Being a personal trainer used to mean working in a gym.
But things have come a long way since then, with health and wellness now a growing trend across the UK and the world, with a focus on healthy living and eating.
So, there’s never been a better time to become a personal trainer!
If you’ve been thinking about getting qualified, here are five career options you can take:
- Gym/Club manager:
Once you’re a qualified personal trainer and have experience in the field, your knowledge will make you a valuable manager.
To be able to manage a club you need to understand what makes people tick and have a good understanding of marketing and health & safety.
Thankfully, a good personal training qualification will teach you these skills, and you’ll learn the rest as you gain more experience.
One provider, Premier Global NASM, offers work experience with PureGym, where you get to meet the manager and get a little helping hand towards your career. In fact, they are PureGym’s preferred partner for personal trainers. You can find out more here.
This experience with PureGym is particularly important as a lot of Club Managers actually start their careers as personal trainers at a gym and work their way up.
Because of the specialised training you are given while working for a brand, gyms are more likely to promote from within.
So if you’re looking for a stable job with a good salary and benefits, a managerial role could be for you.
Once you have the qualifications and experience, opportunities like this will be within reach.
15-year-old Grace* came to the Uganda with her sister due to the conflict in South Sudan, both her parent are dead. She moved to Bidi Bidi refugee camp and started going to school. She was happy until a boy in her class raped her. When she found out she was pregnant she wanted to kill herself. Because her body was not mature enough to give birth there were some complications and she needed a cesarean section. The baby is now one week old and the two of them are staying in the hospital. Although Grace loves her baby, she is worried that she will not be able to provide all the things that the baby needs. She also hopes to go back to school one day. 
Jenny, 7, lives in the Andes, in a small village 4,000 meters above sea level. The area is one of the poorest in Ecuador. Education may be the way out of poverty, so school is very important for children in the area. Jenny’s grandmother is the most important person in her life. Together they are a small family. Her mother died when Jenny was four and her father abandoned them before she was born. Their home is a small mud hut. It is here they sleep and eat, cooking on the open fire. It’s hard to breathe sometimes, especially at night, Jenny explains. Her bed is in the same room as the fire and the smoke is bothersome when she tries to sleep. Maria Rosa, 79, is seriously ill and very worried about her granddaughter. “What will happen when I die? Who will take care of Jenny?”, she asks. Jenny, 7, lives in the Andes, in a small village 4,000 meters above sea level. The area is one of the poorest in Ecuador. Education may be the way out of poverty, so school is very important for children in the area. Jenny’s grandmother is the most important person in her life. Together they are a small family. Her mother died when Jenny was four and her father abandoned them before she was born. Their home is a small mud hut. It is here they sleep and eat, cooking on the open fire. It’s hard to breathe sometimes, especially at night, Jenny explains. Her bed is in the same room as the fire and the smoke is bothersome when she tries to sleep. Maria Rosa, 79, is seriously ill and very worried about her granddaughter. “What will happen when I die? Who will take care of Jenny?”, she asks. 
- Gym/Club owner:
Looking for more than just managing a club? If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and have a great idea for a gym, you could own your business.
Becoming a qualified personal trainer opens doors for you to become your own boss and create your own brand and legacy.
Opening your own business takes a lot of hard work and isn’t always easy, but the benefits can really pay off if you’re willing to see your dream through.
From fitness studios, health clubs to boxing gyms and mixed martial arts clubs, there are a lot of options to choose from.
Gym owners have huge earning potential, through gym memberships, classes, personal training and selling products.
- Consultant
Once you establish yourself as a personal trainer, you can share your knowledge by becoming a freelance consultant.
That could either mean mentoring personal trainers who are just starting out, or creating training programs for gyms, giving one-on-one sessions to clients or creating bespoke training packages.
With such a big interest in health and wellbeing right now, there are so many avenues you can go down. Just make sure you choose a reputable education provider that offers more than just training.
Premier Global NASM gives you the tools and resources to help you start your career through it’s career services portal, and also offers a job guarantee. If you don’t secure a job within 90 days, they will give you a partial refund of your diploma fees. Find out more here.
And thanks to the rise of social media, it’s made it easier for personal trainers to create their own brand, grow their following and market their services.
This successful establishment of a social media presence is something a lot of people want to do, so if you have a successful profile, you can teach people how to create the same for themselves.
You can also offer virtual training through video calls, and personal mentoring through daily messages.
- Athletic Trainer
If you want to take your passion for fitness and the human body further, you could become an athletic trainer.
Typically, athletic trainers work on injury prevention, athletic performance, and patient rehabilitation and jobs in this field are often plentiful and pay well.
You can work in a variety of different places, either at educational institutions, the NHS or privately and your clients can include A-list sports stars.
You will need to take on extra training and qualifications to become an athletic trainer, but if you want to pursue this route, having a personal trainer qualification is the first step.
When looking for a personal trainer course, make sure to look for one that offers continued personal development courses, as this will allow you to develop your career. Premier Global NASM has the UK’s largest library of courses to help you further your career. Their Level 3 course offers flexible learning and is widely recognised as the UK’s leading fitness education provider.
If you want to find out more about studying with them, you can fill in this very short form here to find out more information about the course.
- Corporate Wellbeing Coach
As health and wellness is on the rise, more and more people are investing in their health and so too are companies and businesses.
That means more businesses than ever are investing in fitness centres within their building, so employees can stay in shape and stay motivated.
It can also offer you a great opportunity to build your own business, by growing your client base from a pool of people with disposable income, and the salary and perks are often very good, too.
Qualified personal trainers with a qualification from a reputable training centre are highly sought-after, and the hours are great.
Premier Global NASM’s Level 2 and Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training is endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), the professional body for the UK’s sport and physical activity sector.
To find out more, you can complete this simple form to get all the information you need.
To start your personal trainer journey now and take charge of your career, find out what Premier Global NASM’s Level 3 course could do for you. Just fill out the simple form using the link below, to find out more about their course.
