What is it like being a Personal Trainer?

[12Chill]

He's told me that he's tried several different diets, most of which, I would presume, involve some kind of caloric restriction. He said that nothing seems to have worked. Some people, not matter what they try, find it extremely hard to lose weight. I did before I started keto. Before keto I was on a caloric restriction diet and failed to budge any weight. It was only when I went keto that I started to lose anything.

Yep I get what you’re saying mate. The issues are not indeterminable though - he is not immune to losing weight. Especially if he has a decent amount of fat. So saying that nothing works is a bit lazy on his part- he has to do more troubleshooting work but it shouldn’t be difficult for a coach.

his deficit may not have been a deficit - did he use an online calculator and guess his lean mass/BF or did he simply enter height/weight/age?

did he enter his correct BF% but miscalculate what his TDEE is, his NEAT, BMR etc?

If it was a deficit, did he end up subconsciously moving around less or did he make sure he was consistently hitting x amount of steps per day?

maybe the deficit wasn’t large enough due to slight miscalculations in TDEE, NEAT, BF%, lean mass etc and his BMR adjusted to the deficit. This stuff can make a huge difference.

this stuff for the most part is pretty bang on when you get the mathematics right these days. It’s why I never blame a gen pop client for struggling to lose weight, the s**t can be complex as hell. But being a coach I have a high standard for other coaches.

great to hear you made progress on Keto though mate! A lot of people get results from it and it’s easy to see why, we live carb dominated lives in our diet and removing an entire macro just helps you out you into more of a deficit so that results accelerate or it puts you into a true deficit if initially the mathematics were wrong. Protein/fats are also far more satiating then carbs generally which people find easier to stick to diets as it’s so easy to overeat with carbs that go down easy. But again, it’s not magic. It’s mathematics and imo this coach needs to expand his education.

working with physique clients and can get them sub 10% and beyond - losing fat the whole way. Because the mathematics are done as near perfect as you can get.

 

[BrockBlitz]

Pros:
good money / hr
fairly low stress if you have a client base
set your own hours

Cons:
There is a reason people are overweight and you'll inherit all their excuses. You'd better have the temperament to listen to it.
Your business is not mobile, if you move cities start from the ground up again
No shows
People finding it too hard and quitting especially in the 2-6w range
constantly undulating income, hard to forecast
4-5am wake up times or late(ish) evenings
No clear career progression / Lack of mentorship you find in other jobs
idle chit chat
because its a service there is a limit to $/hr you can charge and hrs in a week

Some of these can be solved with small group training/ finding a clear niche / some online clients etc

I love it as a job I work 20-30 hrs a week with a side hustle trying to make it a full time hustle
If I had my time again I'd have done a trade in the army.

 

[GROTTO]

Pros:
good money / hr
fairly low stress if you have a client base
set your own hours

Cons:
There is a reason people are overweight and you'll inherit all their excuses. You'd better have the temperament to listen to it.
Your business is not mobile, if you move cities start from the ground up again
No shows
People finding it too hard and quitting especially in the 2-6w range
constantly undulating income, hard to forecast
4-5am wake up times or late(ish) evenings
No clear career progression / Lack of mentorship you find in other jobs
idle chit chat
because its a service there is a limit to $/hr you can charge and hrs in a week

Some of these can be solved with small group training/ finding a clear niche / some online clients etc

I love it as a job I work 20-30 hrs a week with a side hustle trying to make it a full time hustle
If I had my time again I'd have done a trade in the army.

Thanks for that, a good post.

Im just curious from an Adelaide perspective whats the approximate average price per hour?

Just from my general observations, the better the trainer looks the more likely he will have a decent clientele list. Which probably isnt fair but it is what it is.

Would it be fair to say that majority of people that see a trainer basically want to lose weight as their main goal?

 

[BrockBlitz]

Thanks for that, a good post.

Im just curious from an Adelaide perspective whats the approximate average price per hour?

Just from my general observations, the better the trainer looks the more likely he will have a decent clientele list. Which probably isnt fair but it is what it is.

Would it be fair to say that majority of people that see a trainer basically want to lose weight as their main goal?

Assuming no performance goals and not the elderly.

It gets murky because people don't know enough physiology to understand what looks like weight loss is a lot more than just that.
I usually let people stumble through trying to explain what they want and then summarise with "so you want to look good naked"

Most people want to look toned. If that's not what they want, then they are overweight and just want to shift the weight.

The way I explain toned to people.
Imagine you have a bucked full of dirty water with some rocks at the bottom.
Rocks = muscle, water = fat.
You cant see the rocks, so you look fat.

2 options,
Pour out all the water so you can see the rocks - or grow the rocks, pour some of the water out and you get the illusion of toned without the sacrifices of pouring out all the water.

Longwinded answer but what most people think they want, isn't actually what they want. I'd say this is upwards of 75% of clients.

 

[BrockBlitz]

Thanks for that, a good post.

Im just curious from an Adelaide perspective whats the approximate average price per hour?

Just from my general observations, the better the trainer looks the more likely he will have a decent clientele list. Which probably isnt fair but it is what it is.

Would it be fair to say that majority of people that see a trainer basically want to lose weight as their main goal?

No longer in adelaide, now brisbane, I charge $75 for 45mins. Pretty standard these days for a decent PT. Relative to my peers I could charge more, having said that then you price yourself out of most peoples price range going up from that. So unless you have access to a wealthy demographic there is a top out rate. So basically you shoot yourself in the foot one way or another.

Pretty people do better in all situations. Especially when pretty is the goal.

I work with a lot of athletes outside of PT, none of them give two shits what I look like so long as I make them improve.

 

[geylugas]

Being a personal trainer is not really bad to be candid. It majorly depends on how you package yourself. It's not a must you necessarily have many equipment or spend so much. When my Uncle started, I think all he got was a well built shed. He bought few equipment and started placing adverts on social media. Package yourself well, be intense with your advertisement, showcase your previous achievements and be friendly enough

 

[go you pups]

I tried early 20s before my health problems

Had a small clientele for about 6 months where I'd train a group of mums in the mornings on my days off studying. I basically did something every Friday and the occasional Tuesday or Thursday, I worked as a bussie on the weekends for my main source of income so couldn't do weekend sessions otherwise I would.

I trained them both out of a gym and in specific parks where I knew we could do a bit of bodyweight resistance (using park benches, playgrounds, poles/fences etc) though my general training style for them was functional/HIIT. I charged less for the park sessions, but more in gyms to cover admission/liabilities. Ultimately I viewed it mainly as a hobby and as a way I could get some fitness in too alongside my work/studies (particularly the park sessions).


I think the number 1 quality you gotta have to make it is be a good salesman unless you hit the PT lottery and are employed by a gym/PT studio with a stable clientele base otherwise it's an absolute grind starting from the bottom up if you aspire to make a career of it. Knowing alot of people would help too, spread the word etc.

If I had the workout space and equipment that I do now back then and was still heavily invested in making it in the sports industry then who knows where I could've gone, but these days all I'm interested in is helping out my family, friends and self. Maybe one day I may revisit with a different, but more organised approach.