Apprentice fitness instructors organise and lead groups in aerobics, weight training, movement and dance, spin, water aerobics, and circuit training. They might specialise in one field.
Responsibilities
Throughout your apprenticeship, you may help:
- assess people’s fitness and create personal exercise programmes
- demonstrate activities, exercise machines and weights
- help people exercise safely
- lead group exercise classes like circuit training or aerobics
- give advice on healthy eating and lifestyle
- update client records
- follow health and safety guidelines and maintain equipment
- market your classes to gain new clients.
Salary
- Newly-qualified Instructors can expect to earn around £14,000 per year. With experience and qualifications you can expect to earn up to £25,000 per year.
- If you fancy being your own boss, self-employed Instructors can set their own rates for personal training sessions and choose how busy to make their schedule.
Working hours
You may work at a health club, leisure centre, hospital, university, or cruise ship, but this is different from your typical 9-to-5 job. You’ll be working some evenings and weekends when most people like to exercise, working on average 32 to 34 hours a week.
Working environment
You could work in the community, at a school, at a health centre or in a park.
Your working environment may be physically demanding.
Qualifications
Qualifications you can achieve as an apprentice fitness instructor include:
- Level 2 Community Activator Coach – Entry requirements for this level include some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship. This qualification will take 18 months to complete.
- Level 3 Personal Trainer – Entry requirements for this level include some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship. This qualification will take 15 months to complete.
Skills
On a fitness instructor apprenticeship, you’ll learn:
- a desire to help people
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to teach and motivate people
- customer service skills
- physical fitness and endurance
- physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- sensitivity and understanding
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device.
Career and progression
You could take further training to become a personal trainer or teach extra activities.
With experience and qualifications, you could become a senior instructor or manager. You could also start your own fitness club.