This guide is part of our detailed series: How to Become a Personal Trainer in the UK.

People have lots of questions when they’re considering becoming a certified personal trainer – and many of those questions are around age.

Here, we’ve put together a detailed guide to age and a career in personal training – including how old you have to be to get started with a personal trainer certification, why your age matters when it comes to insurance, and if there’s any upper age limit on getting involved in the fitness industry.

Can teenagers be personal trainers?

Yes, 18 and 19-year olds meet the minimum age requirements around the role of a personal trainer.

This universal age requirement comes from the insurance companies that offer cover for a fitness professional. It’s absolutely essential that you do not train clients without this insurance – as it protects both you and your clients in the case of any legal issue.

Can you become a personal trainer at 16?

While you cannot start work in a personal training role until you’re 18, there’s no reason why you can’t start laying the foundations for your fitness industry career when you’re 16.

As we’ve mentioned above, it’s usually just the terms and conditions of insurance policies that prevent you from being a PT when you’re 16 or 17. Even the business insurance policies that gyms and health clubs use will have strict rules around the ages of PTs.

This doesn’t stop you building your health and fitness business knowledge from a young age though!

Most gyms have positions that are suitable for 16 and 17-year olds – and even if they’re not your dream job straight away, they will almost certainly have you working alongside PTs and building an understanding of how the industry works. This is the kind of knowledge that will give you an amazing head-start when it’s time to start your PT qualifications.

Is there an age limit to becoming a personal trainer?

No. There’s no upper limit when it comes to starting out in a PT position.

The benefits of exercise are huge – and that’s true whether you’re an 18-year old training for the Olympics or an 80-year old keeping mobile into old age.

As such, there’s no ‘ideal’ age for becoming a PT. In fact, lots of people will consider an older PT to have the advanced education and additional experience that’s needed to really stand out from the crowd.

Why is there a lower age limit to being a personal trainer?

A big part of why you can’t become a fitness professional before you are 18 relates to insurance. As a fitness instructor, group fitness instructor, or PT, you will be required to either have your own liability insurance or be covered by a policy that the gym you’re working in has to cover all their team.

Generally, insurers will not provide cover for people who are under 18. This also means that business policies that cover a full staff team will also insist that there’s a minimum age requirement for fitness professionals who train clients.

Is 50 too old to become a personal trainer?

No! In fact, if you decide to start a career in personal fitness training at 50, you might be surprised at quite how many clients there will be who are keen to work with you.

While there’s no denying that there are some excellent personal trainers who are both very young and much older – many clients prefer to work with someone they think will truly understand their needs in the gym. Therefore, you might find that someone who is in their 40s, 50s, or 60+ prefers to work with someone they consider to be closer to their own age.

If you’re 50 or older and considering becoming aPT, now is a great time to explore the career. All industries benefit from having a diverse range of individuals – and the fitness industry is no different.

Can you become a personal trainer in your 40s?

Yes, you can absolutely become a PT in your 40s. In fact, you’ll see that we’ve already mentioned that the average age of a PT is into the late-30s, so you’ll be joining an industry with lots of successful people who are around your age.

Becoming a certified trainer in your 40s has been increasing in popularity in recent years. Part of the reason relates to people’s financial situation when they get a little older. With more stable finances and more disposable income, people are more free to explore a role that they’re genuinely passionate about – rather than just putting up with!

Who is the oldest personal trainer?

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest active personal trainer is an American called Tim Minnick.

At the time of writing, Tim is 77 years old and works as a PT in Texas in the USA. Perhaps most interestingly, Tim didn’t become a personal training professional until he was 74 years old – proof that personal training is a job that really can be started whenever you feel ready!

How old can a personal trainer be?

Although there is some element of fitness required to train as a PT, there’s nothing to stop you continuing a personal training career for as long as you are able to.

In many cases, age and life experience is a real benefit when it comes to coaching people. The more clients you work with, the better your real-world understanding of training clients will become.

This isn’t to say a young PT will not be effective – as all PTs that have trained with a reputable personal training course provider will have superb theoretical knowledge around exercise science – but age often gives individuals to expand their knowledge even further.

How old is the average personal trainer?

According to the latest fitness industry figures, the average personal trainer is around 38 years old.

Lots of people assume that personal trainers will be much younger than this – but this thinking process is perhaps influenced by which trainers are the most visible. Today, there are lots of younger personal trainers making an impression on social media and in the mainstream media – but while these people are keen to put themselves out there – there’s an equal (if not greater) number of older PTs who are working in less visible positions.

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