Complete Guide To Personal Training Mission Statements

A personal training mission statement can help to define your unique brand, signifying to clients why you are different from your competitors within the fitness industry.

Within this article, we’re going to discuss the importance of mission statements for personal training businesses, and how you can create one which will accurately reflect your brand as a PT.

One way to stand out as a personal trainer is through specialised qualifications such as a Level 5 Lower Back Pain Management certification, or Level 5 in Nutrition for athletes into your arsenal. 

Feel free to download our FREE prospectus in order to learn more about all of the exciting courses we have to offer here at OriGym.

Content:

• What is a Personal Training Mission Statement 
• Why Does Your Personal Training Business Need a Mission Statment 
• How to Write a Personal Training Mission Statment 
• Factors to Consider When Writing Your Own Personal Trainer Mission Statment 
• Ways to Communicate Your Mission Statement 
• FAQ

What is a Personal Training Mission Statment? 

In the simplest of terms, a personal training mission statement is something that defines and describes the type of service you offer. 

When crafting your own mission statement, you should try to provide the reader/potential clients with clarity, direction, and purpose. Think of it as a form of advertising, in which you are attempting to sell yourself over your competitors. 

A good mission statement for a personal training business will highlight:

• Your overall goal as a personal trainer 
• Who your target demographic is 
• The desired outcome of your training program

When it comes to examples of effective mission statements, here’s a great one from Mark’s Personal Training. From the screenshot provided below, we can clearly see that the three aforementioned factors have been met:

The Overall Goal of The Trainer: Mark states that he wishes to give more value to his client’s lives outside the time they spend together on the gym floor. Furthering this, he also states that he wishes to inspire and educate all clients, in order for them to become the best version of themselves.

The Target Demographic: Even though it’s just a brief sentence, through his personal trainer mission statement Mark clarifies that his target demographic is those looking to manage their weight.

If you fall into this category and would like to learn more about this topic, consider enrolling on OriGym’s Level 5 Obesity and Weight Management course.

The Desired Outcome of Training: Similar to his goals, Mark clarifies at multiple points throughout his mission statement that his desire is to better educate his clients, in order for them to blossom into a more confident version of themselves.

It’s absolutely imperative, then, that when creating a mission statement for a personal training business, your clients are at the forefront of your mind.

Please note, some trainers choose to include information relating to the pricing of their PT packages in their mission statement. 

This can be seen in the screenshot below provided by Australian personal trainer Kayla Itsines, who offers a free trial to her online service before a recurring fee of $19.99 (or €17.63).

However, choosing to include this feature is entirely dependent on your personal preference and whether or not you feel this format is appropriate for your business. 

Why Does Your Personal Training Business Need a Mission Statement?

When faced with the question posed above, we can argue that there are three simple reasons as to why a personal training mission statement is a necessity for your business. 

#1 - It Gives Your Business Direction

Business owners will use their mission statements to teach clients why their brand exists in the first place.

In the instance of personal training mission statements, we can therefore argue that they exist to teach clients why you became a qualified PT, to begin with. 

This personal information seeks to create a bond with the client, encouraging them to sign up.

In these statements you should outline your goals and values, giving potential clients the information that they require before deciding to hire you.

Without this direction, potential clients would not know what you stand for, or what the main objective of your training was. For example, how could a client decide to hire you for muscle toning training, when there is no mention of it within your mission statement?

A mission statement should act as the first port of call for any potential clients who are seeking to learn more about your services, and why they might be interested in you as a PT.

#2 - Can Act as a Guide For Decision Making

Your mission statement can be used as a self-reflective piece of writing which you can refer back to at multiple stages throughout your career. 

If you are faced with a difficult business decision and are unsure of what to do, reference your mission statement and try to think of a solution that keeps in line with what your overall business stands for.

Mission statements can also act as a reminder of why you initially became a personal trainer, potentially holding the power to revitalise a passion that may have dwindled over the years.

Motivation is key here, even if you take one line or sentence to follow as a personalised mantra to carry with you each session.

In short, let a personal trainer's mission statement be your guiding compass in everything you do throughout your fitness career. Ensure that is relevant to you, not just in the short-term immediate future, but for the rest of your life.

#3 - Helps to Shape Business Strategy

Simply crafting your own personal training mission statement isn’t enough to stand out from the crowd. You need to be aware of your local competitors, by researching how they’re marketing themselves through their own statements.

Once this research has been completed, putting your findings into words will help you to determine what makes your brand of personal training different from your competitors. 

Therefore, a personal training mission statement may be one of the most important pieces of advertising you may ever have to create. As the backbone of your brand identity, it signifies to clients exactly what your business stands for and why you entered the industry to begin with.

Without it, potential clients would be unable to determine what makes you unique, resulting in you simply blending into obscurity with other trainers who have no defined brand identity.

How To Write Your Own Personal Training Mission Statement

When looking to write your own mission statement for a personal training business, we advise you to keep these three key areas in mind:

• The Who - Your key demographics 
• The Why - The goal and values of the trainer 
• The What - The desired outcome of the training program

By focusing on these key topics you will be able to produce an effective personal training mission statement, which if done correctly could help to launch, or revitalise your business.

#1 - Identify Your Key Demographics - The Who

Knowing who you want to train is crucial, as this will help to significantly shape your personal training mission statement. 

For example, if you hold a specialist qualification such as Level 5 Diabetes Control and Weight Management, then your target demographic will likely be clients who are diabetic, or at high risk of developing the condition. 

Fareham-based PT Robert Cotrelli provides a good example of a brand that uses its personal training mission statement in order to attract their desired customers.

Here, we can see that the company’s mission statement has been used to attract clients who have already tried and failed at previous workout plans, or fad diets. 

RCotrelli then clearly states that, with him, clients will learn to push through this plateau, with the assistance of training that has been entirely customised to their needs. 

Therefore, when creating your own personal training mission statement, you not only need to personally address these clients but also discuss how your specific brand of personal training can benefit them.

But what happens when you don’t have a predetermined demographic in mind? 

In this instance you need to do some research and self-reflection, look at your qualifications and areas of interest and ask ‘how and why would a client choose me as a personal trainer?’. 

We advise you to always focus on a topic that you feel personally passionate about. This will help to find clients who share a similar interest and want to learn more about it from a qualified professional.

When determining your target demographic it’s always important to keep these factors in mind:

• Their age range
• Their gender 
• What are their average fitness goals?
• What websites/social media do they use

The more detailed you are in your research, the better your personal trainer mission statement will be. This is because you’ll be able to write one with exact precision, knowing who you’re targeting and why.

#2 - Identify Your Goals and Values - The Why

These goals and ethos can be communicated in short sentences throughout your personal trainer mission statement. This should effectively communicate:

Without goals and values, you simply have no reason to start a business in the first place, as they should be the driving force behind every decision you make.

When creating your own personal training business plan, these goals and values will be unique to each individual trainer. This is simply because everyone is different, and will place a greater sense of importance on different topics and areas of fitness.

These goals and ethos can be communicated in short sentences throughout your personal trainer mission statement. This should effectively communicate:

• Why you entered the fitness industry 
• What you stand for as a personal trainer 
• What goals you can help your clients to achieve.

Tanaka Training provides a great example of a personal training mission statement that stresses its core values and goals.

From the screenshot provided above, we can instantly see that the training promotes weight loss through an informed approach. From this one tagline alone, Tanaka Training’s values are conveyed as being ethical, rather than promoting weight loss through dangerous or uninformed means.

Following this discussion on values, Tanaka Training discusses the goals of thor training such as:

• To create a tailored program that will help clients lose fat in a healthy way 
• To lose more fat but retain muscle 
•  To create a tailored dietary plan personalised to each client's needs

Tanaka Training also has a separate personal training mission statement for their approach to muscle gain here.

When creating your own mission statement for a personal training business we can recommend using these examples as guidance. Be clear in your approach and communicate exactly why you’re in this business to your potential clients.

It may also help your business to have multiple personal training mission statements, in order to cover the different training sessions you offer. 

For example, if you offer both marathon and HIIT training sessions, be sure to create separate mission statements in order to attract potential clients and demographics who will be interested in these areas. 

When attempting to identify your own core values it may help to think of the following questions:

What are the principles you value in Health and Fitness?

Do you want to challenge any existing norms within the fitness industry? Or are you more interested in more holistic aspects, such as honesty and integrity?

Asking yourself these simple questions allows you to gain a better understanding of what makes your approach to personal training unique. 

Why did you enter the fitness industry to begin with?

Everyone starts somewhere, and sometimes self-reflection can help us with future goals. Thus, when creating your personal trainer mission statement it may help to think back on why you initially became a personal trainer.

Reconnecting with your initial passion and sharing this within your personal training mission statement can help you to connect with potential clients. 

If they can see your personal passion shine through, then they are more likely to sign up for your training.

#3 - Identify What Services You Can Provide - The What

There are many different personal training career options, so regardless of whether you’re contracted to a specific gym or operate on a freelance mobile basis, this needs to be communicated through your mission statement.

For reference on what you may be doing in these roles check out our guide on the roles and responsibilities of a PT.

Potential clients should be able to read your personal training mission statement and be able to tell what service you provide. 

Therefore, during the writing process you should consider including the following topics:

• What type of personal training you specialise in? - For example HIIT, Weight Loss or Muscle Building  
• How do you deliver your services? - Do you provide one-to-one training, group sessions, or is your training entirely online?
• Where do you train? - Do you have a fixed location or are you a mobile personal trainer? 
• How much do you charge? - Again, as mentioned within the introduction of this article many trainers choose to include their pricing packages. However, this is a personal preference as you may have another method of discussing payments with clients.

Celebrity personal trainer David Kingsbury provides a personal training mission statement that ticks all these boxes.

From the screenshot provided above we can see that David addresses:

The type of training he specialises in- Muscle building and fat loss

How he delivers the service - Entirely online based

Where clients can train - Unique to every client's budget, equipment and preferred location

When writing your own mission statement for a personal training business these topics must be covered as a necessity. 

If clients can’t learn whether your service is suitable for their needs and schedule they will simply look elsewhere. Therefore, you should try to be as detailed as possible when crafting your personal training mission statement.

–

If you’re enjoying learning about how to write a mission statement for a personal training business, then we think you may find these other OriGym articles engaging:

• Types of Professional Development for a Personal Trainer
• 9 Personal Training Communication Skills
• Complete Guide to Personal Training Testimonials 

Factors to Consider When Writing Your Own Personal Trainer Mission Statement

Unfortunately, the writing process is never as straightforward as you may assume, and there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration when writing your personal training mission statement.

#1 - Use Clear and Concise Language

As a qualified personal trainer, your knowledge of health and fitness will be significantly greater than that of the average client. 

Due to this fact, you may want to show off your extensive knowledge through the vocabulary used within the personal training mission statement. 

This can be beneficial in some regards, as clients will be able to see that you’re knowledgeable in their area of interest and may be more likely to hire you.

However, you should also consider that these industry-specific words may be off-putting to some other clients, who may struggle to read or understand your mission statement. If this occurs, then clients will simply go to another trainer, who is easier to understand. 

Celebrity personal trainer Joe Wicks keeps things clear and direct in his mission statement, as evident from the screenshot provided from The Body Coach.

We can see from the final lines of this mission statement that Joe’s use of language is casual and friendly, with no trace of formality or overcomplication. 

This will appeal to readers more, as he is talking to them as he would a friend, thus instantly establishing a bond. Following this, clients are likely to want to learn more about his approach to training, and will continue to scroll throughout his site. 

The best mission statements are simple and accessible to all potential clients. By ensuring the language you use is simple and clear, you can increase the likelihood of engaging a client and getting them to sign up for a training program.

#2 - The Size of the Mission Statement

The length of a personal trainer mission statement is a somewhat difficult topic to discuss, as there isn’t a definitive ‘appropriate length’.

Personal training mission statements which are too long or short may prompt clients to close your website or social media profile and look elsewhere instead. The most important thing to consider is to be engaging enough to hold the attention of potential clients. 

No one is going to want to scroll through paragraph after paragraph as you detail every moment in your career, this information can be saved for a blog post. Instead, you should try to summarise your personal training mission statement into a few simple sentences.

JDarPT Fitness is an example of a brand with an appropriately sized mission statement for a personal training business. 

Not only is the information included easy to read and understand, but clients won’t have to scroll, or search through constant paragraphs to find what they require. 

Likewise, when researching business mission statements you may discover some brands advising you keep your mission as one simple sentence. These can also double as a tagline, with famous examples that include:

• Tesla: Mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy 
• Starbucks: To inspire and nurture the human spirit - One person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time.
• Peloton: To bring immersive and challenging workouts into people's lives in a more accessible, affordable and efficient way.

Whilst these short mission statements can be effective at times, please remember that these are companies that are known worldwide. They don’t need to go into too much detail because the general public already knows information about these brands.

Unfortunately, personal trainers aren’t afforded the same luxuries as multi-billion dollar organisations and you’ll need to use your mission statement to sell yourself. 

Simply writing one sentence won’t tell potential clients anything about you. They will require more information in order to decide whether or not they wish to hire you as their trainer.

Therefore, we can say that you must find a comfortable middle ground when writing your personal training mission statement. Try to ensure that the information included is detailed, but short enough to fit on one screen without the need of scrolling.

#3 - Optimise Your SEO

In order for potential clients to find you online, you need to use language which will boost your search engine optimisation (SEO). 

SEO is a term that relates to using keywords that will boost your ranking on search engines such as Google. If you manage to land on Google’s first page, you will also increase the likelihood of a potential client finding your mission statement.

Failure to include keywords within your mission statement could weaken your SEO. This means you’ll drop in rankings, and no client is going to want to sift through 10 pages of Google results just to reach you. 

If you’re looking to improve your website's SEO, we'd recommend signing up for a specifically designed software like Ahrefs. 

This is a tool that can help to significantly boost your SEO, whilst also tracking your own existing performance. 

Ahrefs currency costs around €120.00 a month for a basic package, but if that is out of your price range the free alternative Wordstream can also be effective for improving your SEO.

One way you could incorporate more keywords into your mission statement is to research around your specialist area of interest. 

From this, you can use Ahrefs or Wordstream to find keywords that correspond with your specialist interest. Once included in your mission statement, clients who are looking for this particular type of training will be able to find you easier.

#4 - Draft and Re-Draft

The first mission statement for your personal training business won’t be perfect, and you’ll almost certainly need to edit and produce several drafts. 

This can be a somewhat daunting task to undertake, especially if you’re not confident with writing. However, the important thing to remember is that this process isn’t a race, and should not be rushed under any circumstances.

As stressed throughout this article many times, a personal training mission statement is a key part of your business, and one which can reflect negatively upon you if done incorrectly.

To ensure your drafts are to a good standard, we’ve compiled a few key pointers:

1. Create an outline to ensure your writing is organised: Writing without a plan will only result in a jumbled mess of a mission statement that lacks focus. Taking time to plan what you wish to say, and when to say it will give your writing the structure it needs.
2. Ask for feedback: Feedback provides the opportunity for everyone to grow, as hearing other individuals opinions offers a perspective that is not your own. You could ask a multitude of different groups for feedback too, whether they be fellow trainers, tutors, or clients.
3. Proofread: Proofreading can be a tiresome process, and is one which many writers often avoid in favour of simply publishing without a second thought. However, proofreading helps to catch little mistakes that you may have missed during the initial writing process.

Therefore, you must understand that the writing process takes time and should not be done hastily, or without thought. 

As it’s a reflection of your business, you’ll want to ensure that your personal training mission statement is as strong as it can possibly be, as this will attract more clients to your service.

Ways to Communicate Your Mission Statement

Now that you have a better understanding of what to include within your mission statement, we can now shift our focus and discuss the ways in which you can communicate this to your clients. 

You never know when an opportunity to recruit a new client may present itself, and all good personal trainers should be able to communicate a mission statement in a variety of different ways. 

At OriGym we would recommend the following methods: 

#1 - Through a Personal Training Website 

Personal training websites can be used to create an online presence for your business. This should be the central hub of your website, where clients are able to find every piece of information about you, including a personal training mission statement.

If this is the method you find most appealing, then you should make your mission statement easy to find, in order to allow clients to learn more about you. This can be achieved by separating it into a section marked something along the lines of:

• About me
• My Mission 
• Learn more

The popular site Echo Fitness conforms to this example and places their personal training mission statement under the ‘About Us’ section of their website.

Burying your mission statement on an irrelevant page on your site could seriously damage your earning potential.

If clients can’t find this, they won’t know anything about you or your business and will thus be less inclined to sign up for training.

Additionally, there are a plethora of benefits to using a website to share your personal training mission. For example, due to websites not having word restrictions or limitations, you can make your mission statement as detailed as you wish. 

#2 - Through Social Media Platforms

Potential clients can be found on a variety of different social media platforms, therefore we would strongly encourage you to advertise your personal trainer mission statement on any of the following platforms:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• TikTok

Like a website, personal trainers can communicate their mission statement in an ‘About Me’ or ‘Bio’ section of their social media account.

You could choose to create an individual post specifically dedicated to your mission statement, but please be aware that this could become buried over time, meaning that potential clients won’t be able to see it among newer posts and updates. 

However, it’s important to note that often these types of sites/apps will hold word limits for these sections. This means that you may need to re-write or simplify your mission statement to ensure it's seen by everyone.

Examples of these limitations include:

• Instagram Bio - 120 character limit 
• Facebook Bio - 101 character limit 
• Twitter Bio - 160 character limit
• TikTok - 80 character limit 
• LinkedIn Bio - 2,000 character limit 

Therefore, it could be argued that LinkedIn may be the best platform to share your mission statement.

Here, we can see how Mark de Arriba-Smith (who appeared earlier in our article) uses LinkedIn to advertise his mission statement for his personal training business. Note how all of the aforementioned points are included but have been simplified with checks and crosses, in order to make it much more palatable for the reader. 

Additionally, it's important to remember that social media is all about creativity. Presenting your mission statement in a unique way is sure to attract clients that would otherwise not want to read multiple paragraphs of information.

#3 - Through the Use of Personal Trainer Consultations

Personal trainer consultations can be viewed as a type of sales pitch that you give to potential clients. 

You will meet together and demonstrate how you can help client achieve their goals, therefore you must be able to recite your mission statement verbally too.

Many personal trainers choose to provide free consultations in order to attract more potential clients. During these sessions, you should be as friendly and honest as possible, in order to increase the chances of them signing up for your service.

Initial consultations can either be held face to face or virtually, and both of these options may affect how you deliver your personal training mission statement.

If you choose to hold face-to-face consultations this may require you to learn how to communicate your mission statement verbally. Like with writing, this approach should be clear and direct, with no added fluff or instances of rambling.

Alternatively, you could give your potential client a personal training leaflet that details your service, which should include a section dedicated to your mission statement.

However, if you choose to host virtual consultations then you could opt to read your mission statement from a script. In this instance, you should still keep things simple and avoid rambling, as this will only bore the potential client. 

Additionally, because you're hosting this virtually you will need to ensure you’re communicating everything as clearly as possible. The clients may mishear things or your signal might not be working correctly, so always offer a summary to be safe.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can conduct your own consultations check out our YouTube video detailing this very subject.

FAQ

#1 -  What Are The Qualities Of A Strong Mission Statement?

When creating a mission statement for a personal training business there are certain qualities that will ensure you stand out from other highly qualified personal trainers, these include:

Being Unique To You - Whilst it's okay to take inspiration from other personal trainers in the industry you should by no means directly copy them. Additionally, being unique will prohibit others from stealing your mission statement and passing it off as their own.

Your mission statement should be unique to your business, telling clients what you believe, and how you can deliver it.

They Create Expectations - A strong personal training mission statement will create expectations among your potential clients. They should be able to read this information about you, and get excited about the prospective training program that you have to offer.

They Are Realistic - When crafting a mission statement for your personal training business, be honest with yourself and with your potential clients. Setting unrealistic expectations will only result in clients' disappointment and a likelihood of them dropping you as a trainer.

Target specific demographics - As discussed at length throughout this article, the strongest personal training mission statements will target key demographics. These are the clients you want to personally attract to your service, so be sure to keep them in mind during the initial writing process. 

Always Positive - Clients don’t want to read a personal trainer mission statement and feel confused or unsure of whether your service is right for them. Therefore, every statement should promote positivity and excite people to learn from you sorry.

#2 - Should I Update My Personal Trainer Mission Statement?

The main purpose of a mission statement is to describe a business or organisation. Therefore, unless your business changes drastically you won’t need to completely re-write your entire statement.

You will still hold the same core values so this won’t need to be altered at all unless you have a sudden change of heart. 

However, a factor that may change is your goals for the training sessions, as you may find a new passion, or become qualified in a different area such as sports massage therapy. 

In either of these instances, the mission statement should be altered to better reflect your existing business. 

Before You Go! 

When writing a personal training mission statement, the most important thing to remember is that you ensure yourself and your business are reflected throughout.

This one piece of writing can tell potential customers everything there is to know about you, so be sure that your own personality, values and goals are reflective in what you produce.

OriGym’s Level 5 Sports Nutrition Course can provide personal trainers with a unique qualification that can help to strengthen their existing mission statement. 

Better yet, the course is recognised by CIMSPA and regulated by Ofqual, proving it to be one of the top qualifications in the industry.

You can also follow your passion in a variety of health and fitness-related subjects. Just download our FREE prospectus where you’re sure to find something to suit your personal interests.