Staying fit and healthy while working a regular job is challenging. Workers often have to organize their lives around specific activities, like eating a nourishing diet and hitting the gym. It’s hard to juggle everything, especially when people have to travel and there are no healthy options on the road.
Because of this, many people interested in wellness are wondering whether they should quit their jobs to get into fitness. After all, that approach could solve a lot of problems with a single swipe.
“Part of the reason many people use our personal trainer course is that they are passionate about fitness and want it to be a part of their lives,” says The Fitness Group, an educational organization that runs many of these courses. “For many, they’ve experienced the benefit of these lifestyles for themselves and want to share it with others and help them achieve similar results. It’s often much more fulfilling for them to work with individuals and see the benefits than to continue to be a cog in the wheel in a corporate environment.”
It’s this fulfillment aspect that’s been driving much of the change seen in the industry since 2020 and the pandemic-related disruptions. Many workers want to do something with their lives that makes them genuinely fulfilled, even if it means less money at the end of the month in their bank accounts.
Traditional corporate roles were okay for previous generations, but many people now struggle to tolerate them in the same way, leading to all sorts of issues, including burnout and even mental health problems.
“The modern workplace isn’t always good for our collective mental health,” says The Fitness Group.
“While new jobs in big cities tend to pay quite well, they don’t always support the requirements of people who are trying to get ahead in terms of their wellness. For many, simply going to and from an office computer to the kitchen and back again isn’t the best solution and prevents many people from enjoying the balanced lifestyles that they want.”
This point is backed up by the fact that many office cultures are toxic. People might be down for eight hours per day in the office, but this can be undermined by the fact that their bosses or the people around them habitually put in sixty or eighty hours, even when the added productivity doesn’t increase output by much (if anything at all).
These cultures are more prevalent overseas. But there are accounting and legal firms that often prioritize the number of hours worked over the quality of what’s being done or work-life balance. Many times, a trade-off between the two doesn’t exist.
This reality differs from the world of fitness and wellness. Often in these careers, the two overlap, allowing people to live healthier and more balanced lifestyles long-term. Personal trainers and instructors can replace long stints in the office with working days built around their fitness requirements, which is often the perfect combination.
“Fitness professionals are often independent and can build their lifestyles around their requirements,” The Fitness Group explains. “You have some professionals who train themselves in the morning and then work with clients in the evenings, spending the rest of the day simply on honing their diets and remaining active. For many, it’s a lifestyle they love and it frees them up so much from the daily corporate drudgery so many workers simply accept as a part of modern life.”
On the demand side, things also look good for workers wanting to make the shift from, say, accounting, to fitness. More people than ever want to work with personal trainers, which is another reason for the apparent boom in the fitness industry.
Part of this trend relates to the growing intersection between fitness and wellness, and the recognition that doing both is part and parcel of a healthy, active and enjoyable life. Budding fitness instructors are currently riding this wave, finding numerous opportunities to work with people.
Social media platforms are also making it easier for these professionals to connect with their audiences online and run larger classes. These make it possible to earn more revenue faster and build a personal brand.
“This ability to reach clients on social media is incredible,” says The Fitness Group. “It means that once professionals finish their training, they don’t automatically have to join a gym. Instead, they can operate over the internet or find other ways to work with people that frees them up and reduces the amount they have to pay out or travel between locations.”
It’s this freedom that is one of the real drives for why so many people are quitting their corporate jobs and looking for a change of scenery. Freelance fitness careers offer enormous flexibility with opportunities for business ownership that aren’t found elsewhere. For many people, the ability to set a schedule and work in an uplifting environment is a reward in itself, even if it means the pay is lower.
Freedom and entrepreneurship are part and parcel of the process of running a personal business that’s less rigid than a regular job. There’s no need to organize one’s entire life around clocking in and out and, instead, these things can happen at any time of the day.
Ultimately, it is the resonance with personal life goals that is driving many people into fitness. The fact that it can also earn a living is another factor that is driving much of the change and leading to the increase in interest that’s being seen across the board in this career path. People see how it is working for others and want to experience those same benefits for themselves.
Influencers and role models make it clear that it’s possible to build a career that’s financially rewarding around wellness and fitness, allowing individuals to commit to their passion and enjoy themselves at the same time, without having to sacrifice for a corporate role. It’s a novel theory and one that’s gaining ground as people seek the ultimate lifestyle experiences.
