From time to time I get a question on this subject. Young people who want to be coaches and ask themselves if it’s a good idea, or what steps they should take. Being a personal trainer has some advantages and many drawbacks. The most important drawback I see, whether you work for yourself or if you do for a gym, is that only invoices for what you work, i.e., you only receive training hours, you do not have the right to paid or vacation, Which means that it is easy in summer you spend 3 or almost 4 months without charge.

There are two ways to practice this profession, either on your own or on behalf of others. If you do it on your own you have to get customers and move, usually to their homes since gyms often have their team of coaches and do not let outside trainers. Training in the client’s home, supposes in big cities, that for one hour of training you have to invest two for the trips and also you have to pay for material and travel. If you become part of the staff of a gym, it is normal for the club to keep approximately 50% of the fees paid by the customer and you with the rest. In return it is very comfortable, because you do not have to move and you can train many more hours a day.

To end with the economic issue, do not let us end up crying, it is true that the crisis strongly affects this sector, because it is a service that people can do without. I already have several colleagues who have looked for other more stable jobs because of the customer downturn.

Another major drawback I find is that you have to do your work standing up, and if you get 5 hours a day, that’s a lot, in the afternoon you end up noticing it. Another drawback is that it does not matter if your dog has died or your girlfriend has left you, you must attend to your customers with a smile, and encourage them.

The good part of this work is very good, on the one hand, you know people with whom you are in a magical moment, the moment of endorphins, where everyone is kind and grateful. In addition, clients are often people of whom there is much to learn, since all of them are usually successful professionals in their different jobs. And if you put it well, and you get well prepared, the classes become a very pleasant time.

To close, I think this is a very vocational job, in which you have to fight hard and treat each client as a treasure. If you like sports and health and believe that you are qualified to serve others, go ahead. If what you are looking for with this profession is to see how the balance rises in your account, forget it.

It takes a lot of information and rigorous study to give a correct answer to a specific person, otherwise it would be unprofessional.