These days more and more people are making the decision to stay healthy and active, compared to years past. Health and fitness is a rapidly growing sector in the global business environment, the demand for professional instructors in all sorts of settings is at an all-time high. From gyms to rehabilitation facilities, spas, private residences, and more, the guidance and knowledge offered by gym instructors are vital to peoples’ success in maintaining their health and fitness.
Being a gym instructor is one of the main entryways into a career in the realm of fitness and physical well-being. Not only are you granted the opportunity to help others stay fit and healthy, you simultaneously grant yourself the chance to do the same. As it becomes an increasingly lucrative job prospect, many find themselves unsure of how to get their career started.
Here are some tips and tricks to help you become a professional gym instructor;
Know What The Job Entails
Generally speaking, a fitness instructor’s job entails providing people with the basic knowledge required to maintain a healthy body and exercise correctly and efficiently. Even more importantly, an instructor must possess the experience and skill to instruct and cater to clients’ specific circumstances and needs in person whilst training. As simple as exercise and healthy living may seem, there are many intricacies that the average joe will not be aware of.
A good place to start is doing as much research as you can on the topic to familiarise yourself with the field, especially in the case that you have little to no prior knowledge on the subject on a professional level. Another good idea would be to head down to your local gym and ask the resident instructors for any tips or suggestions to get you started on your journey to becoming a professional instructor.
Start Training
One of the best ways to set yourself up for a career in the field is to dedicate yourself to the art of fitness. Training and educating yourself regularly is one of the best ways to get into the groove of things, not to mention it will provide you with the right physique to market yourself as an instructor who knows what you are doing.
Nutrition and supplementation is also another aspect of the profession which you should indulge in personally as it is an ever-growing and developing market. There are loads of different types of workout supplements on the market these days, the folks over at Wilson Supplements claim that the services provided by a reliable professional can act as a gateway into the complicated world of nutrition and supplementation. Utilizing such services can make it less daunting to begin learning about and experimenting with all the different products used by gym-goers.
This learning on the job approach is one of the best ways that you can prepare yourself for a career in instruction as well prepare yourself for the physically strenuous nature of the job. Many jobs can be trained for on paper, but with jobs where you are hands-on, there is no better option than to do it yourself and perfect your skills before proceeding to pass on your wisdom to others and cater to their needs.
Find Your Niche
In the realm of fitness, there are countless different niches and specialties that one can learn and perfect. Everything from general health, weight loss, muscle gain, sport-specific training, and more. Though some segments may be in higher demand than others, there is always a demand for all kinds of training specialties within the industry.
A good rule of thumb would be to specialize in a specific segment which you found yourself to be passionate about during your own training journey, this will help to ensure that you are motivated and interested in as you help others achieve what you helped yourself to achieve to begin with. With all jobs, and especially with fitness instruction, keeping your clients motivated is of paramount importance to both their success and your own.
Get Qualified
Many employers will prefer, or in some cases require that you are formally qualified in order to work with them. Although prior experience and on-the-job training are definitely valuable and serve their purpose, there are some aspects of the profession that must be studied at a level of detail that first-hand experience training cannot usually provide.
Although there are plenty of free courses and certifications available that you can complete on your own, it is suggested that you pursue an accredited and certified qualification that is completed in an academic manner. This could be a bachelor’s degree in a health-related major such as exercise science or physiology, or it could be a specific training qualification like a certified HIIT or weight-loss instructor course for example.
This will prove to employers that you are not only personally versed in the art of instruction but that you can do so up to a specific standard.
Find The Right Position For You
So you’ve done your research, trained, and are qualified. All that is left for you to do is decide on what specialty will suit you best. Check for fitness and health-related businesses in your area, this could be anything from gyms, dance studios, schools, or rehabilitation centers. Start where you feel most comfortable, then you may find that you end up elsewhere down the line as your experience in the field grows so don’t stress too much about where you begin the journey.
You should be sure that you choose a position that will keep you motivated and interested to work and grow within the industry over time, do what makes you happy or fulfilled. This will boost your chances of keeping clients motivated whilst achieving your goals and making a decent buck too.
By following the steps outlined above, you should be able to soon find yourself diving headfirst into your new career as a professional gym instructor. Helping yourself and others to stay in the best shape possible!