r/PersonalTrainer

Hey everyone! I’m looking to take on a few people for online football & fitness coaching.

I’ve been training and performing at a good level for a really long time now and can help with:

\- Football fitness & conditioning

\- Strength & athleticism

\- Beginner/intermediate gym training

\- Building a structured training plan

I’m mainly looking to work with beginners and amateur athletes and tailor the plan around your goals, schedule and current level.

I’m offering the first 5 spots free in exchange for honest feedback. After that, pricing can be discussed depending on what you need.

If interested, feel free to DM me your goals and current level and we can go from there.

I got my NASM certification about a month ago and was hired at a 24 hour fitness about two weeks ago, and Monday I have my very first clients. Three of them are the free introductory session that comes with a new membership and one of them is a real paid session.
I have been shadowing the other trainer, he is very knowledgeable and helpful but he totally has his own very unique style. And with all the information online and endless options of workouts to choose from, I am completely overwhelmed as to how and what I should do. Sure I took the course and I know how to navigate a gym but I am just absolutely panicked at how I should go about coaching my first few sessions.

Please don’t tell me I just need to get out there and learn as I go; i’m fully aware of this! It’s just those first few days/weeks/months that I am worried about.

Please help?!?!

Seeking advice from the online fitness coaches

I’m currently at around 25 clients, and it's getting really hard to keep everyone engaged.

regular check-ins, replying to questions, reviewing progress, making adjustments, keeping people accountable are really burning me out.

I don't think I'd be able to keep scaling without decreasing the quality of my service.

I’m curious how u guys deal with this as your client list grows

How many clients are u currently managing, and what’s the major problem you’re facing when it comes to delivering a good experience for all of them individually?

Looking for some real advice. Thanks in advance!

I'm at 22 clients right now, feels manageable

People say they handle 50+ online clients and i don't understand how

What's your real capacity and what systems let you scale without half-assing it?

I’ve been thinking about this for a while.
Most fitness advice seems to assume that everyone:
Has 5–6 days a week to train
Sleeps perfectly
Knows exactly what they’re doing in the gym
Has unlimited time to meal prep
Eats the same “fitness foods”
Has no injuries or limitations
Real life obviously doesn’t work like that.

Some people can train 5 days.
Some can manage 3.
Some work desk jobs. Some work shifts. Some are parents. Some are starting from zero.
And for most Indians, a realistic diet isn’t chicken and broccoli every day. It’s rice, roti, dal, eggs, paneer, vegetables, chicken, rajma, etc.
So I built something to try and solve this.

It’s called Re:Form.
You tell it about yourself — your body, lifestyle, goals, diet, training availability and limitations — and it creates:

Workout
A weekly training plan with exercises, sets, reps and rest.

Recovery
A recovery routine designed alongside your training.

Diet
A personalised Indian meal plan based on your dietary preference.

The interesting part is that these aren’t three separate generic plans. They’re generated from the same information, so the idea is to create one week that actually makes sense together.

It’s completely free and doesn’t require an account.

https://reform.run.place

I built it and I’m now trying to figure out where it sucks.

So I’d genuinely love some brutal feedback:
What would make you NOT follow the plan Re:Form gives you?
Too much training?
Wrong exercises?
Unrealistic food?
Not personalised enough?
Something completely different?

I’d rather hear the criticism than “looks cool.” 😅

Need to set different protein targets on training vs rest days

But Kahunas as far as I can see only does "daily averages"

also can't do weekly calorie targets, only daily

Am I asking for too much customization or is this basic stuff other platforms have

I’m doing some research into how fitness coaches actually run their coaching business day-to-day, and I’d really appreciate some brutally honest answers from people who are currently coaching clients.
I’m particularly interested in how you handle things like:
● Workout programming
● Nutrition/meal plans
● Weekly check-ins
● Progress photos & measurements
● Client communication
● Tracking adherence/progress
● Payment collection
● Following up with clients
● Keeping track of which clients need attention
I’m curious about the actual workflow, not what you think the ideal software should look like.
A few things I’d love to know:

1. How many clients are you currently managing?
2. What tools do you currently use?
   WhatsApp, Google Sheets, Forms, Trainerize, TrueCoach, Everfit, etc.
3. What takes up the most time every week?
4. What is the most frustrating part of managing clients?
5. Have you tried coaching/client-management software before? If yes, what did you dislike about it?
6. What do you still have to do manually that you wish was easier?
7. If you could eliminate ONE repetitive task from your coaching business, what would it be?

I’m exploring a product in this space, but I haven’t built it yet. I specifically don’t want to build another generic coaching app based on assumptions.
I’m trying to understand where the real problems are first.
So if you’re a coach, trainer, or online fitness coach, I’d genuinely appreciate your experience — including if you think existing solutions are already good enough.
Thanks!

Curious how other solo trainers handle the business side of things building and updating workout plans for each client, tracking their progress, scheduling sessions, and getting paid.

I've seen people use a mix of spreadsheets, Google Docs, Instagram DMs, Calendly, Venmo, What's your actual setup? What's the most annoying or time-consuming part of it?

I do not recommend that anyone should use personal training at Crunch. Once you sign on the dotted line you are doomed!
Late last year i started to usr a personal trainer at a Crunch gym (Cherrydale, Greenville, SC). All was well until i got injured in my lower back. My trainer was great and genuinely tried to help me, but he saw that i was going to need physical therapy before i could continue. He resigned shortly thereafter and i went and had several x-rays & MRIs done. I even shared my results with the head of personal training there, in writing! So they knew i had to step back.
But recently i have been getting threatening emails and phone calls from Aldi, bill collector, saying that I owe them $1200 for personal training that I never received! No missed appointments, no personal trainer assigned to me, no notices until now! They knew I couldn’t come in until I finished my PT!
Such a scam! Don’t fall for their personal training scam!

I’ll keep it fairly short and to the point. I’m a recent graduate looking for career advice. Fitness is a passion of mine and I’ve got my personal training cert, however, I’m currently working a boring desk corporate job that i want to leave.

I would love to start personal training online since it can be scalable, it aligns with my natural interests, and I want to build something of my own.

I’m hesitant to build content, I get anxious in front of a screen and don’t really know if I fit the “influencer” narrative. I think my day-to-day routine can be interesting for people to see since I balance work life with fitness, social interaction, and various other things so maybe starting to document that could be a start?

I’m just not sure how to really get started, so any advice would be great, thanks.

My rides and runs are in Strava. My sleep and HRV are on my Garmin. Apple Health has a partial copy of both. None of them see the others, so every Sunday I'd sit there with three apps open trying to work out whether the week I'd planned back in January was still a good idea given how I'd actually slept.

I got annoyed enough to build something that does it for me. Full disclosure, I made this and it's my project - it reads whatever you connect (Strava, Garmin, Apple Health) and puts load, sleep and HRV on the same screen, then suggests the next session off the combined picture rather than off a fixed plan.

What it doesn't do: it's not a replacement for a real coach, it won't fix bad training, and it's read-only - it doesn't touch or change anything in Strava.

Mostly posting because I want to know if the underlying problem is as common as I think it is, or whether I'm the only one doing the Sunday spreadsheet thing. How do the rest of you handle having data in multiple places? And if you've tried tools like this before, what made you drop them?

Happy to share the link if anyone wants it, but I don't want to break the sub's rules so I'll leave it out of the post.

I’ve been building a coaching platform and I keep running into the same question: what do trainers actually need versus what just makes software more complicated?

A lot of platforms seem to keep adding features, pricing tiers and extras, but I’m curious what matters most to the people actually using them every day.

If you could design your ideal coaching platform, what would be absolutely necessary?

Workout programming? Nutrition tracking? Messaging? Progress tracking? Client accountability? Payments? Scheduling?

And what features do you think are mostly clutter?

I’m genuinely interested in hearing how trainers here think about it.

🏋️ Looking for a Personal Fitness Instructor? I’d Love to Help

Hey everyone! 👋

I’m a fitness instructor offering personal training/coaching for anyone who wants to get stronger, build muscle, improve their fitness, or simply become more consistent with their workouts.

I can help with: • Strength & muscle-building workouts

• Weight loss / body recomposition

• Proper exercise form and technique

• Workout programming

• General fitness & conditioning

• Beginners who aren’t sure where to start

My approach is simple: no crazy shortcuts, no unnecessary complicated routines—just structured training, proper technique, and consistency.

If you're interested in working with a personal fitness instructor or just want to ask questions about training, feel free to DM me. 💪

Let’s work toward your goals together!

And honestly, even €100 should be the minimum.

I see too many good personal trainers charging €40, €50 or €70/month for online coaching because they're afraid people won't pay more.

But think about what you're actually providing:

• A personalized training program
• Regular adjustments
• Progress tracking
• Check-ins
• Nutrition guidance in many cases
• Messages and support
• Accountability
• Your time AND your expertise

At €50/month, you need 40 clients just to generate €2,000/month in revenue.

At €100/month, you need 20.

And €100 isn't where everyone should price their coaching. It's where I think the conversation should START.

From there, add the value of your expertise.

ne thing I always tell coaches:

Don't ask, “How much would someone pay for a workout plan?”

Ask, “How valuable is the problem I'm helping them solve?”

Very different question.

Curious to hear from other online coaches here:

What's the minimum you think an online coach should charge per month?

I’m curious how others would interpret this situation.
I’ve been going to a local gym on and off for a while. There’s a trainer there who often seems to watch me, notices where I am in the gym, and frequently passes by my area. I sometimes get the feeling that he’s paying more attention to me than to other members.

At the same time, he never starts a conversation, doesn’t greet me, and has never directly approached me. I usually work out alone with headphones on and keep to myself.
Out of curiosity, I checked his Instagram. It’s private, he follows very few people, appears to have very little activity, and doesn’t seem interested in connecting with gym members online either.
Have any of you experienced something similar with a trainer or someone at a gym? Did it turn out they were interested, just observant because of their job, socially reserved, or was it all in your head? How would you interpret this situation?

Hello guys! I start my first day as a trainer tomorrow, and I’m nervous. I’m 21F, and I feel overwhelmed too. It’s the biggest gym in my city, and the other trainers are way older than me and much more experienced, and I’m not.
I know how to do personal training and create plans, so that’s the easy part. But I’m really nervous about the group classes.
If you guys have any advice, I’d be really grateful. Thank you! 🙏

Hey guys,
I’m trying to lock in and get into proper lean shape over the next 3 months. I do better with some accountability and structured guidance, so I’m looking for a local coach or a short-term intensive program around Swindon.
If you’ve worked with anyone great locally for
Getting lean, let me know who you'd recommend. Thanks in advance!