The Inside Track:Personal Training Is A Great First Fitness Career

“Clint Phillips gets paid to do what he loves: working out. The 46-year-old former Air National Guard staff sergeant is a Chicago-area personal fitness trainer who has helped many clients build biceps while on his way to establishing a successful exercise business. Phillips went from being a $15-an-hour personal trainer for a health club to employing 14 trainers, operating 20 websites to attract clients and commanding an hourly rate of $70 to $80 over the course of his decade-long career. ‘I love what I'm doing now,’ he said. If you're like Phillips and think there's no ‘work’ in working out, consider an after-military career in the exercise industry. The military’s emphasis on discipline and staying in shape makes former service members ideal candidates for careers in fitness, where those qualities also are crucial to success, said Richard Cotton, an exercise physiologist and the national director of certification for the American College of Sports Medicine. What's more, the job outlook is bright. Employment is projected to rise 27 percent through 2016 - much faster than the projected average of 7 percent to 13 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And as Phillips' career demonstrates, becoming a certified personal trainer is a great start toward a lifelong career in fitness. The industry's certification process is self-regulated. Most legitimate fitness organizations such as the American Council on Exercise, American College of Sports Medicine and the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, the fitness industry's largest nonprofit trade organization, recognize certifications accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.”