| dirtyvest -> RE: Gym Instructer/Graphic Design (May 8 2008 17:18:28) |
quote:
ORIGINAL: Lord Monkcheese
The perception of working in fitness and the reality are a world apart. From my experience (3 years as instructor/asst manager/manager) I became very cynical over the whole fitness industry and how flawed it was.
Like you I had a passion for fitness and a desire to help people realise their fitness aims.
Unfortunately, the majority of members don't share your passion and getting a productive workout from many of them proved to be very frustrating. Spending time with a member, showing them some useful, uncomplicated exercises, explaining about how the intensity of the workout has a bearing on their results, explaining how the metal dumbbells won't magically make you big and muscular, doing all this then seeing them the next week spending 30 minutes on the X-Trainer on level one and doing bicep curls with the plastic dumbbells completely put me off the industry.
Of course there are some fantastic members who listen to your advice and wisdom, put it into practice and reap the rewards from doing so, and they made the job worthwhile, but I found them to be the exception rather than the norm.
PTing on the other hand is a completely different ballgame. If someone wants you to train them, they've at least made a conscious decision to do something positive to realise their goals so will be more motivated than your average member I describe above.
On the flip-side, seeing a PT once a week often meant they thought they could eat cakes and sit in front of the TV for the rest of the week as if you were some super-being that could transform them from only 2 hours of activity a week.
Working in the fitness industry is easier than ever as there are a multitude of courses you can take that can have you qualified in as little as 2 weeks. It doesn't necessarily mean you'll be any good, but you'll be qualified to work in a gym (though not deliver personal training)
You've spent a few years getting to where you are now. I'd hate to think you give it all up for something which may prove to be no more rewarding and even less so financially.
Wise words I have worked within the indusrty for 10 years and have a good few friends who do also. I'm lucky but none of the guys I know who are instructors earn more than £15k a year, and some are mid 30s and been doing it for a very long time. They are shown no loyalty as there are people 10 years tounger wanting to get a job who'll take £3k a year less. Others I know are nothing more than glorified salesmen/women and again if you don't meet your targets then you are out... one gym this way has had 5 'managers' in as many years for exactly that reason.
Good money doing the job you love comes from being a brilliant PT, even then it can be pretty thankless with a bulk of your work being to try and motivate those with minimal desire to train to lose BF.
If I had my time again I would not have scrificed so much to get into this line of work, personally speaking |
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