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I have sat across from many fitness professionals who describe their careers as a series of things that happened to them. The certification that opened a door. The client who changed everything. The manager who either made or broke their early years. What I rarely hear is a coach describe their career as something they built deliberately, with a framework beneath it that could support other people’s careers, too. Erzsi Myers is that coach, and nine years into her tenure as Personal Training Manager at EōS Fitness Encinitas, she is still building.
Myers did not arrive at leadership through a straight line. She came to fitness the way many coaches do, through loss. An injury in college ended her competitive athletic career and took away something she had not realized she depended on. Getting back into training, working with a coach herself, was the turning point that rebuilt not just her fitness but her direction.
“It helped me rediscover my why and rebuild both my confidence and direction. That personal journey is what ultimately inspired me to pursue this path for others.”
— Erzsi Myers
Fifteen years later, that original impulse, the one that said someone helped me through something hard and I want to do that for other people, is still running underneath everything she has built at EōS Encinitas. What has changed is the scale. Myers is no longer just helping individual clients. She is building the system that helps her entire team do it consistently.
Myers started at EōS Encinitas as a personal trainer when the company acquired the location. She progressed to Personal Training Manager over time, drawn by the opportunity to work more closely with coaches at the development level rather than just the delivery level. The shift looked like a promotion. It felt like a complete redefinition of what the job actually was.
“One of my biggest shifts was realizing that being a great coach doesn’t automatically make you a great leader. I had to move from focusing on my own performance to developing others, learning to delegate, trust my team, and give them space to grow, even through mistakes.”
— Erzsi Myers, Personal Training Manager, EōS Fitness Encinitas
That distinction, from performing to developing, is the inflection point most fitness professionals hit and either push through or quietly step back from. The skills that make someone exceptional on the floor are not the same skills that make someone exceptional at building a team. Myers had to learn a new craft on top of the one she had already mastered.
“Over time, success became less about my personal metrics and more about the growth, performance, and culture of the team. Building an environment where coaches support, challenge, and celebrate one another has been intentional, but seeing others gain confidence and create impact has become the most rewarding part of my role.”
— Erzsi Myers
Related: The Studios That Stopped Losing Coaches Built a Promotion Path. Here’s the Model.
What Myers has built at EōS Encinitas is not a vibe. It is a structure. Monthly trainer development seminars. A tiered progression from Level 1 through Level 2 to Master Trainer. Clear pathways for coaches who want to move into leadership and equally clear pathways for coaches who want to build an elite client-facing career without leaving the floor. The system exists because Myers understands something that most fitness operations learn too late: a team that depends entirely on individual talent and individual effort is a team that breaks down the moment someone leaves.
“We have a structured system designed to help personal trainers develop across all areas of the profession, from programming and effective training techniques to business development and client retention.”
— Erzsi Myers
For coaches reading this who are early in their careers, that structure is worth understanding as a selection criterion rather than just a benefit. The difference between starting your career at a facility with a development system and starting at one without is the difference between gaining the right experience and simply gaining experience. Volume matters. So does what the volume is teaching you.
“Early in your career, reps matter. Coaching different types of clients, building confidence, and learning how to adapt your approach. Here, you get that volume and variety, along with guidance, so you’re not just gaining experience, you are gaining the right experience.”
— Erzsi Myers
EōS Encinitas offers two distinct trajectories for coaches who stay and grow. The leadership path moves from personal trainer to lead personal trainer to personal training manager. The elite trainer path moves through the level system toward Master Trainer, building a client base and retention rate that becomes its own form of professional equity.
Myers is direct about what each path requires and what each one offers. Neither is passive. Both reward the coaches who treat their development as seriously as their delivery.
“The personal trainers who thrive on my team are the ones who take ownership of their growth, show up consistently with professionalism, and are genuinely committed to helping their clients succeed.”
— Erzsi Myers
That line is not a job description. It is a filter. The coaches who read it and recognize themselves are the ones the system was built for. Those who read it and feel uncertain about the ownership piece are getting useful information about whether this is the right environment for where they are currently.
Every gym claims culture. Few of them can describe it specifically enough to mean anything. Myers can.
“What really stands out at EōS is how invested we are in each other’s success. It’s not competitive in a way where people are guarding information or working in silos. We genuinely share knowledge, celebrate each other’s wins, and step in to support one another when needed.”
— Erzsi Myers, Personal Training Manager, EōS Fitness Encinitas
The honest tradeoff is the standard. EōS Encinitas does not offer a low-friction environment where a coach can coast on early momentum. Myers is transparent about that. The development is hands-on, the expectations are real, and the feedback is consistent. What the system gives back is proportional to what a coach puts in.
“It’s not always easy. We work hard, we push each other, and we expect a lot, but you’ll always know that someone’s in your corner.”
— Erzsi Myers
For the coach who is on the fence about applying, Myers has one thing she wants them to know.
“If you’re on the fence, the one thing I’d want you to know is this: what it actually feels like to be part of this team is that you’re not doing it alone. You’re supported, you’re challenged and you’re held to a high standard, but in a way that’s meant to help you grow, not break you down.”
— Erzsi Myers
Related: Deliberate Practice as a Business Model: Lisa Greenbaum’s 25-Year Blueprint
Myers has one piece of career knowledge she wishes someone had given her earlier. It is the kind of thing that sounds obvious until you realize how many coaches learn it the hard way.
“One thing I wish I had been told earlier is that building a real career in fitness isn’t just about being a great coach. It’s about learning the business side of the industry, too. Early on, I thought results alone would be enough. And while delivering great results is essential, long-term success comes from being able to build relationships, communicate effectively, retain clients, and manage your time and energy. Those are the skills that turn a passion into a sustainable career.”
— Erzsi Myers
That observation applies whether a coach is building their own practice or building a career inside a facility like EōS Encinitas. The technical skills get you in the door. The systems thinking, the relationship building, the ability to manage your own development as deliberately as you manage your clients’, is what keeps you there.
Myers has been at EōS Encinitas for nine years. She is coming up on her anniversary. She is still learning, still building, and still investing in the coaches around her the same way someone invested in her when she needed it most. That is not a coincidence. It is the system working exactly the way it was designed to.
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What does a personal training career path look like at a large fitness club?
At a facility with a structured development system, a personal training career path typically moves through defined tiers. At EōS Fitness, that progression runs from Level 1 personal trainer through Level 2 and into Master Trainer on the coaching track, or from personal trainer through lead personal trainer to personal training manager on the leadership track. Each tier carries different expectations around client volume, retention, programming complexity, and business development skills. The key differentiator between a structured path and an unstructured one is that the criteria for advancement are specific and known in advance, rather than decided informally when a position opens.
What is the difference between being a great coach and being a great fitness leader?
The skills that make someone exceptional at coaching clients are not the same skills that make someone exceptional at developing other coaches. Great coaching requires technical knowledge, presence, and the ability to read and respond to individual clients. Great leadership in a fitness context requires the ability to delegate, provide constructive feedback, build a team culture, and measure success by others’ growth rather than personal performance metrics. Most fitness professionals who move into leadership roles discover this distinction through experience rather than preparation. Facilities that invest in explicit leadership development for their senior coaches close that gap faster and retain their best people longer.
What should a newly certified personal trainer look for in their first fitness employer?
Four things matter more than most newly certified trainers realize when evaluating their first employer. The first is access to mentorship, meaning a named person whose job includes their development, not just a general culture of support. The second is client volume and variety, because reps with different populations in the early years build adaptability that is difficult to develop later. The third is a visible career path with specific criteria for advancement rather than vague promises of opportunity. The fourth is a team culture that shares knowledge rather than hoards it. A facility that offers all four is giving a new trainer something that independent work and boutique studios often cannot match in the early career stage.
How long does it typically take to move from personal trainer to personal training manager at a club like EōS Fitness?
There is no fixed timeline, and any club that promises one is overselling. What facilities with structured paths typically look for is a combination of consistent client retention, demonstrated mentorship of newer trainers, business development skills (the ability to grow a book of business through referrals and effective consultations), and the soft skills that signal leadership readiness. In practice, coaches who hit those criteria tend to move from personal trainer to lead trainer within two to four years and into a Personal Training Manager role within three to six years. Erzsi Myers’ own trajectory is a useful reference point: she started as a trainer when EōS acquired her location and progressed into the manager role over time. The constant in those timelines is not the years; it is the deliberate development that fills them.
About the Author: Jessica Maurer is a writer covering career infrastructure and operations inside the fitness industry. She writes for Coach360 on the clubs, studios, and operators building deliberate development paths for working coaches.
About Jessica H. Maurer
Jessica is a recognized fitness business consultant and strategist focusing on transforming businesses from overwhelmed to organized. Her international presentations, workshops, certifications, and consultations underscore her commitment to helping fitness professionals and businesses realize their full potential. When Jessica takes the stage, she’s sharing fresh ideas and inspiration that spark positive change. Jessica’s international presentations and consultations are about growth, career transformation, overall wellness, and making fitness a joyful journey. Her expertise spans education, program and instructor development, and brand evolution, making her a key player in elevating the industry. Jessica also played a pivotal role in developing the Mental Well-being Association’s certification for Fitness Professionals., always striving to bring a holistic approach to wellness that’s as uplifting as it is effective.
Jessica has presented at prestigious events like IDEA World, Fitnessfest ACSM Health &,Fitness Summit, SCW Mania, AsiaFit, and more. She has worked with brands such as FIT4MOM, SFR, BOSU, Lebert Fitness, Savvier Fitness, SCW Fitness, FitSteps, canfitpro, IDEA, and VIBES music. She also has written content for the IDEA Fitness Journal, canfitpro Magazine, Mental Well-being Association, FIT4MOM, Motherly, and more.Â
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