Non-Compete Radius for Personal Trainers: Reading the Miles

A non-compete radius is a distance, such as five or ten miles, measured from a stated point, inside which your contract bars you from training for a set period; read the distance, the anchor point and the activity barred before you pick a new location. The number alone tells you little. Where the circle is drawn on the map decides whether a Carmel room, or any room you book through the fitness professional sign-up, sits inside it.

What the rule says

Indiana enforces a non-compete only when it protects a legitimate business interest and is reasonable in time, geography and scope of restricted activity, and its courts strike unreasonable terms rather than rewriting them (Indiana case law, checked October 2026). Independent contractors are judged by the same standard as employees. Under that test, a radius is the “geography” leg, and it is read together with the other two. This is general information, not legal advice, and the clause you signed is the thing a lawyer would measure. The broader test is in the Indiana non-compete answer.

The three parts of any radius clause

1. The distance. Five miles and fifty miles are not the same kind of limit. Compare the number with where your clients actually live and with how the gym draws its members.
2. The anchor. The circle may run from the gym where you worked, from every gym the company owns, or from “any location.” An all-locations anchor can turn a modest number into a large area.
3. The activity. Does it bar all fitness work, or only training the gym’s own clients? A narrow activity inside a wide circle can be less limiting than it looks.

How to measure it

Open a map and draw the circle from the stated anchor. Then check three things: your planned room, your clients’ homes, and the nearest alternatives. Note the straight-line distance and the driving distance, because the clause may not say which it means. If your room is inside by a small margin, a small change in location may take you out. If it is inside by a lot, the conversation changes from “where” to “whether.” A short rule of thumb helps:

• Clearly outside by several miles: low practical risk from this leg.
• Close to the edge: get a lawyer to read the measurement language.
• Inside: do not book anything until you have advice on the clause.

Choosing where to train next

A radius pushes your location decision, so make it deliberately. Hourly booking has one advantage here: you commit one hour at a time, so you can start in a room that sits outside the circle without signing a lease and move later if your situation changes. If you serve clients in Carmel, check how far the anchor reaches before you plan sessions at Carmel City Center, and do the measurement before you tell anyone.

What the radius does not settle

The distance is only one of three legs. Time matters too, since many clauses run for a year or two and expire. For client outreach, the non-solicit answer covers the other restriction, and whether a lawyer should review your clause is the decision to make once you know how close you are to the line.