Thinking about a career as a personal trainer!

[CandidCam]

Hi, Cathe...and anyone else with input!

I'm a 34 year old mom with 2 BAs under my belt (Photo/Communications & English Lit.). Prior to motherhood I had intentions of eventually finishing up certification as a HS teacher. 6 years later the teacher shortage in MI has done a complete about-face and I know several certified teachers who have left the state in search of teaching jobs. And I'm not as interested in teaching within a traditional classroom setting as I once was, anyhow.

Almost a year ago I started running to try to be rid of my stubborn last 15#s or so (and found out that running makes me hungry, so running alone was not the solution). I'm by no means *good* at running (I'm pretty slow and usually am lucky to finish in the middle of the pack for my age when I compete in local races up to a half marathon), but I enjoy it and it has become something I am doing because I love it.

I also really enjoy weight workouts (my Cathe library is growing and I'm enjoying increasingly challenging titles) and the new solid contours that I'm developing.

Anyhow...to get to the point of all of this...I'm not a natural athlete, but because of this I think I can identify with those who are wanting to become more fit and healthy, but not entirely sure how to start--particularly women in their 30s and older. Just a few years ago I was clinically obese (size 16 and on the shorter side), but through careful eating and exercise I have transformed myself into a fit size 6 (still have a few pounds I am working on). Because of my background and teaching interest I feel that I would be able to identify with a wide range of individuals.

So I've been contemplating training to become a certified personal trainer. Ideally I'd like to work fairly independently...perhaps contract with a local gym or two. Is this even a doable scenario? And what would be my best course of study. I like what I see on the ACE site and the possibility of taking some training seminars. My son will be in school full days next year, so I am starting to get antsy to get back into the working world doing something that will make me happy--not having to cut into my workout and running time too much would definitely make me happy (I'd really like to train for my first marathon next year)!

Thanks in advance for any advice!



Kirsten

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Kirsten! You are definitely a motivated individual who has accomplished a lot. Kudos to you. I think your passion comes through and if after seeing/hearing all that is involved, you are still interested, you will do great.

Things you need to ask yourself is: Do I want to do this full time or part time? Do I want to work evenings and weekends? Do I want this to be my main source of income or a back up income? Do I mind going to and paying for continuing education courses continually to maintain my certification (which in many cases needs to be renewed every two years).

The reason I ask is because many full time trainers looking for a substantial income need to be available to their clients at their clients convenience. More times than not this entails early mornings, evenings, and weekends. The less flexible you are, the harder it is to establish a client list. The most successful clients I know locally here are not married and or are married but have no children. The ones that I know who have young children, usually only train while their children are in school and do this on a very part time basis. The biggest complaint I hear from them is "if only my kids were older and I didn't have to be home when they got home from school".

Just thought I would share this info with you to help you with some of your decisions.

Education:

No matter what you do in this field you will first need to have your CPR certification updated before you begin working anywhere (some places even require it before you can sign up to take a personal training certification). So that would be the first thing you need to aquire.

You can go for the personal training basics and take weekend exams with the very popular and credible ACE or AFAA organizations. There are even online study courses available. Or you could take a bit more comprehensive and harder certification (in my opinion) with ACSM. Or you can take a 6 month personal trainer course at a college or institution. Based on the info you have written, I would recommend the basics so that you can get a feel for if this is what you want to do before you invest an overly abundant amount of time and money.

If you decide to work for a gym, you have to see what their policy is. Many will require you work exclusively for them (plus you will have to give them a percentage of what you make per client). Others will except you as an independent contractor but you will have to see what they will charge you to train there and or what kind of agreement they are willing to work out with you.

This is all very basic info to give you an idea of some of the ways to get started in personal training. There is so much more to the whole concept of personal training but again, this is the basic foundation to the process of getting started.

Hope this helps!

 

[CandidCam]

Thanks for your quick and thorough response, Cathe!

The education thing would definitely be the "easy" part. And I don't think I would mind being an exclusive employee of a well-managed club. But I definitely see where the hours could get difficult as a mom and spouse. I definitely don't want to end up in a career where I don't see much of my hubby and son (though some days... ).

Is it super difficult to get an established clientele if one is only training part-time? I wouldn't mind a mix of weekdays, nights and weekends, but wouldn't want to get too locked-in to all nights and weekends. What other sorts of options would a person in my situation want to consider? I definitely would love to find something that would allow me to keep fit and encourage others to improve their own health. I feel like I have given myself years of healthy life and it's something I'd love to share with others. I'm in better shape in my 30s than I was in my 20s!



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