We all know personal trainers work with a range of clients across their working day and help people to achieve their health and fitness goals. But what do the in’s and out’s of a PTs day look like?
For those seriously considering becoming qualified as a personal trainer, here’s just one example of what daily PT life can be like. However, there is a myriad of possibilities with a personal training career.
As a personal trainer every time that you walk out the door in the morning, you will deal with a different number of clients, responsibilities and personal circumstances.
With this in mind, we thought it would be good to provide a general day in the life of a solo personal trainer with a solid client base. While this isn’t exactly what will occur in your career, it highlights a potential schedule, showcasing the different elements of the job.
5 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. – Early mornings are a necessity
For many personal trainers, the day will start before the crack of dawn at around 5 a.m.. Mornings before work is a key training slot for clients as they seek a healthy and productive start to their day. However, personal trainers also need to look after themselves in anticipation of a potential workday longer than 12 hours.
As such, personal trainers should try to stick to a number of personal rules including good quality sleep, plenty of water and good nutrition. It’s hard to back up weeks of long hours without looking after yourself!
Personal trainers need to dedicate time to eating well as they may only have a small amount of time to snack between their clients throughout the day. Preparation is key and having your meals planned out makes it easier to grab and run!
In fact, it’s not uncommon for personal trainers to work with up to 12 different clients between 6 a.m. and midday, with little or no breaks, meaning that filling their body with the right food soon after waking up is key.
Breakfast is most certainly an important meal for personal trainers.12 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Time away from clients
Depending on your schedule and your client base you may find that the hours between midday and 4 p.m. are free for you, especially if you are fully booked for the morning.
After a busy morning helping clients continue to strive for their personal goals, it is important for any personal trainer to step out of the work environment for a couple of hours. Whether this involves topping up that hungry stomach, picking the kids up after school, catching up on paperwork or dedicating time to your own personal fitness, it’s important to try and take some time out before the second session.
While you might feel under pressure to, your life as a personal trainer is not 24/7 so take time to step away from your busy schedule during the day and enjoy the time off.
4 p.m. to 8 p.m. – Evening clients
It’s important to tailor the training based on how tired or engaged they are with fitness.
With the kids safely home from school, a full stomach and the dog walked, it is often time for personal trainers to get back on the proverbial horse, with evening sessions being extremely popular amongst those who are busy at work during the day.
As clients may have spent the day in the office, at school or in other employment, it’s important to tailor the training based on how tired or engaged they are with fitness, and the type of session they are attending – one-on-one, boot camps or group fitness. This is certainly where personal trainers who take the time to understand their clients are at an advantage. To avoid injury or fatigue, training sessions need to be specific and individualised.
This is simply part of a quality session delivery plan. Once the client has arrived for their session, personal trainers should be asking about their day and seeing how they are feeling. It might also help to see how they have nourished themselves throughout the day to ensure the planned session meets their physical state.
In some cases, this can mean the session has to change. However, for an experienced personal trainer, this is part and parcel of the job and they can be flexible to meet the requirements of their clients.
8 p.m. bedtime – Last clients
After saying goodbye to the final client of the day, it is time for personal trainers to head home and begin to recover and prepare for tomorrow.
While it’s tempting to skip out of the gym the second your client leaves, you should always take the time to clean up your work space – weights away – before you leave! It helps you prepare for the next day and is common courtesy if you are in a shared environment and a basic requirement for OH&S.
After a long day, it’s critical to spend some time unwinding, whether that’s with the family, with friends, or a good book, and take in some quality nutrition.
Adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. For a personal trainer getting up at 5 a.m. the next morning, a bedtime of around 9.30 p.m. to 10 p.m. is what will keep you functioning.
Once you are settled in bed, it will only be a few hours until you are up and helping people achieve their health and fitness goals again!
Want to learn more?
If this sounds like a career you would like to pursue, get in contact with the team at Australian Fitness Academy today. Places for our Certificate III & IV in Fitness courses are open now!
