Have you ever wondered just how much time a Personal Trainer spends working out each week? What is the exercise routine of a personal trainer usually?
Do you ponder what they spend their workout time focusing on?
Maybe you imagine they spend hours upon hours lifting weights and running marathons every other day.
As a Personal Trainer myself, I’m here to tell it how exercise routine of a personal trainer really is.
Time is of the essence
Contrary to popular belief, most PTs that I know do not spend 3 hours a day working out in the gym. They are usually too busy training clients or, if they are a mobile personal trainer, travelling between clients.
Of course there will be exceptions, and there are those who will workout for several hours a day, but most trainers I know (myself included) focus on getting as much “bang for their buck” as possible from their workouts.
Exercise Routine of a Personal Trainer: My Workout Focus
Cardio
I am not a runner. I never have been and probably never will be. It’s just not my thing.
Sometimes I will run to get from A to B (for example jogging to the supermarket), but for me there needs to be a destination, I don’t like to run just for the sake of running.
For my cardio training I love to do group fitness classes. Unfortunately this is tricky now with a little one at home.
Nowadays I do online videos at home – either something aerobic (like Body Combat) if I have time, or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) if I don’t have much time available.
Strength
For my strength training I do a mix.
Sometimes I do a Body Pump style class (light weights, lots of repetitions).
Other times I do strength training in the gym or at home (heavy weights, low repetitions).
If I want to train outside, then I will do a resistance band workout or just stick to bodyweight exercises (hellooooo squats).
Example whole body strength workout
Core
A lot of strength training exercises work your core muscles by default, as long as your technique is good.
However if I want a workout which really focuses on the core muscles I always do CXWorx by Les Mills. It is an amazing workout and great blend of different moves.
A day in the life of a Personal Trainer
This section should rather be called “a week in the life of a Personal Trainer”.
To give you a little insight into the real life of a PT I have broken down my daily activity during different stages of my life over the past 5 years.
PT life before kids
Before having kids, or even trying to have kids, I was active most of the time.
| Mondays | 1 hour weight training at the gym 1 hour teaching a class for Pregnant and post-natal women |
| Tuesdays | 6-7 hours personal training (demonstrating exercises, always moving, sometimes jogging, but not full workouts) |
| Wednesdays | 2 hours teaching Body Combat classes 3 hours personal training |
| Thursdays | 1 hour weight training at the gym |
| Fridays | 3-4 hours personal training |
| Saturdays | 1 hour teaching Body Combat 30 mins teaching an abs class 1 hour teaching a class for Pregnant and post-natal women Sometimes a long walk |
| Sundays | Long walks in the woods, sometimes doing the “Vitaparcours” which is public circuit training equipment set up in the woods |
PT life during fertility treatment
This was a very difficult time for all manner of reasons.
One of the hardest things for me was that during fertility treatment there are long periods when you cannot exercise, so I had to give up teaching my beloved Body Combat.
I also had to greatly reduce my PTing due to all the appointments I had to go to.
During this time every week would be different, below is an example of what I did on the weeks where I was not allowed to exercise.
| Mondays | 1 hour walk to work 1 hour teaching Bootcamp (not doing the workout, just walking and motivating) |
| Tuesdays | 3 hours personal training (demonstrating exercises, always moving, but no jogging) 1 hour easy cycling |
| Wednesdays | 2 hours personal training 1 hour teaching Bootcamp |
| Thursdays | 1 hour walk to work 1-2 hour walk in the evening |
| Fridays | 1 hour teaching Bootcamp 2 hours personal training 1 hour walk |
| Saturdays | 1 hour teaching Bootcamp |
| Sundays | Long walks in the woods |
PT life during pregnancy
I loved being pregnant and I was finally able to go back to exercising again!
Of course there are limitations to the exercise you can do during pregnancy, but I was so happy to be able to go back to some proper training.
As I had gestational diabetes it was even more important for me to be active, so I would always go for a walk after eating
| Mondays | 1 hour Body Pump class 1 hour teaching Bootcamp (walking, demonstrating, sometimes joining in) |
| Tuesdays | 3 hours personal training (demonstrating exercises, always moving, sometimes) 1 hour Body Attack class (aerobics) 1 hour easy cycling |
| Wednesdays | 1 hour personal training 30 minute walk 1 hour teaching Bootcamp |
| Thursdays | 1 hour weight training in the gym 1-2 hour walk in the evening |
| Fridays | 1 hour teaching Bootcamp 2 hours personal training 1 hour Body Attack class 1 hour walk in the evening |
| Saturdays | 1 hour teaching Bootcamp 1-2 hour walk |
| Sundays | Long walks in the woods |
PT life after having a baby
As anyone who has had a baby will know, your own routine goes out the window and trying to have a set routine is pretty much impossible for a while.
I just fit in movement whenever I can.
This is just an example of what a week can look like for me, but it changes every week and as my daughter grows it has to adapt to her needs.
| Mondays | 5 minute sun salutation flow 1 hour weight training at home 1 hour teaching Bootcamp (walking, demonstrating, sometimes joining in) |
| Tuesdays | 5 minute sun salutation flow 40 minutes exercise in the park with a friend who also has a baby 1 hour walk |
| Wednesdays | 5 minute sun salutation flow 1 hour cardio exercise 1 hour teaching Bootcamp |
| Thursdays | 5 minute sun salutation flow 1 hour weight training at home |
| Fridays | 5 minute sun salutation flow 1 hour teaching Bootcamp 1 hour walk |
| Saturdays | 5 minute sun salutation flow 1 hour teaching Bootcamp 1 hour walk 1 hour cardio/strength/core training |
| Sundays | 5 minute sun salutation flow 1 hour walk 1 hour cardio/strength/core training |
Flexibility is key
I hope this shows you that even when big life changes happen, fitness can still be a part of it. You have to be flexible and you have to embrace the change.
As a personal trainer, fitness is a big part of my life. I love to move, it makes me feel good and I make it a very high priority in my life.
Does that mean I spend hours in the gym every week? Not necessarily. At the time of writing this I have not set foot in a gym for months, as having a young daughter means working out at home is way more convenient.
I do make sure I move everyday though: at home workouts, walking, squat jumps whilst baby K is on the swing, holding a plank whilst baby K is playing, doing a bear crawl around the house chasing after baby K…..you get the picture.
Conclusion
The exercise routine of a personal trainer will involve several hours a day working out, but not for everyone. Most know that to maintain a good level of fitness, hours in the gym is not a necessity.
You have to make your workouts efficient and effective and add in other activities of daily living.
One of the key factors in PTs staying fit and healthy is that they make movement a priority in their life and they don’t look for excuses not to form an exercise habit.
When a PT has a schedule change due to a client moving their session or the gym changing their shifts, they don’t use this as an excuse not to train. They work around it and fit in their workout another way.
When a PT has a life change, meaning their regular routine is no longer feasible, they don’t use it as an excuse not to train. They adapt and evolve to ensure they can still maintain their fitness.
Is this what you expected? How many hours a week did you imagine Exercise routine of a personal trainer each week?