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Dear Health and Fitness Professional,

Welcome to the August edition of Be A Better You - Training's newsletter. September Edition will be with you on the 10th.

Let me start by trying to define the fitness industry for the purpose of this article:

Any job role that involves facing the member of a gym, health club, leisure centre, sporting club or similar establishments, I’m considering to be part of the Fitness Industry. Purely administrative roles such as accounts and health and safety, for example, aren’t unique.

1.     There is a great variety of interesting roles to choose from and have a career in! Let me pick some:

Personal Trainer, Fitness Professional, Studio Professional, Member Relations, Fitness Manager, Retention Manager, General Manager, Sports Masseur, Physiotherapist, Swimming Instructor, Studio Coordinator, Sports Coach (tennis, squash, triathlon etc)

2.     Working your way through the Fitness Industry means that you’ll meet all of the above people learning new things and getting ideas along the way. In fact, it’s very common for people to have sampled a few different job roles before focusing on one (or more).

This is where you’re employability and profitability goes up. For example, a Personal Trainer who can teach studio classes and has a sports massage qualification will be attractive to a potential employer when looking for a job. If already in the job, the money making potential for that PT has gone up too. Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised how many PT’s say ‘I don’t like teaching groups’, or ‘I’ll stick to squats and press ups’. Get more skills and there WILL be a job out there for you!

3.     The credit crunch has undoubtedly affected a large amount of people and income levels in certain sectors have dropped. However, the desire to ‘get fit, tone up, lose weight’ has not subsided.  There are many theories to why this is. One obvious reason is that heightened stress and work worries have contributed to the need for stress relief. This is one of the major reasons people go to the gym, to forget about the pressures of life and start to feel good about exercising. I know because that’s what I do! This means that for anyone in the Fitness Industry there will always be someone to assist with achieving their goals.

4.     New gyms and other types of fitness and exercise centres are opening up on a regular basis to cope with demand. From small independents to large chains, fitness centres opened at a rate of over 2 per week in 20081

For any newly qualified fitness instructors, experienced Personal trainers, or other skilled people mentioned above, there are no shortage of establishments to choose from.  Of course there will always competition for jobs but you will find one, especially if you can offer more than just one service.

5.     Wherever you live (more so in the cities) there will be a gym within 10 minutes distance from you. This is important for various reasons but to focus on one would be time. Being a Personal Trainer can mean having a client at 6am and one at 6pm. Living not too far away means you won’t burn yourself out with 13 hour days. Go home, have a nap, come back!

6.     Every day is different! Believe me when I say that I go to work with a game plan for what I expect to achieve (I’m a Fitness Manager and Personal Trainer). Almost invariably, things come up that need immediate attention and a flexible approach to work.

Different types of people come in at different times of day and different days also bring in different people. It means that it’s very difficult to get bored, because there’s always something to do.

7.     Finally, and probably the most important observation I’ve made is that the people make the Fitness Industry unique. I’ve been in various jobs before but never have I been surrounded by so many energetic, happy (ish!), and generally positive attitudes. Yes work can be stressful, yes members complain, yes clients cancel, but on the whole it’s an exciting environment to work in because people, members and staff, are there to improve their lives.

Simon Bubb August 2009 ©

1 The Leisure Database Company