The Major Stressors within the personal training business. Part I

The personal training business is not as glamorous as one would think it is. In order to make a good salary you must work long odd hours from 5:00am until 9:00pm, fight traffic if commuting to and from your clients home, and last but not least deal with human behavior often on a dysfunctional level.

Hollywood would like the general public to believe that personal fitness trainers work with VIP's, celebrities and professional athletes. Granted there are a few select Hollywood Trainers like Gunner Peterson who fall into this category, but this represents 1% of the personal trainers. Most established personal trainers work with Joe businessman who wants to lose his post college years gut and Jane soccer mom who is obsessed with the post partum saddlebags and poochy belly that never seem to go away. So go figure.

The personal training business is very cyclical. A good trainer can retain 60% of his or her clients for several years which means a steady monthly income. The other 40 percent of their portfolio are clients who can only afford to sign on for 12 weeks of personal training sessions. This means than a trainers salary can fluctuate significantly at any time. Because of this the trainer must be extra careful to put money aside in saving, or this could spell financial disaster. Trust me I have been there!

The personal training business typically attracts the more affluent client with disposable income. Your clients ability to pay you is contingent upon on how well his business is doing in the current economic climate. For example, San Diego CA is experiencing a major shift in its housing market. Home pricing are readjusting to entice people to buy. With the sub prime mortgage fallout it is very difficult for people with sub par credit to now get a loan. The result is new homes that remain unsold, and resale homes not closing escrow for several months. This unsettling economical shift has hammered the stability of jobs for those who sell real estate, broker loans, build homes, inspect homes, appraise homes and even companies that sell building materials.

Aside from the financials of the personal training business, dealing with individuals on a psychosocial level can have a major impact on your physical endurance. Certain individuals can burn you out and many many cases have made good personal trainers abandon their careers in fitness. The natural of this business in non discipline, non compliant individuals who require coaching, accountability and positive reinforcement on top of it all.

Mix all this together with 4 hours of daily commuting with road raging California drivers, and by the time you get home there is not much let of you for anyone or anything. Sometimes a hot shower and soft bed pillow become your nirvana for mental health.

After 10 years, I still amaze myself, and manage to get up out of bed at 5:00am six days a week, knowing how demanding may day will be. I always manage think about the individuals who really appreciate me and look forward to my visits.