Personal Trainers employed by gyms/health clubs ?

[xpoc]

If you are a gym owner who employs personal trainers, OR if you are a P.T. employed by a gym, what is the general vibe you are getting once gyms reopen and restrictions begin to get lifted? Do you feel there will be a NEED for more P.T.'s OR do you feel there the demand will be less.

Here is why I am asking. I just got my "official" P.T. certificate and I was looking into working part-time as a trainer at one of the local gyms this summer. I am not concerned about the money aspect, I am good there. I am just looking to do something I enjoy part-time and since I have always been a gym rat and like to help people I figured I would find a job in this field. The question I have is, will there be any demand for it? I am thinking that the owners will lay-off most of their P.T.'s and only keep the top producers. Or, is the vibe that many of the P.T.'s are jumping ship and looking for more stable careers now...which would mean there would be a demand for more trainers????

 

[b-boy]

Most gyms don't pay PT''s they earn their money from clients only and then the gym takes a percentage of that money or charges you monthly rent. If you are going to be a personal trainer you will only get out what you put in meaning you better be one hell of a hustler. You have to self promote and don't be afraid to approach people at the gym.

 

[lookslikesausage]

If you are a gym owner who employs personal trainers, OR if you are a P.T. employed by a gym, what is the general vibe you are getting once gyms reopen and restrictions begin to get lifted? Do you feel there will be a NEED for more P.T.'s OR do you feel there the demand will be less.

Here is why I am asking. I just got my "official" P.T. certificate and I was looking into working part-time as a trainer at one of the local gyms this summer. I am not concerned about the money aspect, I am good there. I am just looking to do something I enjoy part-time and since I have always been a gym rat and like to help people I figured I would find a job in this field. The question I have is, will there be any demand for it? I am thinking that the owners will lay-off most of their P.T.'s and only keep the top producers. Or, is the vibe that many of the P.T.'s are jumping ship and looking for more stable careers now...which would mean there would be a demand for more trainers????

don't get employed by a gym. work privately. pay a gym rent but don't work for them if you can help it. you might have to in the beginning but all roads lead to being in biz for yourself. gyms never pay trainers well. when someone buys a second package or block or whatever, they're doing it because they want to work with a specific trainer again. what did the gym do in that case other than provide the real estate? And yet, there is often no pay difference. in other words, you do the work for the gym since you work for them and you don't get paid any differently when someone re-ups. Bottom line: if you decide to do this, go private as soon as you can.

 

[Dog-Slime]

Looking into getting my certification as well. I was thinking I could work at planet fitness and do a group class as a trainer/class instructor , then probably hire clients for individual work on each persons specific goals straight from the class? So the gym might pay someone to do the class 2 or 3 times a week (probably something rag doll like 50 bucks)but then that trainer gets free public advertising on top of some guaranteed steady income? Just apply at a gym for a class instructor then get money to instruct it. Add a note about doing personal goal oriented training as a side option at the beginning (warm up) and/or ending (cool down). Paid advertising? Get steady pay to instruct a cardio class meaning get paid to tell people to join me while I do my thing, so I would only have to adjust my schedule to the gyms about when I did my cardio and then just instruct the class. Mention the training option occasionally but try not to hammer people with it. Not looking to make a career though, more looking for a little side money by combining two things I like to do.

 

[Gunsmith]

The gym i train at hires their trainers and takes in 50% of what clients the trainers hustle , It's insane.
There is no way I would work something like that. Another gym I train at charges $250 a month for people to use his gym as a trainer no matter how many people they train , and they have 24hr access.

 

[xpoc]

The gym i train at hires their trainers and takes in 50% of what clients the trainers hustle , It's insane.
There is no way I would work something like that. Another gym I train at charges $250 a month for people to use his gym as a trainer no matter how many people they train , and they have 24hr access.

So the latter is what I don't want. I don't want to "rent" a space at a gym because, honestly, I am not doing it for the money. So the gym taking 50% of my hustle is fine with me. Just don't know if anyone is hiring right now.

 

[maldorf]

The gym i train at hires their trainers and takes in 50% of what clients the trainers hustle , It's insane.
There is no way I would work something like that. Another gym I train at charges $250 a month for people to use his gym as a trainer no matter how many people they train , and they have 24hr access.

The $250 a month sounds like a really good price to me. With what trainers charge that will pay for itself in no time. How much do trainers in that gym get for a 30 minute session?

 

[xpoc]

The $250 a month sounds like a really good price to me. With what trainers charge that will pay for itself in no time. How much do trainers in that gym get for a 30 minute session?

Most the gyms here in SoCal charge a minimum of 500 per month to rent space. That is the minimum and it goes up from there.

 

[Gunsmith]

The $250 a month sounds like a really good price to me. With what trainers charge that will pay for itself in no time. How much do trainers in that gym get for a 30 minute session?

It is really cheap according to them they say that it's generally $350-$500.
I've heard the prices range from $25-$75 per hr , we have a couple IFBB "Pros" (figure and physique) that charge top dollars and honestly don't know more than anyone else.

 

[Gunsmith]

So the latter is what I don't want. I don't want to "rent" a space at a gym because, honestly, I am not doing it for the money. So the gym taking 50% of my hustle is fine with me. Just don't know if anyone is hiring right now.

What they are paying for is access , a couple that train there spend the whole day training several clients , I think it's actually the most cost effective way.
But like you said if you are just doing it for the experience then it doesn't really matter.

 

[maldorf]

It is really cheap according to them they say that it's generally $350-$500.
I've heard the prices range from $25-$75 per hr , we have a couple IFBB "Pros" (figure and physique) that charge top dollars and honestly don't know more than anyone else.

Yeah, so if they charge $50 an hour, then the $250 the owner charges the trainer for the month would be paid for after just 10 client hours. So then every customer you train after the first 10 you would pocket 100% of the fee. If you trained less than 10 clients a month then youd be better off doing the 50% to the owner.

 

[maldorf]

Most the gyms here in SoCal charge a minimum of 500 per month to rent space. That is the minimum and it goes up from there.

So then youd be looking at paying the $500/month if you think you will have more than 20 client hours a month, otherwise pay him half your income. That's if the trainers get $50 an hour.

 

[graybass]

I've been a trainer/nutritionist my whole life. Good and bad to both ways. I worked for Gold's corporate for over 10 years. I'm a natural born talker, my mom said I have the gift of gab. LOL Working for Gold's I became the manager for the PT department almost immediately. 50,000 square foot gym. As a new member you got 1 free hour with me. This was my chance to sell PT packages. I sold a ton! I would tell the sales membership manager what hours I was available for the free consult every week and the rest of the time was for my clients. I was averaging about 60 one hour sessions a week. Turned into very long weeks worked 7 days a week because I wanted to. The gym and I split the fees. Minimum 10 sessions for 500-600 dollars. Not bad but way too many hours after awhile. So I eventually started to rent my friends space to train clients. This turned into my main gym quickly. Paid rent and kept the rest. This worked out well for me because I had a great reputation and I trained everyone from Pro athletes to senior citizens, to teens. If you are busy enough that is the way to go. If you are new probably best to go the corporate gym way because they will get you clients. I had some health problems and I basically retired about 5 years ago. I did keep my very best clients though. and work about 20 hour a week. I approached this as a career and dedicated my self to it and had great success. Remember you have to start at the bottom of the heap.

Oh yeah, people ask me all the time what certification should they get? Decide where you want to work first, then get what they accept. Chances are you'll spend a lot of time and money on useless certifications.

 

[Pheedno]

I own a gym and employ my PT's. They keep 65% and our lowest rate is $50/hr. I continued to pay them a salary during the shutdown. Fortunately, we're headed back to work next week.

 

[UnderConstruction]

The trainers are already allowed back where I train, but the gym is dead and the only signups they're getting are for brief 1 month memberships from those waiting for their own gym to reopen (mostly LA Fitness). They're all 1099 getting paid per session plus a commission if they acquire a new client themselves except the PT manager that gets salary plus commission

If you don't mind me asking, what are you expecting to get from the experience if it's not money? Are you just looking to have fun? Or do you want something else from it?