5 Career Progression Options for Successful Personal Trainers

​Considering a career in personal training? Already in the industry and looking to advance? 
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Society continues to focus on fitness, healthy living, and combating obesity. There is no better time to consider a career in personal training. This field expects nearly 24,000 new trainers within the next 10 years.

At the Institute of Personal Trainers, we encourage our members, some of the best personal trainers in the world, to think beyond their personal training business and prepare for the years to come.

Successful personal trainers think beyond their basic PT certifications and cookie-cutter job options. They create and succeed in exciting careers. They generate even more exciting responsibilities and pay.

Whether you are just starting out on your career or moving toward fitness legend status, check out our favorite options for career progression.
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Let's get to it! 

1. High End Coaching

Ready to dig a bit deeper with your clients? Want to work outside of an established gym setting and specialise in the mindset and psychology of fitness?

High end coaching offers all of this and so much more. 

High ticket coaching is very much like personal training except that you get amazing mind and body transformations for your clients. While changing body composition is still part of the job, changing your clients mindset so that they can succeed in other areas of their life is what sets it apart from your standard personal training service.

Like running your own PT business, high end coaching makes you your own boss. You determine rates and scheduling. You choose the types of clients you want to work with. Whether part-time or full-time, you design the workouts and monitor progress. You can work with groups or individuals.

High end coaching is all about results. You'll need very little equipment (or none at all, depending on your style!), and the ability to get amazing mind and body transformations for your clients.

High end coaching entails:

• Strong networking skills
• Beyond excellent client service
  
• Some level of psychology training
  
• Some level of nutritional training
  
• Dynamic and interesting workouts
  
• High energy
  

If you have these qualities, this may be the perfect career path for you! 

2. Club or Gym Manager

Are you looking for steady work with consistent salary and benefits? Interested in furthering your customer service and business administration skills? Looking for a chance to oversee and mentor other employees? 

Management opportunities aren't always easy to come by but more often than not, they might exist where you already are! Many successful personal trainers blend their passion for fitness and helping others by moving into management roles.  

Successful personal trainers tend to be people-oriented, creative, and disciplined. All of these skills make for attractive managers.

If you are looking for steady compensation, benefits, an opportunity to learn a new skill-set of administrative and corporate tasks, management might be a great fit for you! 

Many health clubs prefer hiring internally. Each health club has different managerial job duties. Become familiar with what's out there for you.
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If being the boss of the room sounds ideal, it's definitely worth checking out! 

3. Club or Business Ownership

Is your city lacking a good yoga studio or rock climbing gym? Do you have a killer gym idea that could rival America Ninja Warrior? Or, on a similar note, do you just have a strong passion for fitness and entrepreneurship, but you are tired of running someone else's dream? 

Consider opening your own business! 

Many successful personal trainers dream of running their own companies, fitness studios, and health clubs.

And many successful ones actually follow these dreams! For many, it's a goal and the reason they pursued fitness in the first place. 

This kind of opportunity is not for the faint of heart. It requires discipline, hard work, grit, sweat, and occasionally tears. While the start-up can be challenging and demanding, the benefits certainly pay off.

Club owners enjoy tremendous income potential through various streams of income. These include product sales, gym memberships, specialty classes, personal training.

They also enjoy the incredible status of running a successful organization and watching it grow and flourish with their name branded on it.  

4. Clinical Setting Work 

Interested in the science of exercise and the anatomy of the body? Have a particular fascination with injury prevention, athletic performance, and/or patient rehabilitation?

Consider furthering your education into a specialized field, such as:

• Physical therapist
• Occupational therapist
• Clinical trainer
• Fitness specialist
• Athletic trainer
• Sports medicine 
• Injury rehabilitation 

Note that each country and state has its own requirements. These jobs often require an advanced degree in exercise science or related fields. Additional certificates or licenses may be needed. 

Job applicants also typically must complete a designated number of supervised hours.

These jobs provide placements in a variety of settings. Including hospitals, outpatient clinics, schools, and college campuses. 
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If fitness is your passion and you're looking for a more specialized focus, the academic track may be for you. Job opportunities tend to be plentiful and well-paid. Talk about a win-win. 

5. Consulting

Like most other fields, consulting plays an important role within the fitness and athletic industry.
 
If you're already established as a successful personal trainer, you might want to consider expanding your knowledge to others.

Consider freelance consultation! Or consider providing service packages to those who want to know what it takes to be successful in the industry. 

Consulting can be done in many ways:

• Mentoring or assisting novice personal trainers
• Creating training programs
• Teaching in gyms
• Coaching alongside other professionals 
• Private 1:1 coaching 

Consulting can focus on building your niche, clientele, or marketing strategy. Additionally, it can focus on career growth and goal setting. 

Furthermore, with technology becoming more widespread, consulting no longer even has to require face-to-face interaction or expensive office spaces. It's not uncommon to provide services via messaging apps, live video streams, and through basic chats.

Successful personal trainers build a working brand for themselves that is represented both on and offline. They create their niche, maintain confidence in what they provide, and market their services to the right audience.
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If you are already doing this (and reaping the awesome benefits), consider extending your knowledge to those who want to learn.

​Final Thoughts

Successful personal trainers know that options are limitless when it comes to career advancement. They remain curious and open to growth. If opportunities aren't available, they make them available!

Your job should inspire you. You should look forward to the work you do. If you're looking for change and challenge, consider what else exists out there! 
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We're here for you on every step of this exciting process! Contact us for questions and support!