Any PT, FI on the board? Info

I am looking at doing my 1st personal instructors / Fitness instructor course and making a career change.

Currently in a office job and need to get out from behind the desk, I have done research on institutions etc and what each provides/offers you.

Is there any PT/FI on the board? Where did you study & have you got any inputs for me regarding this?
Can a career be made out of this & enough money made so support me / my family and build on it to really have a decent living style.

I know I will be much happier in this sort of environment, I just need to know if it is worth while in the long run.

I have visited IFP and HFPA - I know in another topic people were not happy with these.

Also e-mailed Virgin Active for list of institutions they recognize. The list I got from them:

Centurion Academy
Intec
Institute for Sport Science & Fitness
HFPA
ETA (College SA)
IIFT
ICK
IFP
FIT Principles
Reebok
Boston City College
Northlink College
Vaal Technikon
Universities

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Unless you are a massive monster and everyone wants you to train them and you supply in the side there is no money in it bud. You'll work for peanuts

Howzit bud, well I did my fitness diploma at ETA in durban/pinetown ,its a very interesting course and a lot of fun to do if its your passion, but to be honest a lot of the time spent there was messing around, watching movies and things, in my opinion IF you looking at doing it, do it correspondence and keep ur desk job in the mean time, studies are really easy if you got the will and interest in learning it.. But unfortunately after I qualified. Most job opportunities are in a different area for me and would need me to travel 40+ kms , and if u hav clients at 5am until 7-8pm (if you build an amazing client base)... This is not ideal to have an extra hour and a half a day aside for travel, there is a small VA in my area, but to be honest it had about 6 PT's in an area no bigger then a decent sized spar , and generally the rents in bigger clubs will kill you, and travel to get there. See how ur nearest VA or other fitness club is, enquire about monthly rent and any perks with being a pt there, at VA u basically under a full addidas sponsor so its decent, medical aids ect, VA does look after its staff, but market yourself and be prepared for LONG days in the gym, and you could make a success, but it def will be hard work .. Hope that helped!

jakes wrote: Unless you are a massive monster and everyone wants you to train them and you supply in the side there is no money in it bud. You'll work for peanuts

As a PT and gym owner I would disagree with this. A lot more factors involved. I'm by no means a massive monster either

You don't become a pt to become rich, what client will listen to some 70kg poepol? The guys that make a lot are big, and they supply. That's how it works in that industry...

You own a gym, most pt's don't bro.

jakes wrote: You don't become a pt to become rich, what client will listen to some 70kg poepol? The guys that make a lot are big, and they supply. That's how it works in that industry...

You own a gym, most pt's don't bro.

do u know that in the gym i used to train at, the most successful personal trainer there was a 85kg 20% body fat trainer. he had clients from 5am -10 am and then from 3pm - 8pm,he doesnt even train himself. he works 10 hours a day, and out of those 10 hours 5 of them are with 3 females per session and he has clients 5 days a week, at R300 an hour per client u work it out on a weekly basis, he is getting 20 clients through his books per day, 5 days a week thats 100x R300 per client. R30000 a week bud. and u wonder why he owns a house and drives and m3.

I'm a PT and gym owner in CT.

There is another thread very similar to this and my points from there I would express very much here as well.

On the note of money - it's the same as any profession. If you're good at your job and passionate about it then you will make good money. What good money is for you is probably different to the next person. I earned ridiculously good money as a money and security broker in London and traded it all in for less money but a lot better lifestyle in Cape Town.

What area are you in Crawler? because a lot will depend on your area, population density, disposable income etc etc.
It will also depend on whether you specialise in a certain field, do run of the mill training, how you market yourself is a huge factor in your success.

I don't like Group Training or Bootcamps as for me that isn't Personal Training but there is good money to be earned there, provided the area you're in isn't already saturated with like minded setups.

As a PT at VA I was doing about 140 hours per month (took me a year to get up to that) at R200 per hour that equals R28,000 before tax and rent. Tax is quite good because you're self employed you can deduct a hell of a lot with a good accountant and hardly pay anything. Rent will depend on the club.

Some of the big clubs do charge higher rentals but that generally means they are nicer clubs, more people, more cash around and a good chance to earn money, plus you charge more. VA Claremont is R7k per month "franchise fee", with a membership base of about 30,000 and an active base of 21% - 26 trainers at the club and a weekly pass through of approx 6000-7000 members. Do the math on that, 230 active member to work and get training with you, take into account that some of those 26 trainers will be shit and not market themselves at all and you have even more clients to choose from.

There are however a lot smaller clubs with only 3 or 4 PT's because the location and client base just doesn't demand or command that kind of need. I would always rather play the numbers game, with the more people you have access to the more chance of getting a client.

Big gyms also recognise ISSA and ACE - either way I would do distance learning, get the course done and get some good practical hours in at decent facilities to learn the trade. Classroom theory and practical at these places is never worth the money they charge - definitely go long distance learning.

With regards to supporting your family on the money - it will take you a while to get a good client base built, so it depends on how long you can sustain lower income than you may be used to in the interim. Once you get busy as a trainer take on an intern and get them working clients you don't have the time to train and earn the money for you, then get another one and another....it is all possible but it depends on how much you want it and what you're prepared to do to get it.

DC EVO

DJ wrote:

jakes wrote: You don't become a pt to become rich, what client will listen to some 70kg poepol? The guys that make a lot are big, and they supply. That's how it works in that industry...

You own a gym, most pt's don't bro.

do u know that in the gym i used to train at, the most successful personal trainer there was a 85kg 20% body fat trainer. he had clients from 5am -10 am and then from 3pm - 8pm,he doesnt even train himself. he works 10 hours a day, and out of those 10 hours 5 of them are with 3 females per session and he has clients 5 days a week, at R300 an hour per client u work it out on a weekly basis, he is getting 20 clients through his books per day, 5 days a week thats 100x R300 per client. R30000 a week bud. and u wonder why he owns a house and drives and m3.

We had similar at VA Claremont - although he was closer to 30%, had the gift of the gab and had a lot of hot women training with him. He blew his money on crap rather than the car and house but either way he could've afforded a lot if he wanted.

DJ wrote:

jakes wrote: You don't become a pt to become rich, what client will listen to some 70kg poepol? The guys that make a lot are big, and they supply. That's how it works in that industry...

You own a gym, most pt's don't bro.

do u know that in the gym i used to train at, the most successful personal trainer there was a 85kg 20% body fat trainer. he had clients from 5am -10 am and then from 3pm - 8pm,he doesnt even train himself. he works 10 hours a day, and out of those 10 hours 5 of them are with 3 females per session and he has clients 5 days a week, at R300 an hour per client u work it out on a weekly basis, he is getting 20 clients through his books per day, 5 days a week thats 100x R300 per client. R30000 a week bud. and u wonder why he owns a house and drives and m3.

I get what you are saying but dont you want to be trained by a guy that you can say"i want to look like him"??personally i like training with guys that are bigger and better built than me.its encouranging to be pushed to your limit and if a guy thats fat told me to work harder i would be sort of pissed.

Well dj, that guy must have a great personality or those clients are gay and he is giving them the "cardio" workout . If your a pt and you want to be successful you have to look the part...

Why would someone in their right mind listen to someone who doesn't even look the part? There are too many pt's in sa and most know nothing. Try speaking to one of those VA ass clowns, they don't know the difference between a bull up and a press down let alone nutrition or steroids. Those courses teach you the basics, you don't even learn much.

Every second skinny wanne be want to be a pt! I say atleast look the part. A lawyer doesn't wear a overall and a miner doesn't wear a suit.

well to say the least he is actually good at what he does,he does help a couple ladies do bikini shows and they dont look like whales on stage,so he might not look the part but he knows what he is doing.

HI DC, where is your gym located. I'm from CT.

imtheish wrote: HI DC, where is your gym located. I'm from CT.

Hey mate,

We're on Draper Street in Claremont, directly beneath the Claremont Virgin UnActive.

Evo Fitness - check us and pics on facebook or come through. We're a Strength and Performance Training Facility, everything is PT based.

DC EVO wrote:

imtheish wrote: HI DC, where is your gym located. I'm from CT.

Hey mate,

We're on Draper Street in Claremont, directly beneath the Claremont Virgin UnActive.

Evo Fitness - check us and pics on facebook or come through. We're a Strength and Performance Training Facility, everything is PT based.

Cool,I'll be sure to come check it out.

Sorry if this sounds harsh but is it worth it finacially to study for personal training?people always say do what you love but doing what you love does not always pay the bills and ensure a future.if you own a gym i can see how it would help.sorry its a bit off topic

VonD wrote: Sorry if this sounds harsh but is it worth it finacially to study for personal training?people always say do what you love but doing what you love does not always pay the bills and ensure a future.if you own a gym i can see how it would help.sorry its a bit off topic

I studied through eta and it was a waste of R20+k!!!

However, study online through ISSA or ACE or equivalent and get it done for about R6k is more like it, for a better qualification.

It doesn't always pay the bills but depends on how good you are at it. I didn't get my gym and all my equipment through the bank or loans, I worked my ass off and saved like hell for it. Took me a few years to do it but it's paying off and the snowball effect of that hard work continues to gather momentum and we're getting bigger.

So - do what you love but don't expect it to just happen and land in your lap.

The way exercise and nutrition is discussed on here is still very almost "underground" in terms of public knowledge and popular mainstream opinion. People are very ignorant or naive to the kinds of training we all believe in and practice. So again do what you love but expect to have several barriers thrown up in front of you because your views on things don't conform to Mens Health Magazine ideas.

@ dc evo, if one wants to work at VA or Planet fitness, where would the best place be to study online?