Unlike the straightforward question of ‘How to become a personal trainer?‘ (of which the nuts and bolts answer is ‘getting qualified’), defining success (and giving personal training advice) as a personal trainer is more up in the air. That’s why we’ve compiled top tips from personal trainers to help you on your personal PT journey.
These tips come from three highly successful PTs who have established themselves and built their brand in a highly competitive industry.
Being a relative newcomer to the world of personal training isn’t something to be disheartened about. At the end of the day, there’s no fixed definition of success for personal trainers. You actually get an immense amount of freedom to forge your own path.
If we think about those we consider the elite, the UK’s most successful personal trainers, each story is different. Some have written books, while others haven’t. Some have gyms around the world, while others have just a few locations in London. There are no concrete metrics or blueprints, but there is plenty we can all learn from these PTs.
Top tips from some of the best personal trainers in the UK
Nick Mitchell, Founder of Ultimate Performance
We’ll kick things off with the founder of Ultimate Performance, Nick Mitchell. Nick is arguably one of the most recognisable names in fitness. He’s offered us some of his most interesting personal training business tips plus some great personal training advice.
“What makes a great personal trainer can never be merely one thing! We have to wear a ridiculous range of hats in order to best serve the extremely diverse requirements of our clients”, he says.
He goes on to talk about what personal training is really about:
“Great trainers can come in many forms and guises, but they all have just one single thing in common – they take their client’s results personally… Results should be the lifeblood of how you grow your personal training business and create a lucrative and financially rewarding long-term career for yourself.”
Nick’s biggest personal trainer tip is to focus on the overall goal and avoid being distracted by other things.
His tips for new personal trainers include being unique and pushing yourself to “continuously move your own goalposts” for more challenges and opportunities for more clients.
Matt Roberts, Founder of Matt Roberts Evolution
The idea of always coming back to results and not getting too carried with other things is also echoed by another leading Personal Trainer, Matt Roberts. It is one of the biggest personal trainer tips for beginners: always keep your clients and their goals in mind.
Matt has 23 years’ worth of industry experience, several high-end facilities in London, and has trained everyone from fashion designers to politicians. Despite all the success, the accolades and everything else, Matt’s keen to remind people that “personal training is a results business, and we’re here to ensure that our clients get what they want for their hard-earned money.”
The best personal training advice Matt offers is to remember that your personal training is a business.
If you are looking to work in the same area as he is – high profile and big net worth, the best personal training advice he could give for that would be to create this customer base naturally, and to make sure you remain completely confidential. This is not just a personal training business tip but something fundamental to personal training as a whole.
Matt emphasises the diligence, hard work and dedication it takes to get clients, retain clients and deliver fantastic results. Tips for personal trainer beginners – don’t think this job will be a walk in the park.
David Kingsbury, Celebrity Personal Trainer
What are some of the other ways you can ensure your own success as a personal trainer? David Kingsbury kindly offers some personal training advice from a slightly different angle.
Many will know David by name, perhaps more so for the A-list Hollywood talent he’s trained over the years. Some of his clients include A-listers such as Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender and Hugh Jackman.
When giving his personal training business tips, he says:
“You should always continue your learning. You want to make sure you’ve got a good base level of knowledge that’s constantly expanding. As you’re training people, you’re always going to be presented with new and unique challenges and if you can overcome those with the knowledge you’ve gained, it puts you in a really strong position.”
Many personal trainers reading this will no doubt be hungry to apply themselves, push their careers further and find the freely available success that’s out there.
But if you’re looking for personal trainer tips for beginners, iIt’s important not to rush through anything. David really drives this point home by saying:
“One of the bits of advice I wish I was given when I first started out is to be patient. It does take time. I qualified as a trainer when I was 18 and I don’t think I did a personal training session until I was about 20. I was just doing gym instructing and then I started my own business at 23. It was a good couple of years from that until I got my first film job. So we’re talking six, seven, eight years from qualifying to getting my first film job. If I’d got that contract any sooner, I wouldn’t have been ready for it.”
Key Takeaways
Hopefully, that should provide you with a bit of inspiration to achieve your personal training goals. These tips should help you realise that having a strong, client-facing approach and being willing to work hard for success are crucial to be successful in this industry. Above all else, you must be patient, particularly in the face of setbacks. These are the key tips from personal trainers for beginners and are only a starting point.
Written by: Josh Douglas-Walton, writer in residence for HFE, the UK’s most popular provider of PT courses and fitness qualifications.
Josh is passionate about all things health and fitness, and in his spare time he’s a keen marathon and ultramarathon runner.
If you want to learn about becoming a successful online personal trainer, you can read more about the steps and strategies needed here.