One way you can enter the fitness industry is through a personal trainer internship. This is a great way to gain valuable skills and experience when starting your career.
We’ll explore why personal trainer internships may be right for you and how you can decide on the best way to start your new career.
Table Of Contents:
- What Are Personal Trainer Internships?
- Why Should You Pursue A Personal Trainer Internship?
- How To Find Personal Training Internships?
- #1 – Check Job Listings Sites
- #2 – Contact Gyms
- #3 – Contact Personal Trainers Directly
- #4 – Check Out Government Websites
- Personal Training Internships vs Vocational Training: Which Is Right For Me?
- #1 – Availability
- #2 – Entry Requirements
- #3 – Flexibility
- #4 – Practical Experience
- #5 – Cost
- #6 – Career Outcomes
- Are Personal Trainer Internships And Apprenticeships The Same Thing?
- Before You Go!
But first, if you’re passionate about kickstarting a career in fitness OriGym’s Personal Training Diploma should be your first choice. Gain vital experience and knowledge required to train clients 1-to-1 with bespoke workout programmes.
What Are Personal Trainer Internships?
Personal trainer internships are programmes which allow those who want to pursue a career as a PT to gain valuable work experience in a gym or health club setting – you may also see these referred to as health and fitness internships.
These personal trainer internships teach aspiring or newly qualified PTs how to successfully conduct training sessions and the best way to help clients achieve their goals.
However, you should be aware the requirements of each programme can vary. For example, this Personal Trainer Internship below from Universal Fitness is a fully funded training opportunity:
This means your Level 2 Gym Instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer qualifications will be paid for by your employer while you work at the facility.
However, this won’t be the case for every PT internship. Certain establishments will require you to be fully qualified prior to the internship so you can shadow those with more experience. Keep in mind, some gyms may not advertise these opportunities publicly and you may have to contract them directly – think of it as more of a voluntary role.
With this in mind, be sure to check these requirements before as they will vary from each establishment.
Why Should You Pursue A Personal Trainer Internship?
Personal trainer internships are a great way to gain hands-on experience and decide if this career is the right fit for you. Not only is this an ideal opportunity to improve or develop your knowledge but it allows you to build up your professional network.
For example, by interacting with mentors and colleagues who have prior industry experience, you can learn valuable business skills in areas such as gym maintenance, communication and client retention.
Working with experienced personal trainers can also give you a greater understanding of how the industry works. You may receive valuable tips such as how to succeed in interviews or how to kickstart a business of your own.
Pursuing these internships will also be incredibly beneficial if you’re considering a career change to personal training . You’ll get to see typical duties and responsibilities which will help you decide if this career move is the right one.
It can also help you determine which clients and demographics you most enjoy working with, allowing you to decide on a potential specialisation. Find out more about this with our article ‘Top Personal Trainer Specialties’.
How To Find Personal Training Internships
#1 – Check Job Listings Sites
One of the easiest ways to see if any gyms in your area are offering health and fitness internships is to check out online jobs boards such as:
Personal Trainer job opportunities will be posted by companies, detailing the role, any requirements, and pay if applicable, such as the example below:
Most job listings will also provide details of roles and responsibilities. You can then easily send your CV to the company either manually or by uploading it to your profile.
#2 – Contact Gyms
Another way to get a personal training internship is to simply reach out to gyms and contact them about any opportunities they may have. Research some local gyms in your area by checking out their websites and customer reviews.
If they don’t have any current personal trainer internships, you could alternatively ask to shadow their employees. You can do this by emailing or phoning the gym. However, some may require you to submit an application or personal statement before they accept you to shadow their PTs.
We’ll help you get started – check out our article ‘9 Best Gyms To Work For As A Personal Trainer’.
#3 – Contact Personal Trainers Directly
You can also contact personal trainers directly and ask them for internship opportunities. This is a great idea if you want to specialise in a particular area of fitness such as weight loss or training elderly clients.
Shadowing or watching a personal trainer who works in areas you want to pursue is a good way to learn tips and understand the best way to deal with training certain clients. You can find relevant personal trainers to you by checking out social media profiles or their websites.
To find out more about developing your skills as a PT further, check out our article: Continuing Education For Personal Trainers.
#4 – Check Out Government Websites
To find a personal training internship, you can also take a look at websites such as Gov.UK for opportunities. These listed roles will allow you to gain a qualification through different organisations that offer programmes to people who meet the specific criteria.
However, as these might be listed as ‘apprenticeships’, you may need to research these in more detail to ensure they apply to you.
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Before we continue, these articles below may be of interest to you:
- How to Become a Personal Trainer in 6 Steps
- How To Get Personal Training Work Experience
- Best Personal Training Courses in the UK
Personal Training Internships vs Vocational Training: Which Is Right For Me?
Right now, you may be unsure of whether you should pursue a personal trainer internship or vocational training. Vocational training focuses on courses which focus on practical skills and experience rather than exams with the aim of preparing you for a specific career.
Both offer valuable routes for getting into the fitness industry, but one may be a better fit for you over the other.
Here’s 6 points to consider when weighing up your options:
#1 – Availability
Although PT internships are available, they’re difficult to come across. Whilst the job opportunities are there but they are often limited in terms of their frequency and how many spaces are available.
For example, an employer may only be hiring one potential candidate, which means you’d have to compete against others in order to qualify. Alternatively, employers may choose to prioritise creating apprenticeships instead, which is an entirely different process.
This is why Personal Trainer Courses are a great option for those looking to break into the health and fitness industry. These courses are readily available, with hundreds of students enrolling every day.
Courses such as our Personal Trainer Diploma allow you to gain qualifications needed to break into industry (both Level 2 and Level 3 respectively) whilst also gaining the necessary practical experience.
#2 – Entry Requirements
Many personal training internships will require you to interview for the position. This will be treated similar to a job interview, where you will need to compete with other candidates for the job vacancy.
In contrast, vocational training providers will have their own entry requirements in place, but these will be significantly more flexible and won’t require an interview.
For example, to enrol on OriGym’s Level 3 Personal Training Course, you will first need to obtain a Level 2 Fitness Instructor Qualification and be aged 16+. This in part, is why our PT Diploma is so popular, as it combines both of these courses together.
#3 – Flexibility
If you prefer to work at your own pace, vocational courses will be more suited to you. For example, our Online Personal Trainer Courses are great for those who prefer to study independently.
Once enrolled, students will be able to learn at their own pace, completing virtual coursework and assessments with no fixed deadlines to meet.
Whereas most personal trainer internships will provide you with set hours they expect you to work. Again, this will be similar to a job, and you will be expected to work all your allotted shifts. This can be more difficult if you have other work or family commitments, especially if you’re shadowing PTs.
#4 – Practical Experience
People often choose internships as they want hands-on experience, believing that vocational training is all theoretical learning. However, this is simply not the case – vocational training students can also get hands-on practical experience working in the gym too.
At OriGym, students can attend practical workshops from our training venues located around the UK. These weekend sessions provide great opportunities to work with likeminded individuals on their course and get beneficial face to face feedback from expert tutors.
Additionally, OriGym students will also be assessed practically too, in order to ensure that they can meet the physical demands of the position.
must complete practical assessments and attend workshops at one of our venues. This is so our students are provided with this practical experience to help them succeed in the fitness industry.
#5 – Cost
When it comes to vocational courses vs a personal trainer internship, you should be aware you do have to pay for courses to gain these qualifications and experience.
However, providers will often have payment plans or allow you to spread the cost of your course over a series of months. For example, our students have the option to set up a payment plan with 0% finance and no guarantor.
For further insight into this topic, check out our article exploring ‘How Much Does It Cost to Become a Personal Trainer’.
#6 – Career Outcomes
Most people view a personal training internship objective as securing a job afterwards. However, keep in mind that unless stated otherwise in the application, employers are under no obligation to hire, or even interview you for a full-time position at the end of your programme.
You should be aware course providers like OriGym offer career support following the completion of your qualification. This includes a guaranteed job interview with one of our corporate partners.
Even better, gaining your qualifications and experience from a provider rather than an employer gives you much more freedom to choose where you work. You could even decide to kickstart your own business, with expert resources provided to you upon completion, rather than being largely limited to the place you did your internship.
Are Personal Trainer Internships And Apprenticeships The Same Thing?
Apprenticeships are paid positions and typically last a longer period of time than an internship. Most apprenticeships will be listed on the Gov.UK website, as shown in this example below:
Paid PT internships are harder to come by and most of these will be in the form of ‘shadowing’, meaning you’re less likely to be paid. Internships have more of a focus on providing students and recent graduates with practical experience and career options. These are usually seen as less of a job than apprenticeships and more of a way to enhance your skills & experience.
You should also be aware some companies may use the two words interchangeably. Make sure you read the listing carefully and understand what kind of role it is, such as whether you’ll be getting paid or are considered a personal trainer intern and simply shadowing.
To find out more about this, check out our article on Personal Trainer Apprenticeships Explained.
Before You Go!
Want to get started with our vocational qualifications? Our Personal Trainer Diploma combines the necessary Level 2 and Level 3, making it the cheapest and fastest option for you to get qualified and begin an exciting career!Find out what else we offer by downloading our course prospectus here.