A Day in the Life of a Personal Trainer

busy personal trainer

Personal training does not fit what would be considered to be a “traditional” career path. With hours being set mainly by client availability, there isn’t necessarily a “9:00-5:00, Monday-Friday” set schedule. Without that set schedule, a trainer lives their life around the availability of their clients. 

Whether a trainer is focusing on their own health, wellness, and nutrition; finding new clients to expand their business; furthering their education; or going about normal activities outside of the gym, activities have to fit their clients’ schedules for training and programming.

If you compare two different personal trainers’ schedules, they may look fairly similar. The biggest difference will come from client availability. When the client has free time to train, a personal trainer should do their best to be available at that  time.  

A personal trainer’s schedule is not as predictable as working in an office setting. As a result, many trainers will either work a split shift—work hours are separated between a morning and evening block of time. In many cases, clients are available early in the morning, sometimes as early as 5:00 AM, and later in the evening.

To help highlight how a trainer would operate on a day where they split their working hours between morning and evening.

Example Personal Trainer Schedule

4:45 AM: Wake up

4:50 AM: Prepare for the day

6:00 AM: First morning client

10:30 AM: Last morning client

11:15 AM: Workout

1:30 PM: Shower and Lunch

2:00-4:00 PM: Downtime, program planning, and evening preparation

4:00 PM: First evening client

6:30 PM: Last evening client

7:00 PM: Meal prep, downtime

9:30 PM: Bedtime

Alternative Personal Trainer Schedule

This is a secondary timeline to help highlight how a trainer would operate on a day when they train all their clients in one block.

4:00 AM: Wake up

4:05 AM: Prepare for the day

5:00-11:30 AM: Personal training sessions

11:30 AM: Snack

11:45-1:30 PM: Work out 

1:30-4:00 PM: Free time

4:00-6:00 PM: Dinner and food prep

6:00 PM: Downtime

9:00 PM: Bedtime

Virtual Training

As virtual training gained explosive popularity last year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, it morphed into a useful tool for trainers and clients to still work together even if a scheduling conflict arose. Virtual training at home with limited equipment may not be an optimal option compared to face-to-face person training at a well-stocked facility, but it can still provide valuable time between client and trainer. 

Virtual training is a valuable option for those with schedules that do not allow the client to be physically present at the gym. Whether a client still wants a great workout on vacation, has health issues that limit travel to a facility, or if a client or trainer just can’t make it to the gym that day, virtual training can help. 

Virtual training is a valuable backup tool for a trainer with a tight schedule who doesn’t want to miss time with their clients. 

Personal Trainer Education

Part of a trainer’s busy schedule is maintaining and furthering their education. The science of exercise is morphing constantly as new discoveries are made and old ideas are either adapted to the new science or discarded. This is important because trainers who rely on “old school” information or styles of training will likely hit a wall in both theirs and their client’s progress. There are numerous certifications for trainers to earn and maintain. There are so many options that many people have difficulty differentiating between the various acronyms (NSCA, ISSA, CPT, CSCS, ACE, etc.). Many of these certifications come with renewal requirements that need to be completed every couple of years through continued education. Regardless of which certification a trainer has, it is important for a client to have someone as a trainer that will keep up on science and adjust the clients training to make it optimal. 

Contact us today to begin your fitness journey with one of our personal trainers who are available to meet your needs and your schedule.

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