State Of The Personal Training Industry

Is the personal training industry thriving? Or, has the deep recession  totally destroyed it? What are the fitness industry trends leading into 2010? Below is a detailed analysis which reveals the exact condition of the fitness business, and how it will affect you.

As a professional with a personal training career, you really need to understand what is going on in your market, and how to best serve it. By analyzing the data, and concepts I present below, you can strategically create a plan of action to profit from the various trends occurring in the industry. Pay close attention!

The data I am about to present to you was obtained from the IDEA Health And Fitness Industry Trends Study. IDEA questioned a good portion of their 23,000 plus members from over 80 countries on what they are doing in their perspective personal training businesses. The comprehensive survey was geared towards personal trainers, fitness entrepreneurs, and managers.

So how does a fitness trainer career look today? Well, I have good news! According to the IDEA survey, 98% of fitness entrepreneurs offered personal training services. Of these people, 53% believe one-on-one personal training is stable, while 33% believe there is still potential for growth in the industry. I do agree that we will continue to see growth in one on one personal training. With a greater emphasis placed on  preventative medicine today, consider a personal training business venture a profitable idea. The baby boomers are wanting to slow down the effects of aging, and obesity rates are still soaring. All of these trends suggest personal training will boom for quit some time.

Another personal training industry trend is group training. When I refer to group, I mean two or more individuals. Partner training is offered by 85% of personal trainers. Small group training is offered by 58% of fitness pros.   The reason this personal trainer trend is so hot is because of fitness boot camps. Incorporating partner or group training results in higher personal trainer income, lower client fees, and great fun centered around group support. It is a win-win situation for both fitness trainer, and client alike.

Please be advised that there is an increase of 9% in small group fitness training since last year. Perhaps you want to incorporate this model into your personal trainer business?

Another personal training industry trend  is for trainers to work with clients from vast array of ages, ability, and goals. It is very niche specific. Some personal training clients want post rehabilitation work. Some want to lose weight. Others want to improve athletic performance.

The specific trends shows that personal trainers are seeing clients from an aging population where most need specialized instruction. Perhaps you, as a fitness professional, should brush up on post rehab information, or begin networking with, and learning from physical therapists? A majority of the clients you will serve have chronic injuries (83%), or some sort of physical disability (85%).

In your personal training business, you will see more people with diabetes, and heart disease (61%). This number looks like it will grow in 2010. Of course, it is always wise to carve out a specialized niche for your training business. Therefore, you will be considered the go to personal trainer for that particular sector of the personal training industry.

How bad has the economy destroyed your fitness trainer career? Good news! According to the IDEA survey, despite the economy, 77% of clients trained one year or longer with their personal trainer in 2009. That number should improve as time goes on.

So what does a typical personal trainer session look like? According to the IDEA survey, 53% of training time is allocated for resistance training - 23% for cardio, 18% for flexibility, and, 19% for other training modalities.

Another fitness training industry trend to highlight is 72% of clients are female. You might want to target your personal trainer marketing material towards women.

According to the survey, the age demographics of fitness training clients broke down as follows:

35 - 44   —-  24%
45 - 54   —- 32%
55 - 64   —- 23%

What are the age demographics of your target market? Is you personal trainer marketing geared towards that number?

The average cost of a personal training session is $56.  Most pros in the personal training industry sell packages (63%) or as individual sessions (51%); just 14% pay for sessions with a monthly membership fee, and 5% pay with an annual membership fee.

Here are the top 10 services personal trainers offer (in order of popularity): personal training, adult, one-on-one (98%); strength training (97%); stretching and/or flexibility (96%); balance training (96%); functional resistance training (96%); flexibility/range of motion assessment (89%); height and weight assessment (86%); training for weight management (85%); partner personal training (85%); balance assessment (84%).

Sifting through all the data above shows the fitness trainer industry is alive, and well, despite the poor economy. Personal one on one training will continue to grow, as will the number of clients requiring services. As a fitness trainer, you are in a good position to benefit financially by helping others achieve better health, fitness, and quality of life. Please be advised, the personal training industry is rolling strong. There is no reason you shouldn’t be able to profit significantly.

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If you are a professional fitness trainer not taking home the personal training salary you prefer, then quickly give yourself a raise by following this proven income generating personal training business blueprint. 

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How are you going to capitalize on these fitness industry trends? What other trends do you see happening in 2010? Go ahead, and post your comments, and thoughts below. We are listening.

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