How to Become a Successful Modern Fitness Instructor
The personal health and fitness industry is huge at the moment and more people are looking for personalized solutions than ever before. Fitness instructors give classes to groups or individual clients whether in a gym or the environment of their choice. They help people reach their fitness goals, use the equipment correctly, and teach them how to perform exercises with proper form. If this is something that interests you and you want to know how to get in the business, here’s what it takes to be a successful modern fitness instructor.
Have All Bases Covered
The first thing you will have to do is decide if you’re going to get certified or not. Contrary to what many people may think, nothing is forcing you to get certification to work as a personal trainer or fitness instructor. But, if you want to get taken seriously in this industry, you should consider getting certified by at least one respected body.
People will want to know that they’re being instructed by someone who has been properly trained, and showing your certification is the only way to prove this instantly to them. ACE certification is the most recognizable, and this is the one we suggest you get. You can get certified online and you will need to be recertified every two years.
Another thing you’ll need to start looking at is essential policies for your business. Insurance will be very important as many things can happen during training sessions. If you train your clients and one of them ends up getting injured, they could decide to sue, and you need to be covered against liability. You may also end up damaging equipment if you’re training someone in a gym, and again, insurance can cover you in these cases.
Another thing that many people overlook is commercial auto insurance. They don’t realize that insurance companies will not cover you if you are involved in an accident while going to meet clients. You need to get special coverage when using your car to do business, and that includes fitness instructors. So, make sure that the policy you choose includes commercial auto insurance if you’re going to be using your car.
Spread Your Brand Online
Getting private clients is the best way to make a lot of money in this industry. And, if you want to get clients, you will need to build your brand. Knowing how to use online tools and platforms will allow you to build your brand fast and on a budget.
The first thing we would suggest is that you open a YouTube account. Fitness is very visual and YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase your expertise. Simply having a few professionally shot videos of you teaching people how to perform core exercises could be enough for you to start building credibility.
You should also have a blog. Blogs are not expensive to set up and are pretty easy to manage. Having a blog and YouTube channel can be a powerful one-two punch as far as marketing goes. You can use your YouTube channel to promote your blog and vice versa.
What makes a blog so powerful is that it will allow you to get visibility and free traffic from search engines. You can use your channel to go in-depth about certain projects, but also to give virtual classes. It would be a good idea to give a few free classes as a sample to show people what they can expect when they train with you. Remember to have an email capture form and follow up on your subscribers with helpful advice too.
Find a Job
You don’t necessarily have to start as an independent instructor, however. If you want to make things easy for you, you can always find a job. You don’t have to work for a gym either. Several companies now have personal training as part of their health and wellness packages, and you should find tons of opportunities there. You could also work on cruise ships, local community centers, or resorts, so be open to what’s out there.
This is all you need to know if you want to start a successful career as a fitness instructor. Use all the tools at your disposal to showcase your expertise as much as you can if you want to get noticed.
