As explained in how to 'Become a class Instructor' there are usually two routes into teaching group exercise classes, including working as a qualified gym instructor and teaching the occasional fitness class or working as a freelance class instructor - someone, who makes a living visiting a health club, gym or local village hall to enthusiastically teach fitness classes to a bunch of eager participants.
The courses on offer to both the gym instructor teaching fitness classes and the freelance class instructor are the same. However, whereas gym instructors are usually encouraged to become group instructors in a small number of disciplines, perhaps by their fitness manager, in order to meet the demand of their clients, freelance fitness class instructors have to make a living from teaching fitness classes only. Therefore, it may be of benefit to the freelance class instructor to learn to teach as many types of exercise classes as possible, in order to be in constant in demand, allowing them to earn more money.
Qualifications available to become a qualified class instructor
There are a wealth of fitness classes available to your average health club member, including Zumba, studio-based cycling, Body Pump, Body Jam, aqua aerobics, step aerobics, circuit training, boot camp-style classes, to name but a few. Therefore, the route to becoming a qualified fitness class instructor is wide and varied, with each teacher of the aforementioned classes all qualified to teach their form of exercise.
To gain further knowledge about these specific courses, and others, and what each training course involves please visit our section on group exercise training courses.
Choosing a group exercise training course
It is highly recommended to potential students that before embarking on any class instructor / group exercise instructor course they should participate in the class they are thinking about teaching. It would be wise also to take part in a large number of classes taught by different teachers, in order to gain an understanding of what type of instructor you may wish to be and whether you can see yourself teaching this form of exercise week in week out.
Once you have a good understanding of which form of exercise you wish to teach (usually the one you find the most fun and rewarding) you will need to find out whether the training course(s) in question carry any pre-requisite qualifications. For example, many music-based classes, students may need to already hold an Exercise to Music award, whereas a Body Pump course may require students to hold a Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) Level 2 award, which might include an Exercise to Music qualification or Gym Instructor award. Other courses might not require any formal training before attending.
Pre-requisite qualifications
If your chosen training course does require pre-requisite qualifications may wish to seek out a training course in Exercise to Music or Gym Instructing. In the short term this may prove to be most costly, both in time and money, but ultimately, holding such a qualifiaction will allow graduates more earning power and employment prospects within the health and fitness industry as a group exercise instructor.
For more training courses and find out how to become a qualified ffitness class group exercise instructor (including an Exercise to Music Instructor) and the types of class instructor training offered by the UK's leading fitness training course providers.
