Washington DC Personal trainer salary

by Derrick
(Washington DC)

If you are new and don't have a core clientèle, you NEED to work for a company. It really helps to live in a major metropolitan city as well so move if you can. You will make significantly less other places. The gym may take a large cut but it's easier to get leads.

Establish yourself with client before/after pics! THEY ARE YOUR RESUME (get your clients permission to use them of course). When you have just a couple of good ones, you are set for life and can always make that skeptical lead into a sure lead.

Today I sell 19 out of 20 leads. No lie. If they doubt my skill, I just bring out the before and afters. Works every time.

When you have established yourself in the gym, GET A WEBSITE and move to independent. These gyms are hard to find but most major cities have at least one. Now that you have your proof of results, you can keep 100% of your earnings and all your clients need to do is purchase a membership.

Today I utilize a waiting list on my website and sell my availability on ebay to the highest bidder. Not all trainers may have the demand to do this, but I have been fortunate to be blessed with the talent and skill I have learned.

Be patient, you will be broke your first year. Long hours translated into only 21k for me my first year, 32k my second, 45k my third, 55k my fourth, 62k my fifth, and now that I moved to independent, If I maintain my current level of 40 sessions per week, I should make no less than $150,000.

Be patient..good trainers go far and bad trainers go nowhere. Give it a shot, I never knew I could ever make it this far but I stuck with it and it's gravy train from here.

Rating

Insightful but a few questions
by: Frank

Derrick...Firstly, I'd like to thank you for your comments and for sharing what realistic expectations should be for one beginning a personal training career. I too live within the Washington DC Metro Area. I have been wanting to get in the PT biz for years but always feared that I wouldn't be able to generate the kind of income I'm looking for of a 100k or more annually. I already make close to that in my corporate job, but I'm extremely unhappy with my job. Physically, I am very muscular yet lean and I train naturally. I keep myself in top shape because I love it, not because I'm trying to prove anything. As I division 1 athlete in college, I've experienced a lot of injuries (both minor and serious) and am very familiar with rehabilitation to get one back to normal. I'd love to be in a work environment where I could train myself, share the multitude of knowledge I've acquired over the years with others to help them achieve their fitness goals and get paid for it! According to you this is possible and I was pleased to read your comments. I do, however, have a four important questions. You did such a great job of illustrating the initial and long term expectations of a PT, and it would be extremely helpful if you would be kind enough to answer these for me:
(1)Have you found any certifications to be better than others when it comes to applying for PT jobs at higher end gyms like Equinox?
(2)How do you go about finding an "Independent" gym to work for here in the DC Metro Area (any specific names of places to look into)?
(3)Before you decided to go on to an independent gym, how many clients do you think one should have before branching out into that direction?
(4)How did you go about building your website - who did you turn to for assistance for something like that & how do you market your website to attract traffic?

Washington DC Personal trainer salary

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