People become class instructors for a number of reasons. Typically class instructors love meeting new people, teaching and helping others to reach their health, fitness and weight management goals and ultimately also like keeping fit whilst doing a job they love.
How to become a class instructor
Becoming a class instructor, also known as group exercise instructors, is not like becoming a personal trainer, or for that matter a gym instructor. To become a personal trainer future PTs enrol onto a personal training course. To become a gym instructor, a budding instructor will study for a gym instructor award. However, with group exercise instructing, the route to employment isn't so clear cut.
For example, a class instructor maybe a gym instructor who teaches the odd spinning or Body Pump course here and there, or a swimming teach who also teaches aqua aerobics once a week. Alternatively, a class instructor may work freelance full-time and teach a wide variety of fitness classes in a wide variety of settings, including health clubs, gyms, leisure centres, dance studios, a church or village hall or the local park.
Courses to become a class Instructor /group exercise instructor
Typically people who enrol onto class instructor training courses will be devotees of fitness classes they wish to teach. For example, people who love participating in Body Pump or Spinning are likely to study to teach these classes, rather than say aqua, which they might like enjoy. Therefore, anyone wishing to become a qualified group exercise instructor should choose a course, carefully, making sure they have participated in a number of classes in order to make an educated choice.
Group exercise classes and courses on offer
There are a large number of possible group exercise classes, which means that each one will have a training provider offering a course to become a class instructor or teacher, whether that is a teacher of Body Jam, aerobics, studio cycling or circuit training. Group exercise classes and class instructor courses on offer include:
- Aqua
- Aerobics
- Boot Camp
- Circuit Training
- Exercise to Music*
- Les Mills - Body Attack, Body Balance, Body Combat, Body Jam, Body Pump etc
- Pilates
- Studio cycling
- Yoga
* A number of courses, including aerobics and aqua usually require the teacher to be qualified in Exercise to Music, a fitness training course which includes elements of anatomy and physiology, as well as learning to develop a fitness routine using music. Also the Exercise to Music award allows graduates to gain accreditation by the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) at Level 2.
To gain a flavour of each fitness classes potential students should participate in as many classes as possible. But in the mean time please visit our Group Exercise training courses channel to read about each course in more detail.
Use our course search and find out how to become a qualified group exercise instructor (including an Exercise to Music Instructor) and the types of group exercise class instructor training offered by the UK's leading fitness training course providers.
