Hey Chick,

This is a BIG question for so many women who are graduating from our Fitness and Nutrition Expert certification program and are in the process of considering changing careers, taking on clients part time or jumping into this fitness world as a side hustle, they want to know how to make more impact but also more income.

In today’s episode of Fit Chicks Chat we are talking all about differences between personal training vs group fitness from a business standpoint. We are preaching how you can make more money, more impact and work one fourteenth of the hours to get the same results. 

Watch, listen or read below to right out how…

Immediately everyone seems to believe that by becoming a personal trainer you will be able to make more money because the industry average of $50 an hour sounds amazing, right? Like way better than any other part time job or side hustle especially since it is doing something you love! 

Admittedly, I even felt the same way once upon a time. I remember when I first was certified as a yoga instructor I was asked to take on a private client in home for $50 a session. I thought I was dreaming, I mean $50 for an hour teaching yoga and hanging out with an awesome friend, what could be better? The truth is this was an amazing opportunity and I loved every moment, but and this is a big but if you want to SCALE your business you have to break out of this mold.

You see if you are trading hours for dollars as a straight exchange you will always be hustling and when we learned this is when we really started to see the impact and income increase.

Let’s look at the facts:

You are one person!

Which means you only have so many hours in a day. So for each hour if you are charging $50 an hour then your max revenue you can make is $1200 that is if you work 24 hours a day which is impossible. So lets break it down to what is possible and what most hardcore hustling trainers are doing which is about 8 hours which is $400 a day. 

$2800 a week if you are working 7 days a week for 8 hours a day (56 hours a week)

$11,200 a month again working 7 days a week for 8 hours a day (224 hours a month)

Now, what if I told you I was making that in an hour a day? Yes, $400 an hour! It is possible when you switch over to the world of group fitness. 

Let’s do the math. 20 students at $20 an hour = $400. Simple

$1600 a week teaching 4 hours a week (I had sold out fitness classes back to back so only taught two nights a week for 2 hours a night)

$6400 a month teaching a grand total of 16 hours a month

So in comparison to the 224 hours a PT trainer is working I was making half the revenue but in one 14th of the time it would take a personal trainer. So if I wanted to multiply my time by 2 and work 32 hours a month (less than a PT would work in a week) I could have been making $12800 a month!! 

Also I want to point out that we are in this industry to help people and serve to help others live their healthiest, happiest lives. With personal training and using the numbers above you will be able to serve 8 people a day vs with group fitness you are able to help 20 people in one hour!!

The truth is in the numbers and I hope just this alone will help you to see what is the right path!

On that hustle note though, I want to remind you as well that while this point isn’t about $ it is about time. You decided to become a trainer because of your love for spreading health and fitness to the world. You wanted to help change lives through the use of healthy eating and movement but during this hustle life the one thing that happens more times than not is trainer burnout! 

With their being only so many hours in a day and you working your tail off to get clients, build plans, train clients, working split shifts at the gym (ie. morning, lunch rush then after work), you forget about yourself and you are spending time rushing from gym to gym, or client to client, eating in your car, not sleeping enough so you can get in the morning sweat sessions as they are in high demand and you are left feeling depleted.

So on that, why not look to cut those hours in more than half?

This is a big thing I have never really understood as to why trainers do not want to move over to group fitness to maximize time and energy to build the life you want outside of the gym. 

Finally, when we go back to the money thing you also have to remember that resources are often limited for clients. While they might LOVE you as a trainer, like they should, and value that you are truly changing their lives, the money just gets tight after a while of shelling out $50 a sweat session and they end up cancelling after a month, three months and now you are left looking to find someone to fill that spot.

This is just another reason I love group fitness sooo much! It is affordable for your people so your people stick around. When it can be only $20 a session vs $50 your clients can build this into their long term budget and as long as your programs are still getting them results because you are building progressive programs within a class setting with different modifications to challenge all of your members you will no longer have to struggle to fill the classes. 

In my experience I would fill them once and then they would be sold out for good. Truth! I never had to worry about finding new people because there was no room in my classes to fill. I had a maximum capacity of 20 per class and they were jammed for month after month, year after year with the same amazing community of women wanting to sweat, laugh and hit their goals together. 

So taking it back now to the original question, Personal Training VS Group Fitness: Who Makes More Money? The numbers tell the whole story, Group Fitness hands down.

Now if you are a personal trainer right now and not offering group fitness, what are you waiting for? And, if you are someone thinking of making a career change, doing fitness on the side or part time I urge you to look at group fitness as a way to make more impact and income.

If you are thinking of getting into this industry and are not sure where to even begin, make sure you check out the FIT CHICKS Academy Fitness and Nutrition Expert program which is like 4 certs in one training program.

Where we certify you as a Group Fitness Trainer, Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach and Wellness Coach and as a bonus also gives you an entire Business Module included in the program to get you set up for success once you graduate. This certification will allow you to teach in all areas and help you build the life, health and career you love.

If you are ready to get certified, become a fitness and nutrition coach and build a biz you love, download our full program brochure at www.fitchicksacademy.com/fnebrochure

There is so much opportunity now more than ever so if you have the passion, let’s help you make it happen!

Laura & Amanda

Founders of FIT CHICKS Academy