Personal Training - Market Research

[bozmandb9]

Hi guys,

I'm in the process of re-training, to become a Personal Trainer. I've been health and fitness obsessed for many years now, compete in Masters athletics, qualified as a coach, and have also trained as an NLP practitioner to become accomplished in the art of helping people to change their lives.

So I'm intending to target a high end niche, and wondered if anybody in the forum uses PT's. I'm going to be looking at charging £500 to £1,000 per month. I want high end clients for two reasons.

Firstly, there are too many people crowding round the low end of the market, charging £35 - £50 per hour. I think people want to pay lower rates either because they are less committed, or because they are unable to afford higher rates, if the latter, I would not aim to exclude potential clients on the grounds or affordability, if they could prove the correct commitment.

Question is, how many people really place sufficient value on their health/ fitness to pay what I'm talking about?

Personally, I've gone from obese, to extremely fit, cut my body fat by 20%, cut my biological age by 20-40 years, and extended my life expectancy by the same. All my health markers have gone from bad, to pretty much ideal. In that context, surely the rates I'm talking about are good value, or am I crazy?

To be clear, I'm talking about quite a lot more than Personal Training. For example we'll start with a complete DNA profile, so the clients gets to know exactly what diet, and exercise best suits him. I'll also be taking a very integrative approach, and naturally, I go to the client, they don't have to come to me.

Any (constructive), input welcome!

 

[Steve320]

Hi Bozman, my son in law and daughter are both in fitness &!well being. They both are always fully booked and are raking in exceptionally good money from high end clients (their patch includes Cobham / St. Georges Hill) whilst they don't charge monthly, their rate for their core client who are two/three times a week customers probably isn't far short of 1000 a month - probably 800 more reflective though.

Like you intend, their offering extends beyond pure fitness, but there is a limit on nutrition as legally I believe (and I'm sure you're aware) there's a (high) minimum qualification requirement.

So, if there's enough 'high end' people in your target area I'd say yes, people are prepared to pay a premium for quality and high end lifestyle enhancement process.

Best wishes!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

My experience of people and business associates who could afford the figures you're talking about are usually that driven to do things off their own back already, they don't need someone to help. Unless you're talking those just below the upper echelons?

Having said that, £500 a month is 10 hours a month at £50 an hour which is only 2.5 hours a week which when you're talking of charging top money then that'd be what, one hour @ £125? One hour a week will achieve very little wouldn't it in the grand scheme of it?

What hourly figures did you have in mind?

 

[Palfrem]

I'm a fat, middle aged, cardiac basket case, so I know nothing much about extreme fitness.

But, when you say you have "cut my biological age by 20-40 years", that sounds remarkable.

Would you care to explain a little more please?

 

[gunning]

Being an ex full time athlete (used to compete for GB u20 in 800 & 4x400) I find it hard to justify personal training but I agree completely in terms of overcrowding around the £40 sector. I've known a few personal trainers that have gone at it and failed ranging from £20 a session up to £60/75 a session.

It's a tough market. At that sort of price you have to be looking at celebrities, big earners in cities etc. what is your take on training, where do your expertise lie? I know that a lot of celeb males go for the ripped look these days but being from a running background is weight lifting your expertise?

There's a lot of douche bags out there who think they are PT's (not calling you one in the slightest) so it's hard to cut through the goons and make your mark.

That's my 2 pence worth but I'm not a pt I'm just

 

[Deleted96908]

To be clear, I'm talking about quite a lot more than Personal Training. For example we'll start with a complete DNA profile, so the clients gets to know exactly what diet, and exercise best suits him. I'll also be taking a very integrative approach, and naturally, I go to the client, they don't have to come to me.

Any (constructive), input welcome!

My eldest's godfather owns a well known fitness network in the US and it's a roller coaster of a business to be in. More fads than the diet industry and a tremendously high churn rate. They offer personal training programs too, although folks always seem to want the fad, not the proven techniques, making long term repeat business difficult to maintain.

Wrt personal trainers, as others have alluded to, I think it's a lifestyle thing and lifestyles seem to be linked to income and from my understanding, doing similar research to yours last year, PT's servicing wealthier neighborhoods make a good living.

I noticed when living in NYC that some gyms did classes with three or four people at something like 60% of the one on one price. That went down well and increased yields for the gyms too. I seem to remember that these mini classes were popular at places of work too - so that may be something for you to consider.

I do recall seeing a guy with a big panel van going round W2, parking outside houses and flats and giving mobile tuition. I think he had a pilates machine in the back and a mat or two.

I've previously mentioned Sean Vigue here on MBC - he's an online pilates guy. I workout 5 or 6 times a week, with 3 or 4 of these sessions being pilates. If home I follow his routines on a massive TV in my lounge and it's addictive. He's started out on YouTube but has recently gone online private too at https://seanviguefitness.vhx.tv/.

I mention him because his revenue model is interesting. But to make any money he has to churn (scuse the pun) out so much content, that you wonder how much longer he can keep it up. A little off topic I know, but hopefully useful background.

 

[gunning]

[QUOTE=" it's a roller coaster of a business to be in. More fads than the diet industry and a tremendously high churn rate. They offer personal training programs too, although folks always seem to want the fad, not the proven techniques, making long term repeat business difficult to maintain. .[/QUOTE]

A very valid point. The fads and rubbish you see surrounding training is madness.

Crossfit is huge at the moment with 99% of "cross fitters" being useless at form and not even carrying out basic exercises properly therefore causing injury and almost no physical gains.

 

[bozmandb9]

I'm a fat, middle aged, cardiac basket case, so I know nothing much about extreme fitness.

But, when you say you have "cut my biological age by 20-40 years", that sounds remarkable.

Would you care to explain a little more please?

Well I was, as you say, a fat middle aged cardiac basket case, or at least having just breached the borderline for obesity, I was starting to get warnings about future cardiac risk, diabetes, etc, and I was suffering from frequent attacks of gout.

Now, all of my health indictors are pretty much spot on, resting heart rate low 40's, lung health 115% of target for age (should be higher but I smoked in my wild reckless youth), blood pressure spot on.

Had I carried on the path I was firmly ensconced on, by my reckoning, I'd be at risk of death from 50's onwards, I'd have increased from 16 to 20 plus stone by now, so BMI around 40% plus. Instead, I see no reason why I shouldn't comfortably exceed the average life expectancy of a male in my region (80 plus).

 

[bozmandb9]

A very valid point. The fads and rubbish you see surrounding training is madness.

Crossfit is huge at the moment with 99% of "cross fitters" being useless at form and not even carrying out basic exercises properly therefore causing injury and almost no physical gains.

Exactly. I guess I'm wanting to pretty much create a new 'thing', which utilises aspects of personal training, NLP, life coaching. I'm thinking of calling it 'Integrative Personal Training'. It's definitely for clients who are interested in long term massive health gains. I have no interest in 'helping people lose a few pounds for the summer/ Christmas party frocks'!

To me it's just about helping people find the short cuts to long term lifestyle change, helping them achieve the changes through use of NLP. Really providing a short cut to what took my 10 plus years, and one hell of a lot of expense/ mistakes along the way.

 

[Charles Morgan]

When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure I took up gymming and had personal training (about the only way you would get me to commit to turn up to one of those hellholes). Totting it up I got through about 6 - they were always moving on, few had any real grasp of the psychology of exercise and most failed in any away to motivate me to achieve anything, other than Pete, a fireman in his spare time, who was great fun and taught me to box, and Marc, a German PT in Battersea Park. There, despite next to no equipment, he took his time to understand what motivated me and worked as much on that as the physical side.

London will support the rates you are talking about but Oxford, not sure and getting clients will be a huge job if you have no experience in the industry. Most PTs I knew were better off as gym employees given the nature of their contracts with gyms.

It's a mean competitive industry.

 

[bozmandb9]

When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure I took up gymming and had personal training (about the only way you would get me to commit to turn up to one of those hellholes). Totting it up I got through about 6 - they were always moving on, few had any real grasp of the psychology of exercise and most failed in any away to motivate me to achieve anything, other than Pete, a fireman in his spare time, who was great fun and taught me to box, and Marc, a German PT in Battersea Park. There, despite next to no equipment, he took his time to understand what motivated me and worked as much on that as the physical side.

London will support the rates you are talking about but Oxford, not sure and getting clients will be a huge job if you have no experience in the industry. Most PTs I knew were better off as gym employees given the nature of their contracts with gyms.

It's a mean competitive industry.

Yes, I may target Mayfair. I think you're spot on, the key is the ability to motivate people to achieve anything, which is where the NLP comes in, also understanding what people want to do, not trying to persuade/ force people to do what you think they should do.

The other problem with (or more accurately for) most PT's is that they are crap at sales and marketing, which is my primary profession.

 

[StuartK]

£1000 a month is madness as if I was a millionaire I'd not waste that sort of cash on a PT.

Some berk will pay it though. Good luck to you mate!