What’s it really like to become a Personal Trainer

If you’re wondering how to become a Personal Trainer and what sort of career you can expect once you’ve gained your Personal Trainer qualifications, then this article is written with you in mind.

Our Chief Tutor, Peter Lemon gives a fascinating insight into his experiences with personal training from the very start of his career in 1998 and then bringing us right up to date with his passion for sharing his skills by helping the next generation of Personal Trainers.

The year was 1998 when my curiosity for how to become a Personal Trainer began.

I decided to contact a local gym chain and asked whether the club would grant me access to shadow their Gym Instructors and Personal Trainers.  As luck would have it the Fitness Manager gave me the green light and I was granted a total of three evening visits to see first-hand what it was like.

Needless to say this opportunity made me realise I was on the right track and more determined to succeed with my personal trainer courses and enter this exciting profession.

Soon after I gained my initial qualifications and I applied to work in the very same gym that gave me that initial work experience.  I applied to become a Fitness Instructor, got the job and went from there…onwards and upwards progressing in my new career.

Building My Client Base

I worked hard at building my client base even when I was employed as a Fitness Instructor.  By greeting people on the gym floor, assisting members with exercise technique and their exercise programmes I could position members as lead generation for personal training.

Once I had a few clients under my belt and made great progress with them, other gym members recognised that I had the expertise to make a massive positive difference to the way they could look.  My client base snowballed especially after delivering two big presentations to gym members and my personal trainer salary followed suit.

Setting Up My Own Practice

I knew that ultimately I wanted to work for myself and so I decided to set up NutriFit Clinic in London and haven’t looked back. There is a real buzz in running your own Personal Training business and no two days are ever the same. There are always different clients with new training needs and objectives, and I always challenge myself to deliver the very best training solutions to them.

I ran NutriFit for a number of years and have a strong loyal client base.  Today, I’m often sought out by clients with specialist needs such as cardiac and spinal rehabilitation.

Training the Personal Trainers of Tomorrow

From there I set up the Academy of Fitness Professionals.  As I became more and more specialised as a Personal Trainer so people became more aware and sought out my services.  I started to be approached by people asking if I could teach them Personal Training and this led me to expanding further initially offering Personal Trainer courses in London and subsequently throughout the UK.

To Sum Up

My experiences have taught me that there are personal trainers…and there are personal trainers.   Done correctly personal training is a specialist skill that can transform people’s lives.

If you’d like to find out more about how to become a Personal Trainer contact us and a member of our team will be pleased to help.

The Academy of Fitness Professionals provide the gold standard in accredited personal training courses with state of the art training fully endorsed by REPs, Skills Active and the NCFE.  Their specialist knowledge features in the UK health and fitness media including the Mirror, BBC2 and Women’s Running.  This is the ultimate learning destination for those serious about their fitness industry education and long term career as a Personal Trainer.

T – 0845 270 1990

E – info@aofp.co.uk

W – www.academyoffitnessprofessionals.com