Personal Training Career
There are more Personal trainers in the UK than ever before and this has coincided with a huge demand for their services.
Once you are qualified there are a number of employment options available to you, which we’ve outlined below.
Gym Instruction Combined With Personal Training
Steady does it – Gym Instructor plus personal training
Obtain work as a gym instructor at same time as building up a client base both inside and outside of your shift.
Advantages:
- Regular income
- Access to large client base
- Builds up your day-to-day teaching skills
- No equipment needed
- No need to deal with tax, holiday or sick pay
Disadvantages:
- Can lead to longs days
- Gym will take a percentage of your personal training earnings
- Will include duties other than training clients
This option is good for trainers just starting out who want access to a ready-made client base and the security of a regular income.
Half and Half - Part time gym instructor and part time personal trainer
Advantages
- Potential for higher income
- Access to large client base
- Builds up your day-to-day teaching skills
- No equipment needed
- No need to deal with tax, holiday or sick pay
- More flexibility
- More time to personal train
Disadvantages
- Lots more work than being a gym instructor
- Less guaranteed income
This option is great for new trainers that have developed a client base and want to spend more time just training people. The gym may also give a higher percentage of the fee to the trainer.
Freelance within a Gym
Work as a self-employed personal trainer within a gym. You may have to pay a monthly rent to the gym, give ‘volunteer’ hours of gym instruction/classes or give a percentage of each client’s fee to the gym. Rental schemes usually use a sliding scale over a couple of months to allow the client base to be developed.
Advantages
- Potential for higher income
- You can offset some of your expenditure to reduce your tax bill
- Access to large client base
- No travelling to client’s homes
- Access to a large range of equipment
- Being your own boss
Disadvantages
- Having to pay a percentage of your profits to someone else
- Organising self employed status and tax payments
- No sick pay or holidays
Freelance outside a Gym
Training people in their houses, your own gym or the great outdoors.
Advantages
- Potantial for higher income
- All the fee goes to you
- Accountable to no one other than your clients
Disadvantages
- Travelling time to and from client’s homes reduces earning potential
- Cash outlay to purchase and transport equipment,
- Spend time cultivating and building your client base
- Organising self employed status and tax payments
- No sick pay or holidays
Local Authority or NHS Personal Trainer
Working for a local authority or NHS trust you can have a very broad role with a salary based on your experience, qualifications and level of specialisation. You can have a very standard fitness based role in a leisure centre, or can be working alongside the medical team, rehabilitating people (e.g. post surgery). You will need to undertake additional training and qualifications such as YMCA Exercise Referral in order to work with these specialist groups.
Salary Expectations
You can expect to earn anything from £10k basic to £40k as a personal trainer.
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