Starting a personal training business
As an avid fitness lover, your main concern may be making a living out of teaching your passion projects to people and starting a personal training business. You have had years of experience going to the gym, working out, and you may have possibly played sports in your lifetime leading up to this moment.
You can start an online fitness business by just reading this article and the included links of sources. The fitness industry will never stop evolving. Although it will surely change over time, there will always be constant demand for gyms and personal trainers.
Health is by far the most important aspect of a person’s life. They could be the happiest person, have the most money, have a great career and family life, but unless they are healthy, all these sources of happiness may run obsolete.
This is where a personal trainer comes in. You will create the supply that people are demanding. All you need to get yourself started is your passion, self-discipline, and willingness to work towards your goal. Of course, you will also need a Personal Trainer Certification/Qualification if you do not already have one.
This is an official document proving your experience and reliability to partake in this career choice. Whether you end up working at a gym or starting your own business, getting certified is a must. Then you will need a WordPress website and WpStream to get yourself online and start live streaming your workouts to your clients.
Find out more information about how to broadcast fitness classes by checking out our tutorials.
How has the fitness industry changed?
While gyms will continue being important in people’s lives even after the pandemic, one change that is set to remain constant even after Covid-19 is over is online fitness. Even before the fitness industry moved online due to the effects of 2020, online fitness businesses are still a booming industry.
If you check out FitnessBlender and Blogilates, you will find how popular their videos are. Similarly, other fitness trainers have become popular online. Some gyms closed down and a few sadly went bankrupt because of lockdown and national restrictions. However, gyms that were quick on their feet and started broadcasting their classes online continued making profits and opened back up without any problems.
“Covid-19 has made fitness clubs adopt hybrid-style workout programs and 72% of gyms will continue offering on-demand and live stream group classes even after the pandemic, a significant increase from just 25% in 2019.”
– Bloomberg, 2021
This sets an important question in mind.
“Can I start a personal training business online?”
Yes. You can say that Instagram live, YouTube, and Twitch have replaced the four walls of a gym or fitness club. The problem with these platforms is that your content is no longer your own and you have no control over how they manage your videos.
YouTube is known to censor and take down videos for random reasons including music, even if you have the license to stream music. This is especially problematic for gyms and fitness trainers as most classes include some type of music. This is where WpStream comes in.
WpStream is a platform that allows you to live stream, create Video-on-Demand, and Pay-Per-View videos. It provides an affordable and user-friendly way for small and big businesses alike to showcase their skills and talents through live streaming. According to the size of your audience, we provide four subscription plans that you can choose from, each suiting your own needs.
WpStream can be used on any WordPress website and it is possible to stream directly using specialized RTMP broadcast software such as OBS, WireCast, vMix, Zoom, etc. You can choose to monetize your fitness classes or offer them for free using WooCommerce.
Characteristics of a good personal trainer
As mentioned earlier, the foundation of becoming a personal trainer is passion, self-discipline, and willingness to work hard. Then, you have to decide whether you would make a good personal trainer.
Are you analytical?
You should be able to analyze problems and complications of your own career as well as the problems that your clients come to you with.
Are you motivational?
Working out is hard. Especially if your client is a beginner and is finding it difficult to keep up with your workout plan. You should be encouraging your client, not patronizing them.
Are you nurturing?
This goes hand in hand with motivation.
Are you organized?You will at some point create a list of clients that you train, each with different fitness goals and schedules. You should be able to keep up with this and establish plans for each individual.
Are you patient?
When you are working with people, you will encounter a multitude of personalities. You should be understanding and patient with each and everyone of them, even if they may be difficult.
Are you persistent?
Starting a business is hard. Even if you do not see results at the beginning of your journey, you must not give up. Your virality may be just around the corner.
You will come across different people and encounter a range of problems as a personal trainer with your own business. When you will be working towards getting your certification, examples of these issues will be taught to you. However, nothing compares to the reality of it and what kind of personalities will be in your client list.
- Some clients may not push hard enough and some may push too hard
- They may have a variety of excuses as to why they cannot workout
- Injuries and other physical or mental conditions
- Have never exercised and may need to be taught even the most basic moves
- Blame you for not reaching fitness goals
- Have a great workout plan but horrible eating habits
- Cancel appointments last minute or not even show up
- Show up to classes with the wrong workout gear, risking injuries
These are only some of the few common problems that you may encounter but as a good trainer, you have the characteristics that help you deal with every single one of them and still come out on top with recommendations.
Getting Certified
You have a variety of options that range from different prices of where you can certified. You can get an online certification, in-person, or a mix of both. It all depends on how you like to learn and even where the closest certification center is located. We have compiled a list of certification centers.
USA
- International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
- Fitness Mentors – Personal Training and Online Personal Training Certifications
- American Council on Exercise (ACE)
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
- American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
- Honorable Mention – National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
- International Fitness Professionals Association (IFPA)
- National Strength and Conditioning Association (NCSA)
UK
- Any course you take MUST be accredited by the Registry of Exercise Professionals (REP’S).
- The Training Room
- Level 2 Gym Instructor Qualification
- Level 3 Personal Trainer Qualification
- First Aid Certificate
Consider a niche
Once you have your certification, it is ideal that you pick a niche that you could focus on. This is part of a business plan that can guarantee better outcomes and more profits. Your prospective clients are looking for a specialized trainer.
As the saying goes, it is better to be an expert in a particular field than to be mediocre in multiple. Finding a niche also decreases your competition and you can build a reputation in the particular area and be known nationally (and even internationally) for your expertise. For instance, the ketogenic diet is currently a popular diet. Your niche could be;
- Workouts for men aged 21-40 that wish to manage their keto diet and have a fitness plan
This might be important because the ketogenic diet is a high fat, low carb diet. The main source of energy we get from food are carbohydrates. Therefore, if a client is on a ketogenic diet, they lack carbohydrates and may find it difficult (and it is also unadvisable) to carry out high-intensity workouts such as boxing, sprinting, and swimming.
To accompany this type of diet, they would need less intense and steady workouts such as biking and even yoga. For more information about finding your niche, read this article on how to start an online fitness business.
Conclusion
Once you have decided to start a Personal Training business and have earned your certification, you are ready to start working towards starting your business. Depending on the niche you pick, you can be prepared to flourish in the business.
Whether you would like to have in-person sessions with your clients, online sessions, or a hybrid program (recommended) that mixes both online and offline fitness classes, WpStream has you covered.
With just a laptop with a camera, a WordPress website, and the WpStream plugin, you can set up your fitness class online in under 10 minutes with limited technological experience and basic WordPress knowledge.
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