I am very active and enjoy helping others learn how to be motivated about physical activity and fitness. I’m wondering if anyone out there has any advice on how to begin a new career in the fitness industry? I do not have any certifications yet, I am literally starting at square ONE. But the online resources do not seem 100% reliable, and some even seem a bit shady. Can you tell me what certification programs are legitimate and how much I should expect to pay for each certificate?
Also, if you are a fitness instructor, do you feel as if the industry is sturdy enough to make a career out of instructing? Or do you have a secondary job to help bring in more income?
More details: I am interested in group fitness, pre/post natal exercise, children’s fitness, and nutrition/health.
Thank you so much for any advice you can share!!
Get a 4 year degree, become a registered Dietitian, and get Certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
May 18th, 2010 at 5:56 am
im looking for a similar career path. ask the fitness instructers at your gym how they got started. thats what i did, though the qualification(s) needed etc will vary so best you get advice from them as they will know better than anyone.
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May 18th, 2010 at 6:02 am
Get a 4 year degree, become a registered Dietitian, and get Certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
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May 19th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
I believe that AFAA has the best group fitness instructor program because they have a practical portion and a test you take. It has been about 10 years since I was certified, but you can basically get it done in 2 weekends. http://www.afaa.com It will prob cost $300-$500. I think they offer a PRACTICAL TRAINING weekend then you do the testing on another saturday. ACE is very popular and common but does not give you the hands on training to actually know how to teach and is much more involved in terms of the scientific testing portion.
You definitely need a secondary career for income unless you are going to teach and do personal training to fill the hours. I taught in NYC for years and did it almost full time teaching about 20 hours per week and it killed my body as well as the quality of workouts you give to your participants. Plus you have to be in a city that has that many classes to offer in order to even begin to get those many hours to teach.
Now I teach 8 classes/week on top of my full time job.
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