following my passion...

K

KatCH

0
For a long time I have been contemplating some kind of career switch. My original career plan was to work as a paralegal for a few years after college and then head off to law school. However, since graduating from college I met my husband who is active duty army. My dreams of law school have since been pushed aside due to our constant relocations.

I have been reviewing in my head all of my various passions and then it sort of dawned on me. I spend literally 7 days a week doing something active, whether it’s kickboxing, Insanity or other work outs, soccer, running, or coaching a youth soccer team….I love being active and I love being healthy (I also love to give advice) and sitting behind a desk every day working as someone’s assistant is driving me crazy! I have decided to do some research on what it would take to a) break into the fitness professional world and b) how to make it a successful career.

I am thinking I have a good market to work with for women’s specific health/fitness. There are a ton of military wives I know that are always looking into “getting fit” and just don’t know where to start. I would love to offer some sort of service that offers not only personal training, but healthy diet and lifestyle coaching as well individually and with groups.

So now that I have my idea…I need to figure out how to get it started. What programs for certifications are best? Would it be better for me to find a masters degree program in Health Science? Do the necessary certifications vary by state and even country? How portable would this business be when my husband and I are forced to locate due to his military orders? I think I’ll start slow with some personal training before jumping in with the full blown business, but that would be the ultimate goal.

Any advice on what it takes to break into this business is much appreciated. I would love to follow my passion!
 
Studying law is snorrring. Seems like people only do it for social status and/or good pay (though this isn't guaranteed at all).

Follow your dreams. Only live once and all...
 
zach4 said:
Studying law is snorrring. Seems like people only do it for social status and/or good pay (though this isn't guaranteed at all).

Follow your dreams. Only live once and all...
Click to expand...

Even though your response is a bit off topic and the least bit helpful, I do actually enjoy the law and others who pursue the career do as well (although there are some attorneys out there who are slimey). I actually enjoyed the research involved and analyzing and applying that research to the each individual issue. I had always hoped to be a litigation trial attorney, however that has been set aside since moving every 3 years due to my husbands military service doesn't make it a practical career choice.
 
It's all about boot camps

I think you are right on track and with your exposure to the military a boot camp is the way to go especially for women. I know of a lot of women who are into the boot camp at the moment. I don't necessarily agree with it in that it is super intense and difficult to sustain for the average person. But, you can modify it to fit your client base. I think the master's is overkill but to best service your clients I would get certified. As for a facility most of the boot camps I see are on the weekends in public parks or parking lots. You can check with your city on permits and such but I'd think the local park would be trouble free if you didn't. I think this business is super mobile you just need to establish yourself in your new market but with some basic marketing and testimonials that shouldn't be tough. My wife's yoga studio does free trial classes so that's a great marketing tool too. As you know the majority of the results comes from what you eat so I would perhaps focus heavier on that and not a boot camp that is going to leave your clients sore for a week. Once your clients start getting results those walking advertisements should get more clients for you quickly. Good luck and go for that passion!
 
I can't speak for outdoor training, but most gyms where I live aim to have their PT's doing 10-30 sessions/week about 3 months in. The business is as portable as the people you work with. If you're going to move to the other side of the country, you probably can't take any of your clients with you. If you're going to move to the other side of the city, you can probably keep a lot of your clients, depending on how and where you train them. If you're going to stay in the one place for 3 years at a time, then you'll certainly be able to build up and maintain business, and it shouldn't be too much of a struggle to rebuild business after moving.
 
Most Certifications depend on who will hire you with what degrees. An ISSA certification is a good place to start, costs about 500 bucks. if you want the info with out the 500 dollar hit, google, ACT fitness. its free and all of the information is pretty much the same.

Here is the difference between these two. ACT is NOT ACCREDITED!! still really great information, and its easier to understand by the way it was written. im doing it and ill use is as a second certificate, my main one will be ISSA.

if you have a couple of good, recognized, accredited certifications, you can probably walk into any gym and start working the next day.

there are a ton of these certifications out there and some work out better for different people.

Good Luck, Have Fun.

Hooah
 
personal training cert 4 is what you want. getting a degree in health science etc. thats to branch of in teaching sport and things like that. but if you wanna do personal training you only need a cert 4. also i have put alot of thought on how to become a successful personal trainer and to be honest it is very hard. but if you wanna earn good money if you could personal train in the army i'd say that would be rewarding. but yea other then that there is opening your own gym, boot camps and just doing your own personal training getting your name out there so people get to know you. who knows maybe one day you might train a celebrity if your put the hard effort in. i believe that you will need to do personal training to get experience in the industry first then branch off into your own thing like a boot camp or your own gym. or finding a rewarding company to work for. you can also hire the equipment from a gym and have your own business in someones gym in the mean time. but its all up to how you want to go about it. Tony D
 
Thank you for the responses. I was looking into the ISSA certificate program. I'd definitely like to incorporate some nutrition, but rather than assigning someone a diet (as I am not a dietician), I'd like provide them with helpful guildelines, easy recipes, etc. etc. that they can establish and use in their every day routine. I wanted to tailor my training towards women, but am now concerned that a lot of military wives might not have the disposable income to afford personal training (it is sort of a luxury). I may be able to work something out if I want to do it on my own, but I'd have to offer a rate lower than or comparable to that which is offered at the free gyms on post. Either that, or offer something that they don't (for instance, the nutritional information and possible some social events like grocery store tours, wine tours, and cooking classes).

I'll probably go ahead with the $500 certificate program and get started maybe working part-time at a gym here and maybe offering some lower rates to my friends and acquaintances to start and get a client base. I think I have what it takes, I just now need to make the time for it.

Oh yeah, what kind of expenses do you encounter in your business? Insurance? Equipment? Overhead? Taxes?
 
Try ringing up a bunch of Gyms you'd like to work for and ask them. A course may look great but if the places you'd like to work for aren't a fan of it you might find it hard. The right course, not necesarily the hardest may make you more employable
 
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