Adam Rhodes
Founder & CEO · 25 October 2024 · 4 min read
Reviewed by
Ollie Bell
Award winning, published author, certified at Harvard and Oxford
The fitness industry is bursting with opportunities. You can make a decent enough living at it, getting by. Alternatively, you really can make your fortune. The main difference? Hard work, mostly.
In fitness, as in anything else, there’s no magic formula for making quick money. Achieving any level of success takes time, dedication, and, most importantly, building a strong client base.
But if you’re going to put your time into building all of these things whilst chasing the dollars, what job, exactly, would work best for you? These are some of the potentially best-paying jobs in the fitness industry.
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Personal trainers can earn a lot… or they earn OK money. It’s a sliding scale based on a few things. How full is your roster, what is your clientele like, what contacts do you have, where are you based/where do you work from? Answer these questions right and you’ll be able to make a mint – it’s simply about working hard to position yourself well.
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A high-end trainer working with celebrities and high earners can charge hundreds per hour. Turn this into a six-figure retainer at the very top of the market. A personal trainer in your local leisure centre will be more modest, however, charging more like £30-40 per hour. Then you still have to deduct expenses (often hundreds in gym rental, insurance, ongoing training and the like). If you’re not doing at least 20 sessions per week regularly, then you might struggle to make a decent living from it.
This counts as much for class fitness instructors (a busy class will pocket you a small fortune) and strength and conditioning coaches working with high-end clients. It’s a business, when all is said and done, and businesses can thrive or they can flop. You are the difference between these two positions most of the time.
Yoga is the same kind of thing. It continues to grow in popularity, and a certified yoga instructor with good connections can make hundreds of pounds per hour. Advanced certifications, such as prenatal yoga or hot yoga, allow teachers to charge more for their classes, whilst getting in with the right crowd can have you charge whatever you want.
At the other end, somebody running a generic vinyasa flow in your local council gym or mid-level yoga studio will likely be making more like £30-50 per hour and may only work a few hours per day.
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Nutrition plays a huge role in athletic performance, and sports nutritionists are in demand for their expertise. Sports nutritionists can work independently, offering tailored nutrition plans for athletes and active individuals, or in collaboration with gyms, wellness centres, or sports teams.
Building a strong portfolio of clients, especially athletes, is key to increasing earnings. As your reputation grows, so does the ability to charge higher fees for personalised meal plans, consultations, and ongoing support.
Let’s take this to the next step. Personal training, strength and conditioning, yoga teaching… it’s all a business and the amount you make depends as much on your business nous and work ethic as your actual expertise.
This is very much true for a gym owner. If you set up and run a flourishing gym franchise with lots of high-paying members, your bank balance will also flourish. A low-end gym that struggles to fill up and demands lower fees… well, you’ll likely struggle to break even.
Some of us can remember the fitness industry pre-influencers… it seems like a long time ago, now. And we all know that influencers can crash and burn, or they can plug away, work their socks off, and position themselves well for a lucky break. Social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok can be a ticket to the big time.
If you manage the latter, you can potentially make a lot of money. Again, it’s about succeeding as a business and brand, rather than simply as a fitness professional. You have the potential to reach global audiences and make significant income from brand deals, sponsored posts, and even your own products or fitness programs. It can take years, though, and be a real slog, consistently creating engaging content that hits home with a broader audience.
The fitness industry is set up well for hard-working entrepreneurial types. Jobs can be middling to poor in pay. Trainers with few contacts and little appetite for pushing that little bit extra can struggle to make ends meet.
However, if you’ve got sound business sense, a product to sell, and a bit of drive, you can position yourself well so that, no matter the actual ‘job’, you’ll be able to put a thriving business together. The rewards are waiting for you.
Adam Rhodes
Founder & CEO
Adam has worked in fitness for 13 years and owned a gym for eight of them, hiring and managing trainers before co-founding Create in 2016. He writes about what the industry looks like from the employer's side of the desk.
Reviewed by Ollie Bell, Award winning, published author, certified at Harvard and Oxford.
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