Are you considering a career as a personal trainer? If so, you might be surprised to learn that there are a number of different types of personal trainer jobs that you can pursue. While all of these jobs involve helping other people improve themselves in some way, the exact methods you use may vary from one job to the next. Here’s a look at some personal training jobs you can pursue if this is a career path that is of interest to you.

The One-On-One Personal Trainer

The one-on-one personal trainer generally works directly within a client’s home or at a gym. In either case, the trainer works with just one person to help improve his or her level of fitness. First, the personal trainer helps the client assess his or her personal level of fitness and then they work together to formulate fitness goals that are attainable. To help their clients achieve their goals, personal trainers work closely with them to help them learn the proper way to perform specific exercises. Personal trainers usually maintain records of their clients’ progress as well. This way, they can monitor their clients’ progress and can make adjustments to their programs as needed.

Group Exercise Instructors

Group exercise instructors fall within the personal training niche, though they work with a group of individuals rather than with just one person. Group exercise instructors usually teach classes that involve stretching, aerobic exercise and muscle conditioning. Cardiovascular conditioning classes and classes such as yoga and pilates are particularly popular at this time. Regardless of the type of class being taught, the group exercise instructor demonstrates how to perform certain movements while also providing immediate feedback to their students. By observing students and correcting their positioning, the students learn how to perform the exercises properly in order to obtain the maximum benefit.

Fitness Directors

If you are interested in a personal training job, you might want to set your sites upon becoming a fitness director. As a fitness director, you will be responsible for creating and overseeing programs that meet the needs of your clientele. These include workout programs as well as developing programs for member orientation and fitness assessments. In this position, you are also responsible for selecting fitness equipment, hiring and training fitness staff, coordinating programs and supervising the overall fitness facility.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, personal training jobs are expected to grow faster than the average occupation over the next several years. . This is because people are becoming increasingly more interested in their fitness and are more willing to pay for help to achieve their fitness goals.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that those within the fitness industry can potentially earn a very comfortable income. The median annual income for aerobics instructors and fitness trainers was $25,910 in 2006, but the earnings for personal trainers who were self-employed was much hire.

The setting in which you work will also have an impact on the salary you can expect to earn. Those employed in general medical and surgical hospitals, for example, earned the most with an annual median income of $29,640. Those working for the local government earned $27,720 while those working in fitness and recreational sports centers earned $27,200. Those working in other schools and instruction, on the other hand, earned $22,700. Those working with civic and social organizations earned the least, with an average median income of $22,630 in 2006.