Top 5 Ways to Make Money in Fitness
In my previous post I discussed if it was morally sound to make money off of your passion if your passion involves helping people. Personally, I see no issue with monetizing what you love, since monetizing means you can do it more! There are many ways to make money off of your passion including coaching, selling products, courses, and much more. Before getting into my list, however, I must note that even if these are sound business plans, the success of them comes down to the individual. It will take consistency, grinding when you feel like quitting, and you must be an expert in your craft. If you don’t think you can do one of those things, these ideas to make money in fitness will not be as effective. Perfect your craft of fitness before anything, and only monetize when you feel like you can really provide value. I worked my butt off in fitness for quite awhile before making even a cent off of anybody! The nice thing is with the online space, the money will flow in quickly once you start gaining traction. However, the patience it will take should not be underestimated. Give these a try, but keep those thoughts in mind! Here goes…my top 5 list for making money in fitness.
Top 5 Ways to Make Money in Fitness

- Personal Training
This one seems obvious, right? Personal training is where just about everyone (including me) start out in fitness. You have been working out for awhile now, and you feel as though you have become an expert at getting into shape, or maybe you have been educated through a university. Now that you are a walking billboard of your training methods, you can market yourself to other people and gain a client list.
Training other people is a different beast than you might think. People have crazy schedules, not a lot of motivation, and health or injury problems you will have to consider. It takes a lot of practice to begin to really understand programming and individualizing routines for each person that signs with you.
Personal training can be very lucrative once you establish a solid business and get better at programming. Personal trainers charge anywhere from $20/hour up to a few hundred per hour. If you can work your way up to the higher end of this spectrum, you will be making great money. The hours are long, the journey takes patience, but the potential is endless. You will probably need to start out in a gym to gain experience and a client base, but the most lucrative path in personal training is in-home training, boot-camps, and running a private studio. Find your niche group (such as stay-at-home moms) and get amazing at training that group.
2. Writing programs
This is a big chunk of the money I make right now in fitness. Writing programs is easy once you have the knowledge and experience, and people will definitely pay you for it! I sell customized programs on www.triplefpodcast.com and have been crushing it lately. The key to my success is the customization. People aren’t necessarily after a cookie-cutter program, and I can help them so much better by customizing each program for their needs.
The best way to start making money writing workout programs is to write some for family and friends, free of charge. Improve your craft, and eventually someone will demand they pay for it. This is a great feeling! From this point on, you can charge for your service, anywhere from $20 a program to $1000 a program. Get good at marketing, selling, and giving people exactly what they are after, and they will keep coming back.
3. Online coaching

After some initial custom programs, someone in your specialty may ask you to coach them. Do not do this for free! People take things way more seriously when they pay for them, so set your prices for coaching high. It only takes a few clients to sign up for online coaching for you to make a good monthly income. Online coaches charge anywhere from $100/month to several thousand! I recommend somewhere in the middle, around the $500-$1000 a month range. This higher end service will allow you to give the best possible service to your clients, and keep the number of clients you have lower. With only 5 clients you could be making up to $60,000/year from online coaching alone!
There is a reason online coaching is exploding in popularity, it is VERY lucrative. You have to be available for your clients, and willing to customize nutrition and training on a whim, but it is relatively easy work compared to personal training. I only have a few online coaching clients right now, but with those three I bring home a crazy amount of cash for my hours I put in. I would consider online coaching to be the upper echelon of fitness business, so put your time in on the other methods first!
4. Become an authority
Fitness YouTubers such as Christian Guzman, Maxx Chewning, Nick Wright, and many others have made a great living off of becoming a fitness authority on YouTube. Along with YouTube, there are hundreds if not thousands of people who are making a living right now off of just Instagram or Facebook. Pick an online platform, whether it be YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Podcasts, or blogging, and crush it. Becoming an online authority is the biggest step you need to take in your fitness business marketing plan. Having an audience on any platform that cares about what you say is crucial for the success of your fitness business. Personally, I have been focusing on podcasting for the last several months, and it has brought me all my clients this year so far! It takes time, hard work, and a lot of unpaid hours. However, the upside is huge, as you can tell from watching any fitness YouTuber’s videos!

5. Train athletes
This career path is a little unconventional in the fitness industry, but it is a fun and lucrative one. Training athletes is my specialty, and there is a huge market for it. With the importance of strength and conditioning being more evident than other, there is a demand for GOOD coaches. A degree in Exercise Science, and even a Master’s degree is required to get going on this career path. After you pay your dues as a volunteer and in the classroom, the upside is huge for being a strength coach. After a few years of long work with little pay, you can easily make six figures training athletes either in a college setting or in a private facility. My passion lies in the university setting, but private sectors can bring in more money faster. Leave a comment down below if you want any more information on being a strength coach!

There you go, guys. That is my top 5 list for ways to make money in fitness. The fitness industry is crowded, yes, but there is still a ton of opportunity to make a great living doing what you love. Be better than everyone else, work harder than anyone else, and don’t be impatient. If you put in your time and your work, a lucrative career is headed your way!
As always, let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for reading.
