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Any fitness professionals on here? Career crisis.

3 replies

gigi556 · 24/11/2020 16:57

I'm having a career crisis (or maybe a life crisis!)

I was made redundant at the end of my maternity leave in 2018. I decided to start a business (product business) but it's been slow going and Covid has made things worse and basically I'm ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way, I'll be the first to admit.

Now comes the crisis: what's next? I've looked at jobs but don't know what to apply for or what I want to do.

I've always been very active and passionate about exercise and the outdoors and I'm considering getting qualified to run group fitness classes or (qualified PT?) with the aim of running my own indoor bootcamp style classes and/or buggyfit type classes. Basically, id like to specialize in women's fitness - so maybe pre/postnatal or just women generally. It's something I've considered doing many times through the years but always ruled it out for one reason or another.

If you work in the profession, what advice can you give or pitfalls can you tell me about. Which company is the best for the professional qualifications? Am I mad or is this a good idea?

I think part of me struggling with what's next is that I feel like a total failure right with my current business and I'm anxious about making another bad move and failing all over again.

OP posts:
Bubbles120 · 24/11/2020 17:00

I run a pre and post natal fitness business and qualified during the first lockdown. There are serval different companies doing the qualifications online due to the current circumstances. I used diverse trainers and qualified in level 2 exercise to music and level 3 pre and postnatal. The current climate is making business quite hard right to say the least but you could use this time to qualify and open Easter time when things are predicted to improve.

gigi556 · 24/11/2020 17:05

Hi @Bubbles120. Thanks for replying. Yes, I totally get that it's not the best time to be getting into the fitness industry. Confused But did think qualify now, and start Q2 next year/play by ear with the Covid situation. I also figured outdoor sessions might be best in terms of Covid but details tbc.

OP posts:
NastyBlouse · 24/11/2020 17:35

My brother's husband is a personal trainer. Not sure how relevant his experience would be to you as he doesn't work in the same specialism but I can give you a few more general bits I've picked up over the years.

First thing, DBIL would say if you've considered it a few times it's probably a sign that it's something that really speaks to you. He always says that coaching and people skills that are more important than knowing 100s of exercises inside-out. (That said, a good working knowledge of anatomy and physiology will undoubtedly help, but you can pick that up as you go rather than needing to know it right now.) It's one of those industries where relatability is really important. You need to be good with people one-to-one (or in a group setting, if that's what you're keen on).

It's a really positive, encouraging world. He's often remarked that on his course there were people from late teens all the way through to late 60s. It certainly wasn't all gym-buffed 20-somethings; in fact the majority were career-changers in their 30s and 40s. Everyone was extremely positive and supportive all the way through. He'd come from a corporate background that was backstabby and he really noticed this difference. He made some good friends on the course.

The courses are quite expensive. I think he paid about six grand to do his, and that got him a level 4 qualification with some add-on bits for extra specialisms. He also does two or three 'skill-up' courses a year to keep his knowledge and skillset current. He would say the best training providers are YMCAfit and Premier. Other training providers are available though.

Downsides: the qualification is just the beginning and it can be competitive.

(May or may not be a negative, depends how you see it) DBIL certainly uses social media a lot. He's one of those tall, glossy, triangular men who make Chris Hemsworth look like Johnny Vegas, so he's kind of designed for Instagram. (I love him to bits, he's a lovely guy, but he is ludicrous looking.) He sees it as marketing and about a third of his clients come to him because they've seen him demonstrating a split squat or whatever on a video online.

The hours can be weird. PTs can end up doing long days of split shifts, with client hours concentrated pre-9am and post 6pm, plus weekends.

Some areas of the country are a bit overrun with minimally qualified PTs all competing with each other at the entry end of the market. It can be a bit tricky to stand out. Getting that first job or placement out of the stocks can be tough, and with some of the chain gyms the PTs actually have to pay a kind of 'rent' to have access to their gym floor and members. So it's not a route to riches, at least not straight away. DBIL earns solidly now but he's not on megabucks, and he moved away from working at the chain gyms to get a bit more control over his earnings.

What else can I tell you... it's quite seasonal. Busy in January, leading up to wedding season, and summer holidays. He isn't busy in early spring, autumn or December. This can make financial planning a bit tricky.

Clients can be flakey, cancelling at the last minute or deciding they can't be bothered to train. DBIL has contracting conversations with people in advance now, and only sells his time in session blocks.

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