Is it tough to take a holiday or break as a Personal Trainer?
Sep 8
Featured | Mini Interviews
10 comments so far
Unless you are taking a full time salary as a personal trainer with Gym or Corporate service then you are a probably a Freelancer. Do you remember when you taking time off or scheduling a break was just a matter of putting in a form to your HR department or just making sure you ticked a box in your intranet portal? You may be a “virgin” freelancer in which case your scheduled breaks were maybe in college or high school. You may now be troubled by new considerations and adapting your life skills. As fondly or otherwise as you may remember that time, things may have changed considerably now now that you are an independent personal trainer! You may have swapped into the lifestyle that we all long for but when it comes time for a well earned vacation certain questions may arise.
- My premium personal training clients expect me to be there for them and fit around their fitness schedule no matter when
- I rely on my weekly income to survive and I have not been planning well financially
- If I take a break my clients may go elsewhere for their personal training
- I am still building my client base and taking a break will not be a great idea
- I need to create a program so my clients can train when I am not there
- My vacation time will have to suit my children and my clients may not be impressed
- Will my “famous” and “wealthy” clients take me on vacation with them?
- Perhaps that gym job vacancy wasn’t so bad after all
- I am an on-line personal trainer and it’s just out of the question to take a break
- I need to work a with a colleague so we can cover each other so we can offer an uninterrupted personal training service
Some of these questions may be concerns or reasons to put off having a break or they may be just a great reason to be super organized and have a plan.
I would say the latter is the way to go and that to make sure that all your personal training clients and activities revolve around your well deserved break or vacation.
Can you add to these points that make taking a break or vacation tough or suggest a real plan that works for you?
“Is it tough to take a vacation or break as a Personal Trainer?”.
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Of course its tough without a strong and loyal client base. One thing I l have done is redirectmy client durimg a break or vacation and split the training session 50/50 with the trainer. Its a great way to keep earing income and keep clients on track. Also, it doesnt hurt to actually be financially resonsible.
This is one reason that I added virtual fitness coaching to my business. In addition to my weekly clients, I coach for clients around the country through the Team Beachbody line of programs like P90X, Insanity, Slim-in-6, etc. These clients provide residual income when I am sick, on vacation, no matter what. Otherwise, I am lucky that most of my in-person clients have a good handle on a work/life balance and I always leave them with sufficient workout instructions for when I am away.
I usually make sure my clients double up the sessions for that week prior to me taking my vacation. The only time it doesn’t work is when you are first starting and you need them to be there to pay you.
I must be the exception to the rule. I have always managed to take a break and schedule vacations. The only time I found it a challenge was when I worked in a commercial gym, as the management couldn’t understand how I could make my numbers, keep my clients happy and still take a great deal of time to myself. My clients are provided programming while I am away and love the fact that I am more of a person than just training. It makes me more interesting and brings a whole lot more to training we do.
Now, I only work in athletic development and my work surrounds athletic seasons. I am performing workshops and clinics and while I do work a great deal, I am certain to give myself me-time each and every day.
Sometimes, my travel coincides with athletic events. I will be in Hawaii while several of my athletes are competing in Kona. And I will be competing myself in the Milwaukee Marathon. This too creates a different motivation as I am a coach and an athlete.
It has not always been easy to schedule the time for me throughout my career. But I learned that taking extra time for me is much more beneficial in the long run.
As the owner of an In-home personal training company for 20 years it used to be difficult to leave clients while going on vacation as much for the financial hit as the”leaving clients on their own”. We have had employees for the past 10 years that work with clients while any of us are on vacation. Since I go away for 8-14 days at least three times per year my clients like the change and so do our employees clients. It is a win/win.
That’s funny you asked, I just returned from a vacation. I do like to take a break now and then, just like every one should. I do try to space my vacations about 6 months apart. And I do give my trainee’s 3 week notice before I leave. Also I would never leave without handing out home work to the ones that need it. To the others I give them the good reasons why its important to take some time off from exercise. Taking some time off to let the body rest and fully recover from the last few months of a hard exercise program. It’s funny, most of my clients are happy and really enjoy the fact that I’m taking a vacation.. I take that as a complement
I need a break too, right? I need to refocus and energize, just like anyone else. I have two, two week breaks a year, about 6 months apart. I make sure I give 3 weeks notice, that I’m taking a break. I make sure I have individual home workout and diet papers ready for each client. And I also remind certain clients that they are about due for a short exercise break as well. Many of my clients are happy to see me leave anyway LOL…
It has been harder to take time off the last few years. If you are building your business and in the early stages you may want to avoid it by all means to get and stay ahead. Once your are established, if you are selling packages up front try to get the client to do an extra session or two per week leading up to your time off. Another Solution is to have another trainer temporarily train your client when you are gone and pay that trainer so the sessions are still being used. In some cases, it just might be time for both the trainer and client to take a week off. I have had situations where the client has not had a week of training off in 2-3 months so it works out for us both.
I hope some of these ideas help!
Brilliant suggestions Garrett. Would their be an easier time of year for you personally to take your vacation or a break from personal training? Perhaps school holidays?
Much of taking a break as a trainer is the level of regular business. For example, after the financial/housing crash of 2008, my business fell off so badly that just getting by was difficult enough. But I’m sure vacations were difficult for many people over the last two years, regardless of career.
But under normal business conditions, it doesn’t matter how high profile your clients are, everyone understand the need to take time off. It’s good for you which makes it good for your clients. A happy, healthy and relaxed trainer will be more beneficial for clients.
Making a plan for your clients to follow while you’re away is always a good idea. Recommend a group exercise class, make a specific cardio program, or plan and email your clients the workouts they can do while you’re away. It isn’t necessary, but it does show your clients that you really are focused on their progress and that your business really is about great service.