Should I be a fitness trainer?

Have you ever been in an exercise class and thought, "I could teach this!"

Do you start dreaming of a session that would be more engaging, more beneficial, or just more your style?

A career as a fitness trainer may be right for you!

A fitness trainer creates fun and effective exercise classes that keep their students coming back for more.

There's more to this career than loving exercise!

• You can be found at the gym attending exercise classes regularly. Are you a gym junkie who has tried a variety of exercise classes and have your favorites?

• You are creative and innovative. Do you find yourself creating fun and exciting workouts for yourself or others?

• You enjoy helping others reach their goals. Are you good at setting goals and achieving them?

Fitness instructors are responsible for...

• Understanding the muscles and how they work together

• Writing well-balanced workouts that produce results

• Creating fun and engaging workouts consistently

• Encouraging participants to set fitness goals and work towards achieving them

• Motivating participants to work hard even when the workouts are challenging and their inner dialogue tells them to give up

What format would you enjoy teaching?

Mind-Body — yoga, pilates, and barre for core work, stretching, and mindfulness for a well balanced low-intensity workout

Spinning — cardio on a spin bike that includes both high and low-intensity intervals, set to heart-pumping music

HIIT — high-intensity intervals for a full-body strength and cardio workout

Dance Fitness — choreographed high energy dance routines to a wide range of music, from pop to hip-hop to Latin

Aqua Fitness — a full-body low impact format for cardio and strength training, held in a swimming pool

Strength — focus on specific parts of the body to tone muscles and gain strength

To become a fitness trainer, you need appropriate certification for the format(s) you'll teach.

A Group Exercise certification will allow you to teach the largest range of formats if you want to teach more than one type.

Before taking the exam, you'll study:

• The anatomy of the muscles

• How to create a well-balanced exercise class

• The proper way to interact with your participants

You'll also need CPR training.

Some formats require a more specific certification:

• Zumba or WERQ dance fitness

• DrumFit

• Spinning

• Yoga and Pilates

• Silver Sneakers

Fitness trainers can work in a variety of places such as:

• Gyms

• Fitness, health, or recreation clubs

• Personal training studios

• Yoga or pilates studios

• Rented public spaces

• Their own studio

• Outside

Will It Pay The Bills?

United States

The average wage for a fitness instructor in the United States is $19.42 an hour or $46,474 annually.

Canada

The average wage for a fitness instructor in Canada is C$24.54 an hour or C$51,038 annually.

• A 9-5 job sounds more appealing. Fitness trainers often work evenings and weekends to suit the schedule of their clients who work during the day.

• You like to dress professionally and you aren't into wearing yoga pants and tanks to work every day.

• You hate to sweat and a shower is necessary the minute after a workout session.

Pam

• Gets a workout in before going to work

• Changes into yoga pants as soon as she gets home from work

• Enjoys creating workouts for her friends and family to help them reach their goals

Jason

• Enjoys being home in the evenings to relax and watch TV

• Goes to the gym to work out a few times a week

• Takes weekend trips to visit his parents who live out of state

Jenny

• Favorite form of exercise is yoga because she doesn't get very sweaty

• Makes goals often, but needs reminders from friends to work on them

• Invites friends over on weekends to cook healthy meals and do yoga

Does a fitness trainer sound like a good career for you?

If it does...