Gym instructor - recognised qualifications?
Discussion
Wonder if the PH collective can offer some advice on re-training as a gym/fitness instructor?
After taking 15 years out to raise the kids my other half is looking to get back to work by re-training to be a gym/fitness instructor, something she is passionate about and something I think she will do really well. Initially we are looking at learning distance courses to get her qualified to a level where she can take classes, longer term her plan is to gain experience as an employee before setting herself up as a 'ladies only' PT on a self employed basis.
The question is what qualification should she be looking to attain in order to secure a permy role? I have surfed job sites but there is no obvious qualification being requested, the course she's looking at completing gives a qualification recognised by YMCA?
The course is the 'certificate in personal training' on this site; https://train.fitness/personal-training-courses
Any info, direction, or advice would be grateful received.
After taking 15 years out to raise the kids my other half is looking to get back to work by re-training to be a gym/fitness instructor, something she is passionate about and something I think she will do really well. Initially we are looking at learning distance courses to get her qualified to a level where she can take classes, longer term her plan is to gain experience as an employee before setting herself up as a 'ladies only' PT on a self employed basis.
The question is what qualification should she be looking to attain in order to secure a permy role? I have surfed job sites but there is no obvious qualification being requested, the course she's looking at completing gives a qualification recognised by YMCA?
The course is the 'certificate in personal training' on this site; https://train.fitness/personal-training-courses
Any info, direction, or advice would be grateful received.
Try looking for what current vacancies are looking for...
http://www.leisurejobs.com/jobs/personal-trainer/
The PTs in my gym go from no qualifcations, to qualifications in reiki, first aid, dance to music, zumba workout etc...
http://www.leisurejobs.com/jobs/personal-trainer/
The PTs in my gym go from no qualifcations, to qualifications in reiki, first aid, dance to music, zumba workout etc...
Personally, I would suggest you consider doing absolutely everything humanly in your power to prevent her from embarking on this course of action!
Why, you may ask, am I saying this?
Because my wife went through the exact same process! She couldn't face the thought of getting back into HR again when she went back to work after a seven year break, and also felt very passionate about health, exercise and diet, so embarked on gaining some qualifications, and is now a REPS level 3 qualified personal trainer, Pilates instructor and has a few other qualifications in GP referral and the like.
So far, so good, you'd think, but the reality of the industry is horribly anti-social hours for awful money.
The two main routes to gaining experience seem to be working as a gym instructor in a leisure centre or as a personal trainer in a private gym chain.
My wife looked into both, and went for the former. She earns about a pound above minimum wage, and on any given day she's working, she'll either be opening up the gym at 06:15, or closing it at 22:30. It's not quite so bad when she has to work on a weekend, but then that's horrible in its own way.
She could earn a bit more money as a PT for a private gym chain, but outside trophy wife territory, there aren't many people in the market for personal training who don't themselves work a full time job, so pretty much by definition, all her work would be early mornings, evenings or weekends. There is also a lot of pressure to sell in those environments.
Add to that poor benefits and the feeling that you're an easily replaceable commodity employee, and it's really not a great industry to work in, and is generally a young person's game.
A further unpleasant side to consider is that your wife is, like mine, a woman of more mature years. I'm sure she's extremely fit and healthy, as is mine, and against the average member of the public, my wife stacks up very well. In an industry full of gym bunnies in their twenties who can imply to clients that "you too could have a body like mine", it could potentially bruise your wife's self belief unless she's specifically intending to focus on an older clientele.
My wife has been doing this for just over two years now, and it's starting to look like she might get to do much more of the stuff she's really interested in, working with recently diagnosed type two diabetics, and doing so in far more sociable working hours, but getting to this point has put a lot of strain on her and on our marriage.
You both need to go into this with your eyes wide open. If she really thinks she can cope with the horrible hours for low pay and little respect or reward from management to get to her ultimate dream scenario, and be aware that even then she's unlikely to clear much above £20k for which she'll have to work very hard in a very crowded industry, then maybe it's worth going for for her.
You then need to ask yourself whether you're ok spending most evenings either actually on your own because she's working late, or as good as, because she's been up since 04:30, and is currently (21:26 Sunday evening) fast asleep on the sofa next to you. That's in addition to whether or not you think the alarm going off at that time is going to mess with your own sleep.
I guess your kids are maybe older than ours and fairly independent given how long your wife took out, so maybe you can spend those evenings out riding or indulging in other interests, but ours are aged 8 to 13, so I'm either stuck in on my own or we've got to pay a sitter more per hour than my wife is earning if I want to go out!
We've got a strong relationship, but even so, we'd reached the point of no return and decided if she couldn't get the change she wanted, she was going to Jack the whole thing in and walk away for the sake of our marriage and our kids. Fortunately it's looking like she is going to get to do what she wants, which will be great for all of us, but bog standard PT / gym instructor work is f
king dreadful, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, or their families!
If you can consider all of that, decide it's still the right thing for you both and she still wants to go for it, then best of luck! I'd suggest she starts with a REPS (registered exercise professionals' society or something like that) qualification, and then add on a few more specialist bits and pieces to help make her CV stand out a bit more and increase her earnings.
Why, you may ask, am I saying this?
Because my wife went through the exact same process! She couldn't face the thought of getting back into HR again when she went back to work after a seven year break, and also felt very passionate about health, exercise and diet, so embarked on gaining some qualifications, and is now a REPS level 3 qualified personal trainer, Pilates instructor and has a few other qualifications in GP referral and the like.
So far, so good, you'd think, but the reality of the industry is horribly anti-social hours for awful money.
The two main routes to gaining experience seem to be working as a gym instructor in a leisure centre or as a personal trainer in a private gym chain.
My wife looked into both, and went for the former. She earns about a pound above minimum wage, and on any given day she's working, she'll either be opening up the gym at 06:15, or closing it at 22:30. It's not quite so bad when she has to work on a weekend, but then that's horrible in its own way.
She could earn a bit more money as a PT for a private gym chain, but outside trophy wife territory, there aren't many people in the market for personal training who don't themselves work a full time job, so pretty much by definition, all her work would be early mornings, evenings or weekends. There is also a lot of pressure to sell in those environments.
Add to that poor benefits and the feeling that you're an easily replaceable commodity employee, and it's really not a great industry to work in, and is generally a young person's game.
A further unpleasant side to consider is that your wife is, like mine, a woman of more mature years. I'm sure she's extremely fit and healthy, as is mine, and against the average member of the public, my wife stacks up very well. In an industry full of gym bunnies in their twenties who can imply to clients that "you too could have a body like mine", it could potentially bruise your wife's self belief unless she's specifically intending to focus on an older clientele.
My wife has been doing this for just over two years now, and it's starting to look like she might get to do much more of the stuff she's really interested in, working with recently diagnosed type two diabetics, and doing so in far more sociable working hours, but getting to this point has put a lot of strain on her and on our marriage.
You both need to go into this with your eyes wide open. If she really thinks she can cope with the horrible hours for low pay and little respect or reward from management to get to her ultimate dream scenario, and be aware that even then she's unlikely to clear much above £20k for which she'll have to work very hard in a very crowded industry, then maybe it's worth going for for her.
You then need to ask yourself whether you're ok spending most evenings either actually on your own because she's working late, or as good as, because she's been up since 04:30, and is currently (21:26 Sunday evening) fast asleep on the sofa next to you. That's in addition to whether or not you think the alarm going off at that time is going to mess with your own sleep.
I guess your kids are maybe older than ours and fairly independent given how long your wife took out, so maybe you can spend those evenings out riding or indulging in other interests, but ours are aged 8 to 13, so I'm either stuck in on my own or we've got to pay a sitter more per hour than my wife is earning if I want to go out!
We've got a strong relationship, but even so, we'd reached the point of no return and decided if she couldn't get the change she wanted, she was going to Jack the whole thing in and walk away for the sake of our marriage and our kids. Fortunately it's looking like she is going to get to do what she wants, which will be great for all of us, but bog standard PT / gym instructor work is f
king dreadful, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, or their families!If you can consider all of that, decide it's still the right thing for you both and she still wants to go for it, then best of luck! I'd suggest she starts with a REPS (registered exercise professionals' society or something like that) qualification, and then add on a few more specialist bits and pieces to help make her CV stand out a bit more and increase her earnings.
Edited by Kermit power on Sunday 6th November 21:47
Very insightful post there.
I've been in and around the industry to for many years and concur.
The passion she has and the qualifications she may gain will not mark her out from the many others in the same mould that flood in to the industry each year. If she's content with that and is in fact only doing it for fun and not wages that the family rely on, then that's less of an issue. If however it's a serious attempt at a career, then it will not be enough.
I've seen those who have specialised in the medical aspect more (GPs can refer people to fitness classes/gyms), seen those go on to open their own independent gyms, and some go on to study physiotherapy. Most have not lasted nor been able to make a decent wage.
I've been in and around the industry to for many years and concur.
The passion she has and the qualifications she may gain will not mark her out from the many others in the same mould that flood in to the industry each year. If she's content with that and is in fact only doing it for fun and not wages that the family rely on, then that's less of an issue. If however it's a serious attempt at a career, then it will not be enough.
I've seen those who have specialised in the medical aspect more (GPs can refer people to fitness classes/gyms), seen those go on to open their own independent gyms, and some go on to study physiotherapy. Most have not lasted nor been able to make a decent wage.
Kermit power said:
Personally, I would suggest you consider doing absolutely everything humanly in your power to prevent her from embarking on this course of action!
Why, you may ask, am I saying this?
Because my wife went through the exact same process! She couldn't face the thought of getting back into HR again when she went back to work after a seven year break, and also felt very passionate about health, exercise and diet, so embarked on gaining some qualifications, and is now a REPS level 3 qualified personal trainer, Pilates instructor and has a few other qualifications in GP referral and the like.
So far, so good, you'd think, but the reality of the industry is horribly anti-social hours for awful money.
The two main routes to gaining experience seem to be working as a gym instructor in a leisure centre or as a personal trainer in a private gym chain.
My wife looked into both, and went for the former. She earns about a pound above minimum wage, and on any given day she's working, she'll either be opening up the gym at 06:15, or closing it at 22:30. It's not quite so bad when she has to work on a weekend, but then that's horrible in its own way.
She could earn a bit more money as a PT for a private gym chain, but outside trophy wife territory, there aren't many people in the market for personal training who don't themselves work a full time job, so pretty much by definition, all her work would be early mornings, evenings or weekends. There is also a lot of pressure to sell in those environments.
Add to that poor benefits and the feeling that you're an easily replaceable commodity employee, and it's really not a great industry to work in, and is generally a young person's game.
A further unpleasant side to consider is that your wife is, like mine, a woman of more mature years. I'm sure she's extremely fit and healthy, as is mine, and against the average member of the public, my wife stacks up very well. In an industry full of gym bunnies in their twenties who can imply to clients that "you too could have a body like mine", it could potentially bruise your wife's self belief unless she's specifically intending to focus on an older clientele.
My wife has been doing this for just over two years now, and it's starting to look like she might get to do much more of the stuff she's really interested in, working with recently diagnosed type two diabetics, and doing so in far more sociable working hours, but getting to this point has put a lot of strain on her and on our marriage.
You both need to go into this with your eyes wide open. If she really thinks she can cope with the horrible hours for low pay and little respect or reward from management to get to her ultimate dream scenario, and be aware that even then she's unlikely to clear much above £20k for which she'll have to work very hard in a very crowded industry, then maybe it's worth going for for her.
You then need to ask yourself whether you're ok spending most evenings either actually on your own because she's working late, or as good as, because she's been up since 04:30, and is currently (21:26 Sunday evening) fast asleep on the sofa next to you. That's in addition to whether or not you think the alarm going off at that time is going to mess with your own sleep.
I guess your kids are maybe older than ours and fairly independent given how long your wife took out, so maybe you can spend those evenings out riding or indulging in other interests, but ours are aged 8 to 13, so I'm either stuck in on my own or we've got to pay a sitter more per hour than my wife is earning if I want to go out!
We've got a strong relationship, but even so, we'd reached the point of no return and decided if she couldn't get the change she wanted, she was going to Jack the whole thing in and walk away for the sake of our marriage and our kids. Fortunately it's looking like she is going to get to do what she wants, which will be great for all of us, but bog standard PT / gym instructor work is fking dreadful, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, or their families!
If you can consider all of that, decide it's still the right thing for you both and she still wants to go for it, then best of luck! I'd suggest she starts with a REPS (registered exercise professionals' society or something like that) qualification, and then add on a few more specialist bits and pieces to help make her CV stand out a bit more and increase her earnings.
Great post KP.Why, you may ask, am I saying this?
Because my wife went through the exact same process! She couldn't face the thought of getting back into HR again when she went back to work after a seven year break, and also felt very passionate about health, exercise and diet, so embarked on gaining some qualifications, and is now a REPS level 3 qualified personal trainer, Pilates instructor and has a few other qualifications in GP referral and the like.
So far, so good, you'd think, but the reality of the industry is horribly anti-social hours for awful money.
The two main routes to gaining experience seem to be working as a gym instructor in a leisure centre or as a personal trainer in a private gym chain.
My wife looked into both, and went for the former. She earns about a pound above minimum wage, and on any given day she's working, she'll either be opening up the gym at 06:15, or closing it at 22:30. It's not quite so bad when she has to work on a weekend, but then that's horrible in its own way.
She could earn a bit more money as a PT for a private gym chain, but outside trophy wife territory, there aren't many people in the market for personal training who don't themselves work a full time job, so pretty much by definition, all her work would be early mornings, evenings or weekends. There is also a lot of pressure to sell in those environments.
Add to that poor benefits and the feeling that you're an easily replaceable commodity employee, and it's really not a great industry to work in, and is generally a young person's game.
A further unpleasant side to consider is that your wife is, like mine, a woman of more mature years. I'm sure she's extremely fit and healthy, as is mine, and against the average member of the public, my wife stacks up very well. In an industry full of gym bunnies in their twenties who can imply to clients that "you too could have a body like mine", it could potentially bruise your wife's self belief unless she's specifically intending to focus on an older clientele.
My wife has been doing this for just over two years now, and it's starting to look like she might get to do much more of the stuff she's really interested in, working with recently diagnosed type two diabetics, and doing so in far more sociable working hours, but getting to this point has put a lot of strain on her and on our marriage.
You both need to go into this with your eyes wide open. If she really thinks she can cope with the horrible hours for low pay and little respect or reward from management to get to her ultimate dream scenario, and be aware that even then she's unlikely to clear much above £20k for which she'll have to work very hard in a very crowded industry, then maybe it's worth going for for her.
You then need to ask yourself whether you're ok spending most evenings either actually on your own because she's working late, or as good as, because she's been up since 04:30, and is currently (21:26 Sunday evening) fast asleep on the sofa next to you. That's in addition to whether or not you think the alarm going off at that time is going to mess with your own sleep.
I guess your kids are maybe older than ours and fairly independent given how long your wife took out, so maybe you can spend those evenings out riding or indulging in other interests, but ours are aged 8 to 13, so I'm either stuck in on my own or we've got to pay a sitter more per hour than my wife is earning if I want to go out!
We've got a strong relationship, but even so, we'd reached the point of no return and decided if she couldn't get the change she wanted, she was going to Jack the whole thing in and walk away for the sake of our marriage and our kids. Fortunately it's looking like she is going to get to do what she wants, which will be great for all of us, but bog standard PT / gym instructor work is f
king dreadful, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, or their families!If you can consider all of that, decide it's still the right thing for you both and she still wants to go for it, then best of luck! I'd suggest she starts with a REPS (registered exercise professionals' society or something like that) qualification, and then add on a few more specialist bits and pieces to help make her CV stand out a bit more and increase her earnings.
Edited by Kermit power on Sunday 6th November 21:47
Over the years I've watched a continuous stream of wide-eyed and ambitious PTs come and go at our local gym. They arrive thinking they'll change the world, they leave thinking they'll change jobs.
Can/could your wife run fitness classes? Spin, aerobics, step etc? My local leisure centre has loads of different classes, all ranges, a lot during week days for mums etc. or early evenings. Not sure what they get, think it's about £25.00-£30 for a 1 hour class, the better ones get a bit more I think. Many 'instructors' do back to back classes, most cover two or three different gyms/leisure centres. Sorry don't know what qualifications they have.
If your partner is interested in health and wellbeing then maybe look into training as a counselor. My partner is on year two of a 3 year masters level course and she's loving it. She's had a career of lifestyle type jobs (forest ranger etc), low money so is doing this to earn better. She'll be able to start taking on clients next year, rates are around 50/75 hour (she is specialising in CBT, better earning potential) and already has interest at being taken on by her placement provider. Salaried roles are around 40k average, and there is scope to take extra clients outside that.
They will be tightening up the guidelines on counselors in a few years so good time to get the qualifications.
They will be tightening up the guidelines on counselors in a few years so good time to get the qualifications.
My brother has just jacked in gym instructor jobs after 15 years in the business.
He's taught spining,bodycombat,bodypump , trained to deal with gp referals, managed gyms, taught at a few crossfit places but the fact is unless you own the gym this industry will spit you out if someone cheaper can do the work.
He's now managing a bike shop where he knows what his basic pay is per month and what his days off are , but he's still getting his head round going to crossfit as a punter.
Re your wife get some sort of sports massage qualification and cycle/run with the local clubs and the club members will come to you.
He's taught spining,bodycombat,bodypump , trained to deal with gp referals, managed gyms, taught at a few crossfit places but the fact is unless you own the gym this industry will spit you out if someone cheaper can do the work.
He's now managing a bike shop where he knows what his basic pay is per month and what his days off are , but he's still getting his head round going to crossfit as a punter.
Re your wife get some sort of sports massage qualification and cycle/run with the local clubs and the club members will come to you.
to contrast a friend of mine jacked lawyering to do fitness training, going down the route of class instruction rather than personal training.
She's done very well for herself out of this, did a load of writing for magazines, and has just launched an App and Website specifically for pole fitness.
This she concentrated more on specific high energy workouts, zumba, insanity, pole etc.
She's done very well for herself out of this, did a load of writing for magazines, and has just launched an App and Website specifically for pole fitness.
This she concentrated more on specific high energy workouts, zumba, insanity, pole etc.
I did a PT course (Level 3), which also gets you the qualification in gym instruction (Level 2) along the way. My provider also provided qualifications in spin class, gym based boxing and circuits as part of the course content.
The two main providers of these 'fast track' courses are Premier and The PT Room. These offer 6-8 week full time courses and "technically", you are then qualified to teach classes, instruct in gyms and offer Personal Training sessions.
The reason I say "technically", is because a lot of so-called PTs only have these 6 weeks knowledge and nothing else! Myself and another guy on the course were passionate about the industry and fitness training for years before the course and had self-taught a lot prior to starting the course - just as you learn things from any hobby.
These 'bare minimum' types are what give the whole industry a bad rep, and limit the public's confidence in PTs/Instructors as a whole.
If your wife has existing knowledge and is looking to complete the course as more of a 'box ticking exercise' to get into a gym, that is the correct way to do it, IMO of course.
From my experience, the Awarding Body is ActiveIQ. These are recognised by LA Fitness, Virgin Active, DW Fitness and the like. If your wife is only looking for Level 2 Gym Instructor for now, those courses are obviously cheaper and then she can top up with Level 3 as and when.
If you want to know any more, feel free to PM me. FYI, I am no longer a PT for many reasons, mainly because it was used an income while studying. I love the industry still, but certain stereotypes tarnish it quite a bit. Mind you, I'm sure that's the same anywhere.
The two main providers of these 'fast track' courses are Premier and The PT Room. These offer 6-8 week full time courses and "technically", you are then qualified to teach classes, instruct in gyms and offer Personal Training sessions.
The reason I say "technically", is because a lot of so-called PTs only have these 6 weeks knowledge and nothing else! Myself and another guy on the course were passionate about the industry and fitness training for years before the course and had self-taught a lot prior to starting the course - just as you learn things from any hobby.
These 'bare minimum' types are what give the whole industry a bad rep, and limit the public's confidence in PTs/Instructors as a whole.
If your wife has existing knowledge and is looking to complete the course as more of a 'box ticking exercise' to get into a gym, that is the correct way to do it, IMO of course.
From my experience, the Awarding Body is ActiveIQ. These are recognised by LA Fitness, Virgin Active, DW Fitness and the like. If your wife is only looking for Level 2 Gym Instructor for now, those courses are obviously cheaper and then she can top up with Level 3 as and when.
If you want to know any more, feel free to PM me. FYI, I am no longer a PT for many reasons, mainly because it was used an income while studying. I love the industry still, but certain stereotypes tarnish it quite a bit. Mind you, I'm sure that's the same anywhere.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff