Fitness Instructor Factsheet
Fitness Trainer Jobs – Your Options

With the rise in low cost gyms, pay as you go gyms and niche boutique operators, the fitness sector is slowly diversifying and when combined with all the services provided by national gym chains there’s greater membership choice than ever before.

If you’ve got the fitness bug and enjoy nothing better than the gym vibe and a healthy lifestyle then a career in fitness has a lot to offer. Once you’re a qualified Fitness Instructor, or equivalent the good news is there’s a whole host of fitness trainer jobs to choose from to set your career into action.

Fitness Job Roles

Here’s a few different types of fitness trainer jobs to wet your appetite;

Fitness Instructor

Provides exceptional customer service, induction and exercise instruction to gym members. Fitness Instructors are comfortable inspiring and motivating a wide range of different types of members enabling them to maximise their enjoyment and results from their gym membership.

Personal Trainer

Delivers elite exercise programme design and one to one fitness coaching to clients that is aligned to their fitness goals. Personal Trainers work with their own client base and can be employed or self-employed.

Class Instructor

Instruct exercise classes across a range of disciplines typically in a fitness studio setting. Classes vary and tend to follow fitness trends so to be successful you need to be willing to a variety of types of classes for differing fitness levels and have a bubbly personality.

Sports Assistant

Supports the fitness team with the day to day running of different multi-sport events which can be indoors and outdoors, for example, in a school or university setting. Sports assistants are enthusiastic about sport, enjoy team work and are friendly effective communicators.

Fitness Crew Member

Work in a fitness capacity on cruise ships coaching a variety of classes for guests and overseeing the safe effective running of the ship’s gym. Fitness crew members are self-motivated, independent people who are keen to travel and work as part of a small on-board gym team.

Kids Fitness Instructor

Provide a range of fun exercise and sports classes to children, teenagers and young adults generally in the 5-15 years age bracket. Classes are generally held afterschool, at weekends and during school holidays so this role suits part-time hours and those seeking flexible work.

Specialist Sports Instructor

Have qualified to teach specialist sports such as gymnastics, trampolining, football, rugby, athletics and swimming. Generally you will need your Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing and specialist sports and fitness qualifications related to the discipline you plan to instruct.

Physical Activity Co-ordinator

These positions involve the coordination of a range of physical activities to help optimise the well-being of individual residents, for example in a care home setting.

Leisure Assistant

Help with the smooth efficient running of the leisure centre by overseeing activities and dealing with customer enquiries on reception.
Fitness trainer jobs are well advertised on-line through job boards, national gyms and agencies. It’s also worth looking off-line as local gyms and leisure centres are often on the lookout for new team members so it’s well worth popping in for an informal chat.

Stuff to think about

It is important that the fitness job you apply for meets your own aspirations and provides the right stepping stone for your future fitness career path.

You won’t have to search from on Google or similar search engines to find a wide variety of jobs so it’s very important to have a think about what it is you actually will enjoy doing and what role will suit you the best.

For example, if you love to travel and work with people from a wide range of cultures then a fitness job on a cruise liner may be ideal for you. On the other hand if you don’t like the idea of being far from home and the constant change in guests then you may be better suited to a fitness role in your locality and developing your fitness career from there.

Consider the following when trying to find your ideal job within the fitness industry;

• The job description and how this matches your fitness qualifications.
• Shift patterns and hours and how these fit with your lifestyle.
• What salary you hope to earn as a Fitness Professional and how this compares with the basic and on target specified earnings.
• Travel commitments.
• Whether the contract is employed, self-employed, fixed term or seasonal.
• Does the role provide extra training courses specific to the job.
• Are there any dedications from pay, such as gym rental costs for Personal Trainers?
• Are there any employee perks such as health insurance and complimentary gym membership?

Become a fitness trainer

A popular start point is to qualify as a fitness trainer. Typically this is the first rung on the career ladder and means you’ll be working in a gym or similar environment assisting members on a day to day basis with their workouts. Here you’ll be members first point of contact and will provide expertise and advice that makes a meaningful difference to their success in the gym.

Working as part of the fitness team you will play a key part in the smooth safe running of the gym. Responsibilities will vary and typically include inductions and programme reviews, opening and closing of the gym, walking the floor, checking equipment and apparatus is being used correctly and stored in a safe place, maintaining the gym environment and equipment, offering on the spot exercise guidance, running gym based classes and assisting with member queries.

There’s no doubt working as a fitness trainer will build knowledge and experience and for this reason it’s a great stepping stone into a more advanced fitness career.

Requirements to be a fitness trainer

• A good basic education
• Enjoy working with others and helping people
• A happy outgoing personality
• Ability to instruct and show members how to do something
• Be fit and healthy
• Qualified as an industry endorsed Fitness Professional
• Flexible, helpful attitude to support the gym teams duties

Fitness industry courses

There has never been a better time to work in the fitness sector and if you’re ready to start your career the level 2 certificate in fitness instructing gives you the ability to work in the industry. There are a number of level 2 fitness industry courses to choose from depending on whether your interest lies in gym based training, kids’ fitness instruction or exercise to music. These qualifications are similar to a GCSE level and can be completed from 6 weeks full-time or on a part-time flexible learning basis.

Certificate in Fitness Instructing – Gym Based
Certificate in Fitness Instructing – Kids
Certificate in Fitness Instructing – Exercise to Music