Personal trainers usually work in gyms. Their foremost role is to ensure that their client is enrolled in a healthy workout regime that will bear good results are the end of the stipulated time. The job involves a lot of physical activities some of which may be strenuous. Therefore, personal trainers need to be able to perform whatever exercises they request their clients to perform. But, like any other job description, a career has as a personal trainer has its upsides and downsides.
So, if you think about becoming a personal trainer and you are not sure of whether it is a good choice or a good career path, you are at the right place. Below we give you the pros and cons of being a personal trainer.
Pros of being a personal trainer
1. You learn about keeping your body fit. Having a career as a personal trainer allows you to learn how to keep your body and mind fit. You get firsthand information and practice on the best way to keep your body fit. It gives you the power to offer your clients the best techniques.
2. Personal trainers practice and know a lot about proper nutrition. A personal trainer gets to learn a lot about nutrition, dieting, and healthy eating habits. They get to learn the correct nutritional facts before passing advice to their clients. Knowing this enables them to fulfill their duty towards their clients as nutrition and exercising are closely linked.
3. They work with different people. A personal trainer gets to socialize and meet with many different people who have varying degrees of strengths and weaknesses. Talking and relating to different people helps a PT gain different opini9ons that may be beneficial.
4. Their jobs are rather flexibility and you get a lot of freedom. Personal trainers schedule training sessions to times they deem fit. The job does not take over your life as you can get time to do other investments and jobs.
5. A personal trainer gets to combine their job and their passion. Working as a personal trainer is great when it is your passion and you love spending time in the gym. When you have passion, working as a trainer may not seem much like a job but more of a leisure activity where you can earn money. The passion of the job will help you stay motivated in the long run.
6. Favorable work hours. As a personal trainer, you enjoy the benefit of favorable work hours. For example, you may work less than 40 hours a week. In addition, most days you may have to work shorter days or even free evenings. This will give you additional times to work on other projects.
7. Opportunities for growth. As a personal trainer, you can grow your career and work in big organizations or platforms. For example, an experienced trainer may end up working with top sports teams, athletes, stunt celebrities, and actors.
8. Job satisfaction. Due to the freedom and fulfillment, you get, becoming a personal trainer is among the most satisfying jobs. You get to work on your own time and stress-free.
9. High hourly pay rates. Some trainers earn good hourly rates. Having an established and steady client base ensures that they never lack clients to train. Therefore, you may find yourself earning a lot hourly as compared to other jobs.
10. Gym access perks and benefits. A personal trainer contracted with a gym or an employee in the gym is guaranteed free membership. You get to have ready and easy access to the gym whenever you want. It is beneficial as most gyms may require you to pay a lot of membership fees.
Cons of being a personal trainer
1. Personal trainers get unsteady income and benefits. You do not get to earn enough as a personal trainer alone. A PT gets to gain and lose clients faster hence the career is not stable enough to achieve financial independence.
2. You may encounter difficult clients. Personal trainers usually face difficult clients who may not want to adhere to the training regime, skip training sessions scheduled, or continuously oppose them. Some clients may be under orders buy physicians to lose weight, such clients may be spiteful.
3. High risks for burnout. Personal trainers face a very high risk of experiencing burnout more so when they exercise a lot. Prolonged stay inside a gym will result in exhaustion and burnout as most activities are physical.
4. You have a possibility of getting sued. A personal trainer is at a high risk of being sued as one misstep during exercises can lead to a potential lawsuit. These lawsuits may be for unavoidable accidents or from displeasing clients due to performance failures.
5. No holiday cuts when you are a personal trainer. As a personal trainer, you are not guaranteed the luxury of getting any paid leave. Most trainers are self-employed hence do not have the benefits of enjoying holidays without pre-planning their client’s schedule or where they will get that money.
6. Face the issue of old-age poverty. Due to personal trainers not making a lot of money, you face a probability of not having retirement savings. It raises the risk of facing home evictions during old age due to unpaid rent.
7. Lack of promotion prospects as with other jobs. A personal trainer has to continuously seek opportunities personally as they are not guaranteed a promotion.
8. Personal trainers may undercut the prices of fellow trainers. Personal trainers mostly set their rates and prices. You may find some offering discounts to attract a large client base. Such actions may force others to do the same to avoid losing out clients.
9. Job frustrations. Some trainers are assigned to specific clients who, they work with, multiple times a week. Some of these clients may derail the training progress and efforts by continuing to eat unhealthily. Others may blame a personal trainer when in truth they are the one of the wrong. These actions may be frustrating and make PT efforts underrated.
10. A personal trainer has to sell oneself to attract clients. For a personal trainer to remain on the job, they need to have a steady clientele base. Therefore, they have to continuously sell and market their skills to attract potential customers.
