Introduction
There are health and fitness clubs in abundance and health advice
is a major industry.
Local authorities provide a range of leisure and recreational
services for the public to enjoy - tourist information offices,
museums, art galleries and sports and leisure centres. Fitness
instructors can be found in leisure centres where they are trained
to help people have healthier lifestyles. Job titles can vary from
Health and Fitness Instructor to Health and Fitness
Consultants.
Work Environment
Work takes place mainly in the gym or swimming pool where
instructors help people of all ages and abilities to pursue their
chosen activity and achieve realistic goals. It can be noisy and
busy and constant vigilance is required. Swimmers and gym users
have to be prevented from getting into difficulty.
Daily Activities
Instructors may supervise sessions involving anything from
exercise to music to relaxation and stress management. Some
instructors specialise in only one or two activities. As clients
pound away at the treadmill, cycling like mad, they can rest
assured that they are in safe hands. Properly trained fitness
instructors have basic medical knowledge and know how to deal with
clients who are not in the best physical condition - including the
dangers of being overweight. With the appropriate education and
training, instructors may be asked to:
- take initial appointments and assessments
- take induction sessions for new clients
- devise individual exercise programmes
- take mid and end of session checks
- ensure equipment is in safe working order
- perform fitness assessments
- offer dietary advice
- supervise the gymnasium
- maintain a centre diary/file
- distribute and collect talkback sheets and summarise them
- offer advice on possible adaptations to a clients' training
programmes to provide variety and ensure they stay with the
course
- provide incentives/challenges to keep users motivated
- monitor drop outs and those who complete a course, and submit
the results to the Community Fitness Officer/Leisure Centre
Manager.
Skills & Interests
To do this job well you would need to have:
- energy
- a healthy constitution
- a mature, responsible, inspiring and empathic attitude
- excellent communication skills
- some sporting ability.
It is also desirable to have knowledge of people who are 'out of
condition"; twelve months practical experience of working with a
variety of atypical populations; basic medical knowledge
(arthritis, coronary heart disease, diabetes) and experience of
fitness testing.
Entry Requirements
It is essential to have a fitness-related qualification e.g.
ISRM/relevant coaching qualification .
It would also be helpful to have an awareness of, and be working
towards, membership of the Fitness Industry Association (FIA). This
is a trade organisation representing operators of health and
fitness clubs. Members of the FIA must adhere to a code of practice
which promotes standards, quality and customer welfare. The
association has taken over the register of exercise and health
professionals which maintains details of 'approved' instructors. It
is also desirable to have
- a personal trainer award
- first aid qualification
- Physical Education Association (PEA) certificate or higher
- a recognised qualification in exercise counselling and fitness
assessments.
Future Prospects & Opportunities
The health and fitness industry is a growth area and there are
many opportunities for work in different specialisms by getting
more qualifications. There are also administrative positions such
as Leisure Manager and Sports Facility Manager.
Many major hotels and private leisure complexes employ fitness
instructors and the pay is sometimes better than in local
government but the work is often less varied.
Further Information & Services
Recreation Management magazine www.recmanagement.com
Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport & Physical
Activity www.cimspa.co.uk/
Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management
www.infomat.net/infomat/rd_staffroom/rd1/database/ilam/index.asp
Sports Wales www.sportwales.org.uk
SkillsActive www.skillsactive.com
Fitness Industry Association www.fia.org.uk/
Swimming Teachers' Association www.sta.co.uk
Lifetime Health & Fitness www.lifetimehf.co.uk
You may find further information about this area of work through
Careers Wales (www.careerswales.com/) or
in your local library, careers office or school careers
library.