I’ve been in the pursuit of strength and fitness for over 30 years and first began working in the fitness industry over 20 years ago. Physical training is a discipline I’ve maintained throughout my life that has grown into a passion that eventually led to the building of a career. This career has included working as a personal trainer in a commercial gym to developing my own coaching business and eventually owning my own gym. Over these many years since I first began coaching others, I have gained a lot of experience and learned much. Like most jobs, there have been upsides and downsides. In this article, I will share some of the things I truly love about the fitness industry. Look for part two later where I’ll discuss the parts I don’t love so much.
Best Fitness Coach in Greensboro
The thing I love best about working in the fitness industry is the personal connections I make with the people I coach. Coaching has broadened my circle of contacts and friends more than anything else. There are many people I would have never known had I not been in this business. It makes me sad to think of missing out on those relationships. It’s just my natural bent if you will, to want to know my clients personally and have a meaningful impact on their lives. In working as a coach, I’ve become a keeper of many secrets. It’s still a surprise what people will confide in me, but it is a great honor to have their trust. When my clients experience great accomplishments, I get to share in that with them. I find it just as valuable to have also gotten to share in some of my clients’ devastating lows and even tragedies. It’s a blessing to be involved in them all. The experiences deepen our friendship and help me become a more effective coach.
I also love the fact that the work I do is very important. Helping other people to improve their strength and fitness has far-reaching benefits that spread into virtually every other area of their lives. This brings great satisfaction to me personally. It is great to be so fully engaged in a career where what I do to earn money is in line with my personal convictions. There are few other things I can think of off the top of my head that would check the same boxes for me.
Why I Love Being a Personal Trainer
Another thing I love about working in the fitness industry is the hours I work and the ability to determine my rate of pay. Of course, there are limiting factors to both of these things, but suffice it to say they are two factors I have more control of as a personal trainer than most professions. I tend to be an early-riser, so it suits me well to start my day with my first client at 6:00am. I love getting my day started before the sun has risen and to also be done by early afternoon. I get to see most of my people first thing in their day and get them started off on the right foot. There’s also the ability to make more money as I gain more experience and further differentiate myself in the industry by becoming an expert at what I do. The more I learn, the better I become as a trainer. This enables me to charge a higher rate, since my experience makes me increasingly unique in my ability to help people efficiently reach their goals. When people value their time and truly want to make progress toward their goals, they quickly see the value I offer in exchange for what they are paying.
In closing, there are many things that make a career in the fitness industry a great fit for me. I could probably write more than most would care to read, but these which I’ve listed above are some of my favorites. By far, though, my number one is getting to connect in a meaningful way with my clients. It’s great to help them reach their goals, but simply getting to know them and experience their personalities is very enriching. It’s the thing that makes all the challenges of working in the fitness industry worth the hassles. Stay tuned for part two of this post where I will talk a bit about that!