How and Why I Became a Personal Trainer
I first started the gym when I was around 16. I was your typical skinny kid in school nothing but skin and bones and was often called spaghetti arms, what are good friends for aye. I started the gym because I was fed up of being so skinny and weak. Me and my friend signed up to the local gym together from there, I guess, was the birth of the new me. I still remember my first session; we trained for 2 hours trying out all the machines, I instantly fell in love with it. I loved the hard work and satisfaction of pushing myself and bettering myself, and accomplishing a long gruelling workout. I remember walking out of the gym laughing because I was already aching and could hardly lift my arms. I continued going to the gym with my friend as often as I could, learning new things along the way. It was about 2 months until my friends started to notice my improvements. It felt great they asked what I had been doing and then they wanted to start coming to the gym as well. I would watch youtube videos for hours with my friend learning new techniques and exercises and then put them into practice. By this time I had started training with another friend in his conservatory, he had a bench, dumbbells and a barbell and that’s all we needed.
At the time I was studying a BTEC in sport I knew I wanted to do something involved in sport when I grew up but was unsure what I wanted to focus on. Later that year I gave up caring about the course I was taking I wasn’t interested in sport itself. I became uninterested and later failed my first year. After I found out I didn’t pass the year I knew I didn’t want to retake the course. For a while I was unemployed only working temporary jobs; I went from working in a stockroom at Next, to shelf stacker. I even tried door to door sales, which only lasted 2 weeks. I quit straight after someone invited me inside for more than a sale, I knew this job wasn’t for me. I spent hours upon hours looking online for jobs. I was in a rut. I was unemployed and had nothing to do other than train and play xbox. I knew I liked training and enjoyed learning about the gym. Most of all I enjoyed sharing my love and my knowledge with others and wanted to help more than just my friends. So, I started searching for gym based jobs and came across an advert for a FREE PERSONAL TRAINING COURSE. I thought it must be a joke as courses are around £3000, but still I applied anyway. What’s the worst thing that could happen.
A few weeks passed and I received an email saying I had been accepted onto this course. flags were still going up and I wasn’t fully convinced. That was until I did some research on the company and phoned to speak to them. I found out it was not a hoax and was the real thing. For the next month I had to get up 5:45 in the morning 5 days a week to catch a bus to a different city. I’d walk from the bus station for 30-40 minutes until I got to the university I studied at. I’d spend the day learning everything I needed to know before I would make my 2-hour journey back home. The course was great I looked forward to being there every day. I'd learn about the body, how it functions and how to teach people how to exercise safely and how to train for different goals. After I had completed my 4-week course I had to go out and find a 6-month apprenticeship to continue my training. I tried about 10 different gyms to see if they would help me complete my course. Some gyms turned me away, some gyms I didn’t see myself working in or like the feel of and then, finally, I landed my first job in a gym. I worked hard and learnt quickly. I completed my 6-month course in 3 and I was now a qualified gym instructor.
After a year had passed I became bored with just fitness instructing, it sounds like a good job but I was just a glamorised cleaner, and that is not why I got into the job. I got into it to help people achieve their goals, like I had. I wanted to install the passion that I had into others for training, help them achieve results and be happier and healthier. I realised that again, I was in a rut. I got in contact with the company who I had done my previous course with to start my personal training. Promising myself that I would no longer let myself fall into a rut, I would work hard to keep progressing. My course took a year this time, but I had passed and started personal training from the gym I was working at. I was told not to bother trying to personal train there as a personal trainer before had tried but only had 1-2 bookings a week. This didn’t stop me as I was willing to put the work in and help as many people as I can. After 5-6 months I had built up to 10 clients and had 17 sessions booked in every week.
I was finally doing what I had set out to do and loving my job. I was helping people achieve great results, they were feeling happier and a lot were surprised they now enjoyed exercising. After 7 months a great opportunity came up I had found a place to set up my own personal training studio. I was on holiday when I got the message it was mine and I would need to start paying for it as soon as I got home. I had about 6-8 weeks to get the place decorated and filled with equipment before opening, by this time I was working my instructor hours, my personal training at the other gym and trying to set up my current gym. It was tough work, but I finally got it done 16 months down the line I’m still running and still loving my job.
So, there is my story of how I started and where I am now. I hope you all enjoyed this read 😊
Remember to always work hard for what you want in life, times can be tough, you can fall in ruts and become demotivated but never quit we all have it in us to achieve more set your sights on your goals and go for it.