Book Review - The Business Personal Training

The Business of Personal Training
Written by : Scott O. Roberts et al.
ISBN: 0-87322-605-4

The Business of Personal Training was first published in 1996. It may have been one of the first books written on the subject. I am sure for its time it was a very useful resource for many new trainers as the personal training industry was only just starting to explode. However, there have been no further revisions since 1996 and therefore lacks an up-to-date feel. For instance, there is no mention of technology or internet marketing strategies for personal training. The book does cover fundamental business principles which may be useful for new trainers who are not familiar with business practices.

Each chapter is written by a different author specializing in their area of expertise. I am sure many of the authors probably have a lot more to share after over a decade since its publication. Part I briefly covers the history and origins of personal training. Part II dives into creating, marketing, managing and understanding the legal aspects of a personal training business. The concepts covered in this section are fairly rudimentary.

Part III deals with the personal part of personal training with an exploration of the client trainer relationship and psychology behind personal training. The entire length of the book is less then 150 pages so each chapter is very small. It was really hard to get into each section because each topic was covered very superficially.

The business of personal training has certainly come a long way since this book was first written. I would treat this resource as a very basic introduction to the business of personal training and perhaps look for a more up-to-date resource.