Hi, anyone here an actual PT? do you enjoy your job? how do people react when you tell them you’re a PT?
can you self sustain and be happy?
i have a degree in information systems which is as boring as it sounds. the jobs that im looking at seem really boring and im afraid of wasting the rest of my life doing something i dont want to and being too tired at the end of a day to do anything about it.
im 22 and have no idea what i should do, i have a degree in IS which i dont like. i love diet/nutrition/working out. but have no paper work to show for my knowledge.
any advice or personal experiences if you are/were in this situation is welcome.
Wow, I read your post and thought “I could have written that!”
I just graduated a week ago with a bachelor’s in MIS but somewhere along the line I stopped being able to see myself happy doing it. I think that time was when I changed from being obese and sedentary to finding lifting, T-Nation, etc.
The one thing which I did though is get personal trainer certification. I got the NSCA-CPT after looking at a bunch of different certs because it is nationally recognized, and it’s also one of the most highly respected (as opposed to getting your cert from some crappy organization nobody’s heard of). I’m just saying this by way of advice. The NSCA-CPT took me a few months of studying. If you go for it, you can PM me and I’ll give you some tips.
So now I have the cert and my shitty MIS degree. The thing is, I have no experience working in training, and my physique, while I am in much better shape, is small and would not ‘impress’ clients, which I think is necessary to really get anywhere. I can apply for PT jobs at places like LA Fitness, but that’s about it.
So even if you get your cert, starting off is rough, you will probably start in a commercial gym at a very low pay grade. Just some things to think about.
The other thing is, I worry that if I worked in the gym all day it would suck my passion for lifting etc right out of me - maybe it’s better to keep it as a hobby and a personal thing instead of making it “work.”
Lemme know what you decide… I’m trying to figure this one out myself.
[quote]redeyemikey wrote:
Hi, anyone here an actual PT?[/quote]
Yep.
Very much.
Funny thing. When I used to call myself a personal trainer, I’d get the standard “So you must workout alot?” comments or just get looked at like a typical meathead. Once I began identifying myself (and acting) as a fitness coach, people were a bit more interested in what I do.
I think Mike Boyle has talked about this somewhere; how some guys are called S&C coaches, some are athletic coaches, some are trainers. Same basic job, it’s just a different title. But it makes a difference in people’s perceptions.
You absolutely can, but if you go out on your own (as opposed to working for a gym), realize that you’re a small business owner, with all the risk, responsibilities, and stresses associated.
You don’t necessarily “need” a paper certificate before you start sharing your knowledge. But if you want to be employed by a gym, then yes, you’ll need to get certified.
Talk a buddy into letting you put him through a two month program just for the experience. That’ll let you A - see how you really like it. And B - see how good you actually are at it.
I will say that working at a gym 8 hrs a day can zap some of your passion for lifting. I found that I couldn’t lift after work because I am so ready to get out of there. Lifting during the middle of my shift is what works well.
[quote]wakiki wrote:
The thing is, I have no experience working in training, and my physique, while I am in much better shape, is small and would not ‘impress’ clients, which I think is necessary to really get anywhere. I can apply for PT jobs at places like LA Fitness, but that’s about it.[/quote]
You’d be surprised by the types/shapes of people I’ve worked alongside, as trainers. The full range from juicehead-competitive bodybuilders to marathon runners to simply fat guys (citing an old knee injury as to why he couldn’t train much), female pilates instructors to former Israeli IDF soldiers (true story, she had immigrated to the US from Israel just a few years earlier. She was a hardcore trainer, but man did she get results.)
Bottom-line is, if you have a good personality and get people results, you have some latitude with your appearance. That’s not to say that people don’t judge books by their covers, because they do. So you might find it tougher at first, but it’s not a major obstacle that can’t be overcome.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
I will say that working at a gym 8 hrs a day can zap some of your passion for lifting. I found that I couldn’t lift after work because I am so ready to get out of there. Lifting during the middle of my shift is what works well.[/quote]
A good point. Catching a few sets whenever possible is sometimes easier than running through a full routine. Also, a membership to a gym other than the one you work at could be a good idea, to avoid those mid-set interruptions/questions.