How to Start Your Career as an Online Personal Trainer

I have always dreamed of being a hard working woman who is great at her job. I have also dreamed of being a very involved mother of 3+ children. I have always wondered how I would be able to achieve both of my goals with excellence. Fitness has always been a passion of mine, so I knew I wanted to be in that field. I got certified to be a personal trainer through NASM six months ago and have loved training my clients. I try to further my knowledge by reading professional development books, and that is when I had a breakthrough moment. Ignite the Fire by Jonathan Goodman CSCS is a book to help personal trainers grow their businesses. A couple of pages in this book discussed online personal training businesses. I was so excited when I read this and have not stopped thinking about it. This is my solution to accomplishing both of life goals. In this blog, I will share the information I have found that will be helpful in starting this career path.

Some reasons to consider personal training online include:

• The hours in a week are limited...there is much more flexibility online
• It is more convenient for trainer and client
• There are no time constraints...clients are not limited to an hour for their workout
• You can work from anywhere in the world
• Clients do not have to schedule around the trainer’s availability
• Clients do not have to pay as much for training sessions

Some negatives relating to this kind of business are:

• You are responsible for running your own business
• You don’t get the same face-to-face interactions that you get in a gym
• It is harder to have a broad range of clients...some trainers enjoy working with a variety of individuals

Before you start offering online services, It is advised by experienced trainers that you have prior experience training in a gym. This gives you a background in the field which will help you recruit clients. Also, online training makes producing results harder. If you can produce results face-to-face, you are more likely to do likewise online. This is how you gain and retain your clients.

Once you are sure that you are ready to start on this path, you will need to create a website. Here is a list of requirements for your website:

• It has to be attractive. This is how you draw people in.
• It needs to show your qualifications. Why are you better than all the other trainers out there?
• It needs to be catered to your niche.
• It needs to be easy to read. People who are not fitness professionals need to be able to understand it.

After your website is created, you have to advertise it to gain clients. Social media is your friend! Get the word out there so that you can produce results.

After you determine what population you want to cater to, write up phases of programming for them. When you work with a specific population, their programming can be the same. If they have pain or injuries that need to be addressed, you can adjust for that individual. This makes things a lot easier for the trainer!

You should record yourself performing the exercises that you included in the programs. Creating an exercise library will help your clients execute the movement correctly. You may also write a description of each exercise. Some people are better at learning through words than they are through visual stimulation.

After you do all this and determine how much you will charge, find clients! Produce results! I can not wait to start this for myself. There are so many good resources out there to help start this journey and achieve goals.

References

Dufey, C. (2015, July 28). How To Start Your Online Personal Training Business. Retrieved May 23, 2016, from http://www.turningproacademy.com/how-to-start-your-online-personal-training-business-2/

Goodman, J. (n.d.). Ignite the fire: The secrets to building a successful personal training career.