When I made the decision to become a personal trainer, my goal was to get away from the 9 to 5 office gig, and move towards doing something I loved to do, which was exercising. 

So my plan going into becoming a trainer was I could help people improve their lifestyle, and get paid doing it.

But what I learned very quickly was that being a personal trainer wasn’t something I could sustain long term.

The number one reason was due to the fact that the only way I get paid is if I’m training. So if someone decided to cancel or I got sick, that was money I was losing out on.

Not only that, but if I wanted to increase my income, I either had to train more people, thus work more hours, or I had to increase my hourly rates.

And with personal training already expensive as it is, not many people can afford to hire a personal trainer.

Therefore I had to find a way to create income for myself regardless if I was training a client or not. This is what brought on the motivation to search for passive income.

What Is Passive Income?

To give you a better idea of what passive income is, think of it as a source of revenue that doesn’t require any active involvement from yourself.

Unlike a job where you are trading in your time for a paycheck. Passive income is something where the least amount of time is required from you to generate revenue.

Personal training is a very unregulated industry. To become a personal trainer, all you need is some exercise space and a client, and you’re good to go.

But as easy as it may sound, starting a personal training career can be a bit more complicated.

Getting a certification is a requirement for some gym establishments.

For me, I chose to go with NASM which was recommended to me by two of my friends who happened to also be trainers.

When researching the NASM program, I decided to go with at the time, their 3rd highest package at about $1100.

This included things like a live workshop exam retest, and all the other necessary study materials.

They offered a payment plan which made it easy for me to afford it. So as you can see, the cost of becoming a trainer will depend on if you decide to get certified or not.

Now there are many different places and programs in which you can go about your certification.

But do keep in mind that if you plan on working at a gym, they do require you to be certified at an accredited program.

I plan on providing you with a list of these programs shortly. But first let’s talk about getting certified.

Getting Certified

There are a few factors that can decide how much you will spend to become a personal trainer.

One of those factors is the decision to be an employee at a gym or go independent.

When I eventually made the decision to become a personal trainer, like many of you, the first thought that came to mind was “what’s the best personal trainer certification?”

With so many certs being advertised these days, it can be tough making a decision.

Also, the fact that personal training is unregulated, there’s no way to find out which certification will give you the most bang for your buck.

All you know is that many gyms require that you have one if you plan on working in their gym.

And if you choose to go the independent route like I did, many insurance companies won’t provide you with the necessary coverage.

But before you take any type of action, you first have to ask yourself, “is getting a certification really worth the money?”

As someone who was a former personal trainer, I would answer that question with a it depends.

The reason I say it depends is because, it really does depend on what you’re trying to make of you personal training career.

Which is why I plan on going over 5 things you need to know before you pay for any certification program.

Thing #1- Your Clients Don’t Care What Kind Of Cert You Have

I’ve worked with quite of few people when it came to helping them get into shape.

And there’s not too many times where I could remember any of them asking if I was certified or not.

The trust usually came with them asking me questions and me being able to answer them in a knowledgeable manner.

So how long does it take to become a personal trainer?

To be honest, it depends on quite a few factors. Some of those factors are easily within your control, and others not so much.

Now before I get into those factors that will determine how quickly you can become a trainer, I would like to ask you another question.

What kind of trainer are you looking to be? Are you looking to be a trainer that helps people exercise to make some side money?

Or are you looking to actually help people change their lives for the better and make a career out of it?

The reason I ask this is, the latter requires a decent amount of knowledge when it comes to helping people live healthier lives.

Being a good trainer requires understand of the body and how it works. This is knowledge that can’t be taught on some website alone.

And if you’re thinking about getting employed at a gym, most require that you become satisfied.

So the type of trainer you want to be is definitely a factor when trying to figure out how long it will take.

Choosing The Right Certification Program

When it comes to getting certified, there are a few ways in which you can go about that.

Do keep in mind that depending on the type of employment you’re looking to get into, the type of certification you get is crucial.

When I made the decision to start my personal training business, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to get it done.

All I knew was that I hated working in a cubicle doing the same things everyday learning nothing.

Not only did I hate working a boring desk job, but I also hated the thought of having to work for anyone but myself.

Which is a big reason why I decided to start my training business, rather than work at a big box gym. And if you’re like me, you probably feel the same way. 

And although I did my research on how to get started when building a personal training business, there was still so much I had to learn.

But i’m the type of person that doesn’t mind learning as I go.

But for those that are looking to go the more cautious route, below I will provide for you 6 key fundamentals of starting a personal training business.

1.) Know Your Target Audience

When I decided to get into personal training, my mindset at first was to help people get into shape.

Of course I knew obesity rates were rising, and that there was a market to help people live a healthier lifestyle.

The issue I faced was that I never targeted a specific group. My goal of helping people get into shape was too vague.

Being a personal trainer can be a tough profession to get started with if you’re new to the fitness industry.

Heck, it can be tough even if you’re a veteran in the game. That’s why it’s important to create multiple revenue streams for any type of business you get into.

One way to do that is with a website.

But for some, building a website can be intimidating. Which is why I've come up with some personal training website ideas to help get you started.

Whether you’re just starting your personal training career, or been at it for a while, the tips I provide in this article should help give you some insight on how to get started.

Remember, the goal for your business is to create more than one revenue stream, and building a website is one of the best ways to do it.

Find Your Target Market

The fitness industry provides you with a bunch of avenues to take in which you can grow your business.

So it’s easy for someone just getting started to try an be a jack of all trades. But that kind of thinking could lead to overthinking and thus burning yourself out.

Coming up with fitness website ideas for your personal training business can be tough.

Finding ways in which to provide your readers with helpful information, while at the same time making money can be a real battle.

Obviously you don’t want it to seem like you’re only about the money. So you try to provide helpful information for them.

But you run a business and have bills to pay, so making money will be high on the priority list.

So my goal is to provide for you some tips on how to both help people, and make money at the same time.

By helping people, you will find that people are willing to purchase from your site because of the help you’ve provided.

So below are some ideas for your fitness website to help grow your personal training business.

Create High Value Content

What I mean by high value content is focus on creating content that helps your readers.

When users are searching on the internet, it’s usually because they’re looking for answers. Answers to questions they haven’t been able to find themselves.

In this article, I plan on showing you how to become an online personal trainer in 5 easy steps.

I’m sure when you hear the term online personal trainer, the first thing that goes through your mind is training clients online.

But i want you to think of the term “online personal trainer” a bit differently.

Instead of figuring out how to train clients from your laptop, I want you to think of the online world as a way to supplement your personal training business.

The goal is for you to be able to continue training your clients in person.

But also have an online platform where you can use your influence as a trainer to help those you don’t meet in person.

Not sure how you can do that?

Below I will show you how you can bring your personal training skills to the online world.

Building an online business that will not only grow your brand as a trainer, but also provide you with passive income that affords you time to do other things you enjoy.

Pick a Niche

When I built my first website back in 2016. I knew that I wanted it to be focused in the health and fitness industry.

I wasn’t yet sure exactly what I wanted to talk about, but I knew I wanted to help people live a healthier lifestyle.

Are you training to become a personal trainer? Not feeling the whole cubicle lifestyle and want to do something more rewarding?

Well before you make such a decision, let me share with you a bit of my experiences as someone who is actually certified.

When I decided to pursue a career as a personal trainer, I saw it as a way to ditch the whole 9 to 5 office life.

Being able to wear gym clothes, work out, and help people get in shape seemed like a pretty cool gig.

But I quickly learned that the lifestyle of a personal trainer wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

Depending on where you live, it can be pretty tough making a living. And compared to an office job, there is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to your income.

But if you’re like me, you rather this type of lifestyle than the office job that leaves you pretty much lifeless each and everyday.

So if you really want to live the life of a personal trainer, then there are some things you should know before getting started.

Everyone Is Trying To Become a Personal Trainer

So what does this mean? This means that the industry is over saturated with people looking to live the life of a personal trainer.

Therefore there isn’t much demand for gyms to find trainers since there are so many of them.

Learning how to make more money as a personal trainer requires a bit of creativity?

And the great thing about the fitness industry is that it provides many professions within the industry the opportunity to be creative.

With obesity rates climbing the way they are, this provides those looking to become personal trainers, a chance to monetize on this opportunity.

But to be honest, making money as a personal trainer is a lot harder than you think. Especially if you’re someone that is just getting started.

A big reason for this is that building up your clientele can take time, and thus so will your earnings.

Below I provide a list of ways anyone getting started in the fitness industry can make a decent living.

And if you’re someone that’s looking to start your own personal training business, I plan on providing you with an opportunity to learn on how to get started.

But first, let’s start off with my list of ways to make more money as a personal trainer.

1.Build A Website

This is definitely my favorite way to make money due to the mindset I have when it comes to business.

Not only that, but in today’s world, having a website is a must for the long term viability of any business.

Just look at many of the retail stores that seem to be closing down since most people make purchases through the internet.

So unless you have a website, you will be missing out on a great opportunity to earn great income.