just mean working in a big box gym. You can work for sports teams as a strength coach, younger kids at school, people with disabilities, you name it. There is full flexibility to get as creative as you want to carve out EXACTLY the type of help you want to provide. Not many jobs offer that kind of satisfaction. I’ve had coworkers open up their own niche businesses, revolving around some huge pain point they themselves have had their entire life. They got so sick and tired of facing that obstacle that they did something about it. When they saw how much success they had, and how much it resonated, the only thing they could think about going forward was helping others who shared their pain find the right path. There was nothing that would stop them from achieving that goal.

Independence

Similar to the career path, you have full independence. You can carve out your own section of the industry, or join an already successful brand. There is an option for every type of mindset. While you will most likely have to put in a LOT of leg work in the beginning to make a name for yourself, ultimately, if executed properly, you can eventually create your own schedule that allows you to eventually enjoy and run your life the way YOU want to. This is great for individuals who want to start families, or travel, or have a better work life balance.

Forever Learning

The last point I want to touch on is the journey. Once you enter the training career path, it never ends. This is great for those of us who love to continue learning new methods, and trying out new tricks and tactics to achieve better and better results. You will always be stimulated to try harder and do better. I hear my friends who work in cubicles for 10 years talk about how stale, and unfulfilling it’s become. It’s just work. Training on the other hand, allows you to work with so many different and unique individuals. It also allows you to treat every day differently to where no two weeks are ever the same. The ultimate reward obviously, is being able to take people on this journey with you, and continue to change more and more people’s lives everyday. If you love teaching, and working with people, I highly recommend entering the fitness field on some level. It doesn’t have to be just personal training. Just start exploring your options online and see what’s out there.