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Personal Trainers & the Fitness Business
Actually yeah a few questions and will help with some background.
12 years ago I started working in the Fitness Industry as a sales manager and did so for 5 years until another career oppurtunity came up, which paid alot more and I was even better at. Anyway during my time in the fitness industry I picked up local knowledge from the trainers I was working with plus having experience with my own training and I guess also learning from being on sites like this one.
Anyway I currently work in the mining industry and the construction side of things I work in is grinding to a halt and all work is heading overseas, our industry is farked and there is no work available at all. So there is a very high chance I will be made redundant in the next few months so am now questioning where my future may lie, my first thought is back to the fitness industry.
My dilema though is that I do not want to do sales again and am thinking about PT but the problem is, no qualifications to fall back on, have a wife, kid and mortgage and don't have the time to take 12 months off to do a PT Course, it's not financially viable.
Option I was thinking and it makes me cringe is to do the AIF or AIPT (Australian Institute of Personal Trainers) 8 and 9 week full time course with my redundancy money. It gets me the paper work.
When I worked in the industry we steered clear of anyone from the AIF 'unless' they had prior experience in the industry, and would not take someone straight out of the course. I had more knowledge than the average 8 week graduate just by being in the industry myself. (They never heard of a split routine)
So would it hurt my chances in the industry by doing this course and would having somewhat of a background and experience help for the future.
Yes I do know ideally I would be off to TAFE to do the course and I would do if it were viable. Setting up a business and selling it would be my strength as I have already completed an Advanced Diploma of Sport and Rec and have sales experience.
Sorry for the long post, being made redundant has got me on my toes thinking about the future.
Would appreciate constructive ideas and thoughts.
Cheers
12 years ago I started working in the Fitness Industry as a sales manager and did so for 5 years until another career oppurtunity came up, which paid alot more and I was even better at. Anyway during my time in the fitness industry I picked up local knowledge from the trainers I was working with plus having experience with my own training and I guess also learning from being on sites like this one.
Anyway I currently work in the mining industry and the construction side of things I work in is grinding to a halt and all work is heading overseas, our industry is farked and there is no work available at all. So there is a very high chance I will be made redundant in the next few months so am now questioning where my future may lie, my first thought is back to the fitness industry.
My dilema though is that I do not want to do sales again and am thinking about PT but the problem is, no qualifications to fall back on, have a wife, kid and mortgage and don't have the time to take 12 months off to do a PT Course, it's not financially viable.
Option I was thinking and it makes me cringe is to do the AIF or AIPT (Australian Institute of Personal Trainers) 8 and 9 week full time course with my redundancy money. It gets me the paper work.
When I worked in the industry we steered clear of anyone from the AIF 'unless' they had prior experience in the industry, and would not take someone straight out of the course. I had more knowledge than the average 8 week graduate just by being in the industry myself. (They never heard of a split routine)
So would it hurt my chances in the industry by doing this course and would having somewhat of a background and experience help for the future.
Yes I do know ideally I would be off to TAFE to do the course and I would do if it were viable. Setting up a business and selling it would be my strength as I have already completed an Advanced Diploma of Sport and Rec and have sales experience.
Sorry for the long post, being made redundant has got me on my toes thinking about the future.
Would appreciate constructive ideas and thoughts.
Cheers
RyanF
Member
The major gym chains (Goodlife, Fitness First, Snap etc) won't have any qualms with hiring someone from AIF or someone who's newly qualified. So long as you have your pieces of paper, first aid/CPR, registration and insurance, they'll be happy. A background in sales, especially in the fitness industry, would be advantageous at most commercial gyms.
Yeah I spoke with an old workmate who now owns 2 Jetts gyms and say he avoids the AIF but looks at previous experience. I suggested that I may do the crash course and said he'd be happy with that based on my previous experience in the industry.
I contacted the AIPT and they have joined with Goodlife and do their training via correspondence with an 8 week practical. Also guarantee you a job within 6 months of graduation at Goodlife.
I'd probably take that up to build a base more my future private work.
In saying that, 90% of the fitness market is aimed at overweight people and I would also direct myself that way. The market is big and all Mrs Jones needs to do is see me twice a week, eat better and throw in another active workouts and she'll see the scales drop and I've done my job.
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I did my Cert 3 & 4 through FIA Fitnation. Personal Training & Fitness Courses - Study at FIAFitnation
I did it part time as a mixture of contact hours and correspondence. I regret not doing it all through contact now, but at the time I thought the method i chose was best(easiest more like). I do feel like i missed on a good bit of experience and networking that you would get in the contact hours. I started off doing it as more of a hobby/part time and wasnt particularly serious about it. i had a lump cash and i was afraid i would piss it up against a wall, so decided to do something constructive with it.
I dont think i learned a whole lot on the course to be honest. Maybe its just the way i did it, I was kinda studying just to pass the exams, if you know what i mean. Since i finished it i have learned a lot just by reading as much as i can and getting out there and getting experience/talking to trainers etc..
Most of my previous training experience was in kickboxing/boxing so that is mainly what i do with clients. I have got in with a Personal trainer in my area and he gives me work. When I first went to talk to him he didnt seem too concerned with how I got my Certs. He was more interested in my own training, experience and personality. I do a bout 5/6 sessions a week at the moment outside of my normal job. And love every minute of it.
Thats my limited experience with the industry so far.
I did it part time as a mixture of contact hours and correspondence. I regret not doing it all through contact now, but at the time I thought the method i chose was best(easiest more like). I do feel like i missed on a good bit of experience and networking that you would get in the contact hours. I started off doing it as more of a hobby/part time and wasnt particularly serious about it. i had a lump cash and i was afraid i would piss it up against a wall, so decided to do something constructive with it.
I dont think i learned a whole lot on the course to be honest. Maybe its just the way i did it, I was kinda studying just to pass the exams, if you know what i mean. Since i finished it i have learned a lot just by reading as much as i can and getting out there and getting experience/talking to trainers etc..
Most of my previous training experience was in kickboxing/boxing so that is mainly what i do with clients. I have got in with a Personal trainer in my area and he gives me work. When I first went to talk to him he didnt seem too concerned with how I got my Certs. He was more interested in my own training, experience and personality. I do a bout 5/6 sessions a week at the moment outside of my normal job. And love every minute of it.
Thats my limited experience with the industry so far.
El Testicle
Goat that feeling
Ha! , yeah - gotta agree to an extent...
I got my cert. in fitness and p.t. instruction, but was more of a hobby in the end. Was looking at doing it seriously as was looking for a change also and made sense to do something I really enjoyed (never mind the harsh reality that if you go into it full-time and cold, you'll be on minimal $$ to start with, hence the high turn-over rate)
Funny to see these kids prescribing exercise and not really committing to their clients or even exercise themselves sometimes.
Fister Roboto
Irish Kunce
I did the consultation thing with the AIF about 4 years ago.
Put me right off. Just a sales pitch.
But you need to start somewhere and without some sort of "qualification", you'll have a hard time of it.
So as full of shit as the courses are, you should probably still do one.
The best trainers are those who have an actual passion for it, not the ones who just say they do because they're too thick or devoid of a personality to say anything of real meaning.
A good trainer is humble enough to realise that they will never know it all and that beyond the basic tenets, our understanding of exercise science is changing daily as research methods continually improve.
i.e. they will read a book/research paper/study/article to learn something new because they want to make sure they are passing on the most up to date and relevant information
Put me right off. Just a sales pitch.
But you need to start somewhere and without some sort of "qualification", you'll have a hard time of it.
So as full of shit as the courses are, you should probably still do one.
The best trainers are those who have an actual passion for it, not the ones who just say they do because they're too thick or devoid of a personality to say anything of real meaning.
A good trainer is humble enough to realise that they will never know it all and that beyond the basic tenets, our understanding of exercise science is changing daily as research methods continually improve.
i.e. they will read a book/research paper/study/article to learn something new because they want to make sure they are passing on the most up to date and relevant information