Are you considering hiring a personal trainer? ‘How much is a personal trainer’ is one of the most frequently searched terms on Google for people who are considering hiring a personal trainer.

In this article we explore what a personal trainer is, why you should hire a personal trainer, how to find a personal trainer and how much you can expect to pay for a personal trainer. As the UK’s leading fitness education training provider, we have supported thousands of students to become accredited personal trainers, both here in the UK and globally. 

We therefore have extensive and up to date knowledge on the costs of hiring a personal trainer, what the average is depending on your location, what you should expect for your money when you hire a personal trainer and what qualifications and experience you should look out for.

This guide can also be used to support you with your pricing strategy if you are thinking about becoming a personal trainer or you are currently studying to gain your Level 3 Personal Training Course Qualifications.

The Personal Training Industry: Growing Demand

Personal training is a booming billion-dollar industry. According to IBIS World, in the UK, “the Personal Trainers industry was £668.0m in 2022.” With that in mind, after the wake of COVID, so many more people are recognising the importance of physical movement and valuing their health even more. This means this number is only set to continue to grow.

Whilst this number highlights the demand for personal training, this can make it difficult to understand how much you should really be paying for a personal trainer.

Whether you’re just looking to make a lifestyle change or you’re ready for dramatic results, it’s no secret that hiring a personal trainer can be a transformative experience.

Having somebody to be alongside you on your journey is extremely valuable. Personal trainers are committed to reaching your goals and hold you accountable. This has proven to be a surefire way to help even the most fitness-reluctant people attain goals they never thought they could.

Whilst hiring a personal trainer will certainly help you to achieve physical goals, whether it’s wwight loss, adding muscle or performance goals, they will also provide so much more and with their support the right personal trainer can deliver life changing results that support you to make changes that improve your health over the long term.

Plus,  you don’t have to go far to find that people are experiencing far from mediocre results when working with a coach. A simple search on social media will take you to a multitude of before and after photos showcasing dramatic transformations that personal trainers have helped to create.

So, if you are interested in hiring a personal trainer, this article highlights what a personal trainer is, how they can help you and what personal trainer costs really look like.

What is a Personal Trainer?

Before we start exploring services and costs for a personal trainer, we will first define what a personal trainer is and what do they offer.

A certified personal trainer will be competent in designing and instructing exercise programmes that meets the individual needs of their clients, ensuring that the programme is both safe and effective. Further, upon completion of our accredited personal training qualifications a personal trainer will be competent in supporting individuals and groups with nutritional guidance, and general health and well-being advice. For example the role of sleep and stress in day to day life and how this can impact health outcomes.

Typical services that a personal trainer will provide includes; providing workout plans, coaching you through the workout with direction and education, provide nutritional guidance (although not specific meal plans), motivation and daily life support.

Personal trainers work one to one with clients, and they may offer group services too. Group sessions can replicate one to one sessions in small groups of two or three clients or they can be small group personal training sessions.

You can expect your personal trainer to get to know who you are, your lifestyle, your body composition and assess how you can change your lifestyle to optimise your health.

A personal trainer may choose to specialise in supporting a niche market of customers or generally support a wider range of customers. If a personal trainer does focus on supporting a particular niche of customer then this will be obvious in personal training marketing, website and in their profile in the gym. They can showcase and develop knowledge on a particular subject by studying further qualifications like pre or post natal, or Level 4 Strength and Conditioning. For more information, take a look at our guide on strength and conditioning jobs and how to become a strength and conditioning coach.

To be qualified as a personal trainer, the coach must attain at least a Level 3 Personal Training Qualification in the UK. Outside of the UK, the guidelines may differ slightly, however, there is always is some form of qualification required and the Active IQ qualifications delivered by The Fitness Group are recognised internationally.

Why Should You Hire a Personal Trainer?

If you find yourself struggling in the gym, not seeing results, you’re unmotivated to even show up or you have a specific goal in mind, you should consider hiring a personal trainer.

Whether you’re a gym newbie or an avid gym-goer, there are several advantages of hiring a personal trainer that should seriously be considered.

Expert Advice and Guidance from a Qualified Coach

For most of us if you were having car problems you would find a local, well trusted mechanic or you would get your car serviced at your car dealership. Similarly, if you are serious about achieving your fitness goals then hiring an expert is one of the best ways to achieve your goals. A personal trainer is qualified to design and personalise your workout, nutrition and overall health plan to support you to achieving your specific goals.

Of course, you can educate yourself and spend time learning the fundamentals of programme design, nutrition and how to practically apply this in the gym and in day to day life. However, knowing the exact workout routine to achieve your fitness goals is incredibly time consuming and when you generally surf the web to research a topic you can get lost down a rabbit hole and find most of the information online can be confusing or inaccurate.

Qualified personal trainers on he other hand work with you, taking the information overload off your shoulders, removing any stress and reliance on you to ‘come up with the plan’ and formulate a plan to get you to your goals.

Personal trainers take into account your age, body type and ability. They then design workouts that will allow you to reach your goals as quickly as possible. Alongside that, they ensure that you are performing each movement with great form which targets the muscle more and reduces the risk of injury. A good personal trainer should also educate you throughout your journey with them, allowing you to work independently out-with personal training sessions with a greater confidence.

If you do find that you want to educate yourself further with formal education that is fit for purpose and recognised then you may want to start with our Level 2 Gym Instructor course which cover the fundamentals of programme design, training techniques, anatomy and physiology and nutrition.

They Will Hold You Accountable

You’ll never quite find an accountability buddy that is akin to a personal trainer.

Studies show that motivation improves in groups, and this remains true whether your workout partner or personal trainer is with you virtually or in person. Socially, we don’t want to let the other person down and this motivation increases even further when you have scheduled your sessions and paid in advance too.

Not only will they motivate you to come back each session but they will ensure that you’re fulfilling your full potential at the gym. They will push you to achieve your goals and remain committed in all aspects of your life. They instil a type of discipline that will have a profound, long lasting effect on you.

Also, it is far easier to avoid the gym when you’re not losing money in doing so. Often, if you cancel your training session, without providing the required notice you will still be charged.

Nutritional Guidance

Within our personal training qualifications at The Fitness Group, we cover nutritional guidance in great detail, therefore we know that if you are a personal trainer that has qualified with us then you will have the knowledge and skills to provide coherent and effective guidance to your clients.

We recommend that all good personal trainers should offer you nutritional guidance, whether your goals are body composition related, performance related or generally about educating yourself in a gym environment. This guidance will be catered towards your goals on a macro level but will should also prioritise vitamins and nutrients for long term optimal health.

Nutritional guidance can range anywhere from a few meal ideas, what types of food you could avoid, how you can make smarter choices with food swaps, macro guidance on protein, fats and carbs and more detailed guidance on vitamins, minerals.

Personal Trainers will probably leverage technology to support you with their nutrition guidance. Apps like myfitnesspal make it incredibly easy to track your food and share with your personal trainer

Results

If you’re running into roadblocks when it comes to your results, a personal trainer will help you overcome them. Similarly, in personal training packages, they will offer weekly or monthly check-ins where progress will be tracked. This way, you can see results happening in real time. Which is great motivation to continue your journey, however, goals like fat loss should also be balanced against realistic expectations.

A good personal trainer will keep your end goal in mind and do everything they can to help you get there.

How to Find a Personal Trainer

In your hunt to find a certified personal trainer there are multiple factors to clarify before you start looking and to keep in mind during the process. By going through and understanding each of these factors you can establish a personal trainer that is perfect for you. Doing so will save you time and money.

Here is a list of components you should consider when choosing a personal trainer.

Stage 1: Set your Fitness Goals

Whilst the majority of personal trainers are skilled in many areas, you will find it much easier to connect with a personal trainer if you go into the conversation with a clear outline of the results you want. This will also help the trainer to understand your specific needs and explain how they can help you in that area.

In our personal trainer qualifications we educate our trainers to set SMART goals with their clients. This will support you to gain clarity on your goals, making them specific and measurable. For example, “loss weight” becomes “lose 6 pounds in the next 3 months.” Or even better “lose 5% of body fat in the next 3 months” – concentrating on a body fat reduction can be much more effective in a weight loss journey as you may add muscle which ultimately weighs more than body fat.

Stage 2: Confirm your Budget

We will certainly get into this topic in depth later, however, having an awareness of how much you are willing to spend on a personal trainer is something you should know.

Also, you should consider whether you would like to pay for a full gym membership (so, you can access the gym without the personal trainer and work out alone) or if you are only interested in personal training sessions.

Most gyms will require you to be a member of their gym to work with one of their personal trainers. For example, both Pure Gym and Nuffield, two of the largest gym chains across the UK insist that you must be a member to work with a PT in their clubs.

You may find that some personal trainers include the gym membership fee within their package price too, absorbing the cost of your membership if you are not already a member at their club. You may also find that the puregym personal trainer cost could be lower than you could expect to pay when you research David Lloyd personal trainer cost or Third Space PT Prices. As David Lloyd attracts a more premium customer, the David Lloyd personal trainer cost is often higher as their customers often have a higher level of disposable income.

The average personal trainer cost varies depending on a number of factors such as the qualifications and experience the personal trainer holds, their location in the UK, the gym they operate from, the services they offer and for some whether it is online or in person.

Stage 3: Enquire at your Gym

If you’re already registered at a gym, you may have seen personal trainers walking around during your workout. Or, your gym may specifically list personal trainers that they have on their website.

Simply ask a member of the staff to explain their personal trainer packages and decide on the right one for you.

Often, you may have the opportunity to take advantage of a taster personal training session included in your gym membership, however, you should clarify this first.

It’s important to note that even within the same gym the average personal trainer cost can vary considerably between the personal trainers available.

Stage 4: Research Personal Trainers at Other Gyms

if you haven’t got a gym membership yet or you want to shop beyond your own gym then you should begin by looking a other local gyms near you.

The easiest way to search for personal trainers locally is to search in google for ‘gyms near me.’ This will bring up a selection of gyms close to you on the google search results and within google maps. From here you can check out their website where they will often have a page dedicated to personal trainers or you can make an appointment to pop in for a consultation.

You may be able to confirm the cost for a personal trainer on their website, and if not there is a good chance that each trainer will ave their own personal trainer prices on their own website or social media pages.

Stage 5: Look for Online Personal Trainers

The easiest way to search for personal trainers locally is to search in google for ‘personal trainers near me.’

For example you could search in Goole for Personal Trainer Edinburgh or Personal Trainer Huddersfield. This will then bring up the personal trainers near you and display the results on the google map and the personal trainer’s websites in the search results.

These personal trainers may be part of gyms in your area or they may be willing to travel to your location. This is a great way to connect with a personal trainer directly and get to know them more before booking your first session.

You will tend to find that more establish personal trainers will appear here as they have went to effort of setting up their business on Google My Business. We do recommend that all our personal training graduates set up their new business on google and they create their own website to showcase their services for this very reason – it’s a great way to find new clients. We regard this as some of the basic marketing principles for personal trainers.

If you prefer to work out alone, there are a few online personal trainers who will solely create workout programs for you and monitor your progress. This can be ideal if your chosen personal trainer has limited availability or you find that your own schedule changes too often to commit to sessions.

Plus you can see any Google Reviews that the trainer has when you search for them on Google Maps, allowing you to quickly get a feel for their reputation and their track record of success.

You should also use social media to your advantage. Personal trainers will often post their clients results and you can check out the comment section for reviews from clients. On their profile, they will also usually feature an email where you can reach out to them or you can send them a direct message to discuss their availability and pricing

Stage 6: Check for Accredited PT Qualifications

If you are booking a personal trainer you should check that they hold accredited qualifications. Be careful to check that they hold a CIMSPA endorsed qualification, like he ones offered a The Fitness Group. Usually if a trainer is working at a reputable, national gym they will hold a Level 3 qualification as a minimum requirement to work and offer personal training within that club, however you can always check with the trainer and the gym too.

When booking a personal trainer directly, you can request to see their qualifications before booking a session.

Your trainer should also have taken a first aid training course.

Qualifications to also look out for include Nutrition for Sport and Exercise for a trainer with deeper knowledge of the role nutrition plays in reaching fitness goals and Pre and Post Natal if you are pregnant or you are returning to exercise after pregnancy.

Additionally, TRX Qualifications cover a vast catalogue of courses where trainers can choose to develop a skill in a specific area such as yoga, running, cycling and more. Our range of TRX qualifications includes the full suite of official TRX Education Qualifications. The more qualifications your coach has gained, the more you can learn from them.

If you are unsure whether a personal trainer’s qualifications are sufficient then you can contact our team for advice.

Stage 7: Have a Consultation with the Personal Trainer

It is important that you connect with your personal trainer in some way. An hour-long gym session can feel endless if you don’t get on with the person who is training you. Also, you’re less likely to stay committed if you don”t connect personally with your trainer

To avoid awkward workouts, interview potential personal trainers. Whether that is on the phone or in person, this is a good opportunity to explore whether there is compatibility there over your fitness goals and their skills.

You can also use this conversation to discuss their experience, client success stories, availability and confirm the personal trainer prices.

Stage 8: Research Client Reviews

As part of your decision making process we recommend researching client reviews about the personal trainer. You can check sources like Google Reviews, Facebook Reviews, and the personal trainers own social media pages to learn more.

Some personal trainers may also be on Trustpilot or similar authenticated review platforms. If you’re still on the fence about a particular trainer, you can also request a reference. This will provide you with real-life feedback from one of their previous clients.

Alternatively, you can ask around at your gym to see if anybody has any experience with that particular trainer. Word of mouth can be a very powerful reference source.

Stage 9: Schedule a Trial PT Session

Most personal trainers will offer a trial session. This helps you to see their training style in action as well as their intensity.

It’s important to note that this may not be a free trial. Some personal trainers may charge for this single session and this may not be a bad thing believe it or not! If a personal trainer wants to charge for a single trial session it may be a string indicator that they value their time and their services are in demand!

You may expect to be a smaller percentage of the average personal trainer cost for the trial session though or the personal trainer may allow you to take the single session cost off the price of the package, if you commit to a larger purchase.

This session will give you a clear outlook on whether the training style and communication works for you. It should also give you another opportunity to get to know the trainer a bit more personally and whether you will remain engaged if you decided to hire the trainer. It’s important to act on your gut instinct here, there is no real way to quantify this other than whether you feel a genuine connection and if feel excited to continue.

If you decide that the personal trainer isn’t right for you then it’s best to be honest, and politely say you will not be going ahead rather than ignoring follow up calls, emails and messages. You may be able to provide feedback if they ask for it and move on with your search. Do not feel pressured to continue and end up in a situation where you have committed financially and you are not enjoying the sessions. Personal Training and attending the gym should be fun too!

Don’t forget there may be other PTs in the same gym who you can consider, it will much less awkward to approach another trainer in the same gym if you have have let the first trainer that you took a trial with that you won’t be going ahead rather than ignoring their calls!

What Is Included in a Personal Training Package?

There are so many personal training packages that it is challenging to specify what exactly will be involved in the personal training sessions in your location. However, there are key components you should look out for.

The first thing that should happen in any personal training package, whether online or in person, is an in depth consultation. If you find yourself with a trainer who starts a workout without having completed a consultation then you should seriously reconsider your choice of trainer.

The initial consultation is so important for your journey as it will define your goals, chat about your prior experience, broadly discuss nutritional support (this should then become more in depth as you begin capturing your food diaries, and allow the trainer to set expectations. Your trainer should also cover an informed content and PARQ form with you too.

When booking an online personal trainer, you’ll often find that they include different workouts in their package with movements to target different muscle groups. These workouts can be alternated throughout the week at the gym. An online personal trainer will also assist with guidance on how to safely and effectively conduct exercises, often with video tutorials since they are not in the gym with you.

During the initial consultation this the personal trainer will get to know you and your fitness goals and explain the packages that they offer. They will often guide you to the package that fits your specific needs.

After you have established the package, you will discuss the frequency of workout sessions you would like and the personal trainer costs. Usually this can be anything from 1 – 3 sessions per week and are usually paid in a block price or in a monthly subscription.

Once you have decided on the volume of sessions per week, the personal trainer will create workouts specific for you and guide you through them each time you meet. The more frequently you attend these sessions, the more quickly the trainer can make workouts more challenging and push you forward towards your goals. You may ask the trainer for additional workouts plans be given to do by yourself round about your sessions.

They may ask you to track what you eat and conduct regular reviews of your progress Vs your goals. The review meetings should include a chat about what you are enjoying, if there is anything you would like to change, a thorough check of body composition and performance related goal tracking. Through weekly or monthly assessments, they will update plans, show progress and determine the correct path to move forward.

In some cases, personal trainers will use specific personal trainer apps, like our partners at My PT Hub or a website where you can input information for a more personalised experience. There may also be a communication avenue, like Whatsapp, email or via a phone call, where you can communicate with your personal trainer outside of the sessions to ask questions about the plan

Cost for a Personal Trainer

How much a personal trainer costs varies depending on several conditions, with the average personal trainer cost changing from region to region.

If you conduct an online search with the phrase “how much is a personal trainer [insert city] and do this for two different regions in the UK you will quickly find that the cost of hiring a personal trainer varies depending on your location. In densely populated areas such as London, the demand is far higher than in smaller cities.

Even within London the average personal trainer cost can be vastly different if you search for Personal Trainer Watford Vs Personal Trainer Chelsea.

Also, it’s important to consider the cost of living. Personal trainers that live in London will often charge more because they have to pay to live in London. Across Scotland and Wales, the prices may be far lower. The higher associated costs for a personal trainer to operate in London include:

• Higher Personal Trainer Rental Costs at the Venue
• Higher Living Costs – higher property prices
• Higher Council Tax or Business Rates

Although, equal to the higher costs for the service, the consumer will tend to have higher income levels in London relative to the same job elsewhere in the country, making the service more affordable for people living in that region.

Highly Rated Personal Trainers & High Demand

As a personal trainer begins to achieve exceptional client results and happy, positive testimonials they will increase the demand for their services (provided they correctly leverage and showcase the results).

This is helpful for your choice in the search for a PT as you can select someone who is highly rated, and has a proven track record of success. However, this will usually equate to a higher price point too. Higher demand for any service usually increases the price and personal training is no different.

You will want to weigh up the balance of budget Vs the personal trainer cost and try to shop to gain the best possible trainer within your own budget.

Personal Training Service Choice

The average personal trainer cost will also differ depending on the type of service you would like to receive. Personal trainers may have a few different packages that you can choose from that range from a more affordable experience to a high-end quality package. These differences in packages can differ in service type rather than number of sessions, ie volume and time.

For example a lower priced service may be a group personal training service. This allows the personal trainer to train a small group of clients together in the one session, thus each person can pay less and the trainer only has to spend the same 1 hour on the gym floor.

Other variant is whether the service is online based or in person. You may find online based services cheaper than face to face services. This makes sense as the trainer has less overheads to pay on gym costs and they have a greater degree of control on their time and location to service you from any location.

How Much is a Personal Trainer: Regional Costs Revealed

The above table provides average prices for trainers based on research conduct by The Fitness Group content team. During our research we gained insight from our graduates now working in the industry as personal trainers and from research conducted online.

London Personal Trainer Pay

London has the highest personal trainer cost, and the highest expected hourly employment rate. On London a personal training session can range in cost between £50-£150. This is not surprising considering the factors mentioned in a the start of this section, London has the highest cost of living in the UK of any major city. Factors that contribute to this include the cost of living, the cost of operating in the region, high demand and the higher levels of affluence amongst consumers.

We referenced Payscale to determine the latest average hourly rate for personal trainers in London. The average hourly rate for personal trainers in London is £30.52 per hour, this average rate includes employed positions in the industry like gym managers, assistant managers and employed personal trainers. London has a broad range for the average the cost for personal training sessions, this is due to both service differences and also regional disparities within greater London.

London has a great level of competition for high end, premium personal training focused gyms compared to anywhere else in the country. You can expect to pay a higher rate for personal training at Third Space or Ultimate Performance than Pure Gym, however you will also receive a different service for the cost.

South West England Personal Trainer Pay

The personal trainer cost in Bristol and he south west of England ave the second highest personal training session cost in the UK and the third highest fitness industry average employment rate in the UK at £16.30 per hour. The average cost of a personal training session in Bristol is between £45-£90 per hour.

South East England Personal Trainer Pay

The personal trainer cost in Oxford, Brighton and the south east of England have the third highest personal training session cost in the UK. The average fitness industry employment pay in South East of England is considering lower at £15.10 per hour. The average cost of a personal training session in the Oxford or Brighton is between £35-£75 per hour.

North East England Personal Trainer Pay

The personal trainer costs in Newcastle and the North East of England is in the centre of the UK average at £35-£75 per hour. The average employment rate within the fitness industry in the North East England is £15.63 per hour.

North West England Personal Trainer Pay

The personal trainer costs in Manchester and the North West of England is in the centre of the UK average at £35-£75 per hour. The average employment rate within the fitness industry in the North West of England is slighty higher at £16.74 per hour.

If you’re interested, check out our post on the best gyms in Manchester and see if you can tick them all off.

Scotland Personal Trainer Pay

The personal trainer costs in Glasgow tend to average between £35-£60 and the personal training costs in Edinburgh sit closer to £35-£75 on average. In Scotland’s two major cities the costs of average costs of personal training are greater than the smaller cities and towns in Scotland. The average pay ranges in the fitness industry ranges from just over £15 in Glasgow to nearly £18 in Edinburgh.

In smaller cities in towns the average cost of a personal training session is slightly less at £30-£60 and the average pay in the fitness industry for employed roles is between £12-15 per hour in Scotland

Wales and Northern Ireland Personal Trainer Pay

Similar to Scotland, you will find that in the major cities like Cardiff, Swansea and Belfast the average personal trainer cost per session is higher than in smaller cities and towns. Overall the average falls between £30-£50 per hour for a personal trainer pay, with personal trainers in major cities demanding pay towards the higher end of that scale. Wales and Northern Ireland exist. The average hourly rate of pay in Belfast for employed positions in the fitness industry is £12-£15 per hour.

Summary 

Hiring a personal trainer has the potential to be the one thing you are missing in your fitness journey. If you find yourself hitting roadblocks in your progress, you are unmotivated or you’re unsure of where to start, a personal trainer may be a great option for you.

This guide explains the answers to “how much is a personal trainer” and provides you with excellent guidance on what services and support you should expect from your personal trainer.

That being said, you have to determine the type of service you would like. Many factors should come into consideration when choosing a personal trainer and the personal trainer costs. You should keep in mind your fitness goals, your budget and your location. Additionally, the personal trainer should be appropriately qualified, have references and you should be able to connect with them. 

Personal trainer costs will vary depending on your location and the type of personal training package you would like, so answering the question of how much is a personal trainer is as straight forward as one may think. Speaking directly with the personal trainer is the best way to formulate a plan that is best for you and provides you with long-lasting results. Be sure to take all of the factors in this article and establish the next step in your fitness journey.

If you would like any recommendations then reach out to us and we can guide you towards one of our successful, accredited personal trainers in any UK region.

If you would like to become a personal trainer then check out our industry leading personal training courses, you can get started with payment plans from as little as £33 per month.