Becoming a fitness instructor

BlazingSaddler

Hi all, apologies if this is the wrong place but I'd love some advice please. I have recently been laid off from my job and have always wanted to be involved in fitness training / becoming a gym instructor. Could anybody point me in the right direction as to what courses / qualifications I could work towards please? It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Burkatron

mattb74 wrote: »

Hi all, apologies if this is the wrong place but I'd love some advice please. I have recently been laid off from my job and have always wanted to be involved in fitness training / becoming a gym instructor. Could anybody point me in the right direction as to what courses / qualifications I could work towards please? It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056709975

Have a read of that thread & others like it on here & if you still want to be a fitness instructor there's plenty of courses people can recommend!

jayjaynomad

hi im starting a personel training course with this crowd called image fit in dublin,they give a nefpc certificate! wondering has anyone heard of them? and what is it like to get into the fitness industry when i complete the course cheers.

Zamboni

jayjaynomad wrote: »

hi im starting a personel training course with this crowd called image fit in dublin,they give a nefpc certificate! wondering has anyone heard of them? and what is it like to get into the fitness industry when i complete the course cheers.

Is this research taking place before you have paid money to this company or after?

jayjaynomad

hey zamboni,yeah i doin a lot of looking into it and even getting a grant of the gov i paid a deposit so just wonderin has any1 heard of them! and wats it like breaking into the industry after it! im a chippy but no work here an jus got back from oz so just wanna do summit with myself..

Zamboni

jayjaynomad wrote: »

hey zamboni,yeah i doin a lot of looking into it and even getting a grant of the gov i paid a deposit so just wonderin has any1 heard of them! and wats it like breaking into the industry after it! im a chippy but no work here an jus got back from oz so just wanna do summit with myself..

That's great. Which government dept/entitiy (Fas, Dept Social Welfare, CWO) is giving you the grant?
Did they ask about Image Fit's accreditation?

jayjaynomad

fas gave it to me so all good! yeah its internationally accredited.
do u no much about the fitness industry?

Zamboni

jayjaynomad wrote: »

fas gave it to me so all good! yeah its internationally accredited.
do u no much about the fitness industry?

That's handy, very generous of Fas! Who are they internationally accredited by?

jayjaynomad

yeah i was delighted there giving it to me fair play to them.. credited by icreps,ehfa,ireps! have a look on there site an let me no wat you think its www.imageft.com

Zamboni

jayjaynomad wrote: »

yeah i was delighted there giving it to me fair play to them.. credited by icreps,ehfa,ireps! have a look on there site an let me no wat you think its www.imageft.com

Interesting.

So Reps Ireland is a member of ICREPS.
IREPS was set up by the NTC, a course provider (apparently in the name of the students).
ILAM set up Reps Ireland.
ICREPS won't accept a registration from a course provider.
Then the NTC and IREPS suggest that students join Reps Ireland instead.
NTC becomes a member of Reps Ireland.
But wait ILAM (Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management Ireland Ltd) is also a course provider http://www.ilam.ie/training.html :eek:
ICREPS won't accept a registration from a non profit body.
Great, ILAM is a non profit body originally and was set up by Frank Fahy TD.

REPS Ireland is an independent, not-for-profit register of exercise professionals in Ireland which has been in the planning process for many years and which finally came to fruition in August of 2009.

Independent? But wait, ILAMs PAYING membership (which will steer it's direction) are for profit Facilities, Employers and Course Providers :eek:

Who are ICREPS anyway?

The International Confederation of Registers of Exercise Professionals is an international partnership between registration bodies around the world that register exercise professionals.

Oh so it's just a collection of registers who decide that they are the authority on national registers, course providers, course accreditation?
Well, it certainly isn't based on analysis of course content.

So the whole thing could be just a money making racket from top to bottom based on who is in with who?
If you are cynical.

So is ImageFit a better course provider than say NTC or the NCEF, or School of Sport, Litton Lane, ITEC?
It is actually impossible to say. (despite all of their lovely shiny websites)
There is no actual independent body qualified to pass judgement.

I don't care about all this Alphabet soup - Will x course get me a job in a gym?

Well, it will primarily depend on the person interviewing and the course they went through as they will have a natural bias to the course they completed.

How much will I earn?

Considering there is no independent voice/union/associaton for fitness professionals, this will primarily be set by the Employers/Facilities that are the paying members of ILAM, who operate Reps Ireland, that the NTC advises students to become member of.

Well the course provider I contacted said I can get insurance through them, isn't this a good method of establishing a good course provider?

Insurance companies are for profit entities. They will take money off anybody willing to give it to them.


Well FAS [insert state body] is paying for my course. Doesn't that show that there is a some form of verification process? I mean they are giving tax payers money to a private company, surely that is a transparent process?

No actually. Fas is a mismanaged organisation which is currently being investigated and redesigned due to it's sheer level of incompetence and lack of return to the tax payer.

What is a conflict of interest?

The fitness industry in Ireland.

jayjaynomad

thats some good research pal,its like a merry go round but you can be guaranteed there is a top buy earning all the money..
im really interested so gonna give it my best and hope to get my foot in the door then take it from there!
your right thou they all have the best worded websites thats good sales people for ya thou,hopefully it all goes good and i dont get screwed! the only thing that really worries me is all that some good colleges that do the course have itec credited but image doesnt all the other are the same..
do you do any kind of gym work at all?

BlazingSaddler

Hi. I was looking at the ITEC Fitness Instructor Course, venue either DCU or Trinity. It runs 3 days/week from Oct-Mar or 2 evenings/week from Oct to June. The cost would be approx €1800. Would this be a good investment? Would it be a recognised qualification in the industry?
Thanks!

supineflyer

Jayjay I'm actually thinking of doing this course too.

However I went to Fas and was told that all the funding had been spent and that this won't be back in operation until November possibly.

Could you tell me when you applied and were granted the funding and how it all went? I'm based in the south east.

In the past week I've spoken to some of the most incompetent people to hold a job title.

jayjaynomad

alright pal i just got my grant confirmed! just go down tell them what course your doin and apply for it dont take no as an answer. ring the course co ordinator she is very helpful as well an tell u wat to do. they only pay when u finish the course so thats not till feb so should be able to give a grant. tellin u just keep hounding them as they wont be houndin u money in ur pocket bud.. let me no how it goes

supineflyer

Cheer's Jay but I've come up against a wall of resistance with the women I've spoken to. Two different officers on three occasions all saying nope your out of luck son. Christ, maybe it'd be easier to just live off the state like the other parasites do for their whole lives and spend my easily collected money in the pubs and bookies?

They said the funding was finished at the beginning of September and only those people who applied before this, got the grant. I was a week too late basically. Do you know what date you applied for the grant? Was it in August?

As a posible remedy I suggested that they could put my name down for approval when the funds kick back in, in November and grant me the funding then. They agreed this was a good idea but not possible because courses must be pre-approved on their system before people start them. Absolute bullsh!t if I've ever heard it. Caught out on a slight technicality that means I'll be stone broke trying to afford this course and get myself off social welfare.

Hanley

supineflyer wrote: »

Cheer's Jay but I've come up against a wall of resistance with the women I've spoken to. Two different officers on three occasions all saying nope your out of luck son. Christ, maybe it'd be easier to just live off the state like the other parasites do for their whole lives and spend my easily collected money in the pubs and bookies?

They said the funding was finished at the beginning of September and only those people who applied before this, got the grant. I was a week too late basically. Do you know what date you applied for the grant? Was it in August?

As a posible remedy I suggested that they could put my name down for approval when the funds kick back in, in November and grant me the funding then. They agreed this was a good idea but not possible because courses must be pre-approved on their system before people start them. Absolute bullsh!t if I've ever heard it. Caught out on a slight technicality that means I'll be stone broke trying to afford this course and get myself off social welfare.

Parasite?! REALLY??!!

If your attitude is that confrontational with them, I'm not surprised you're having trouble. Things atelier tough, but the grass probably isn't greener in the fitness side of the field.

There's a massive over supply in the market and the only ones doing ok are guys with a great rep and the results to back it up.

Just something to consider.

jayjaynomad

ah man your joking,thats absolute bull! honestly how unlucky is that their pure backwords here! no doubt they will wanna keep some grant money for a bonus in the xmas paypacket...
i applied for mine on thurs 30th and accepted on monday so i must a just made it!
so whats your plans will u do the course or have to wait for the next one?

supineflyer

Hanley wrote: »

Parasite?! REALLY??!!

If your attitude is that confrontational with them, I'm not surprised you're having trouble. Things atelier tough, but the grass probably isn't greener in the fitness side of the field.

There's a massive over supply in the market and the only ones doing ok are guys with a great rep and the results to back it up.

Just something to consider.

Yes Hanley. Parasites. Have you never come across such people? The ones who do no good for society and are basically a syphon for tax payers money to be wasted on. Having spent some time on three different continents I've encountered many. Have a look around your town the next time your out for a stroll.

As for confrontation, my language and demeanour when dealing with people out and about is both friendly and patient. I never raised my voice or used obscene language in any of my meetings with the Fas officers. Your jumping to conclusions based on my posts. After nearly 16k posts yourself, wouldn't that be an amateur mistake?

And your comment with regards to oversupply and how the only successful ones in the game are the good ones...well isn't that statement applicable to many an industry and well...just plain obvious?

Excuse my bluntness but I don't attribute much weight to people trying to deter me without substantial backgrounding to do so i.e do you have first hand experience in the matters you speak of? And would you not care to put forward some positive reinforcement to myself and Jay since it seems we are going ahead with this?

supineflyer

jayjaynomad wrote: »

ah man your joking,thats absolute bull! honestly how unlucky is that their pure backwords here! no doubt they will wanna keep some grant money for a bonus in the xmas paypacket...
i applied for mine on thurs 30th and accepted on monday so i must a just made it!
so whats your plans will u do the course or have to wait for the next one?

I've been speaking with Sinead (couldn't have hoped for a more friendly/helpful person) and she's holding the course till Monday for me. I'll have a strong think about it over the weekend and if I go ahead I'll be doing the Wednesday/Thursday course and basically be on a very very short budget for the duration of it.

But hey, I love health and fitness and love working with people in achieving their goals so I'll be damned if I'll ever live my life doing something I don't wanna do.

Are you on the Monday/Tuesday course? And have you any experience in this line of work?

Hanley

supineflyer wrote: »

Yes Hanley. Parasites. Have you never come across such people? The ones who do no good for society and are basically a syphon for tax payers money to be wasted on. Having spent some time on three different continents I've encountered many. Have a look around your town the next time your out for a stroll.

Yes, I have. But to attribute that as being the reason you can't get funding is ridiculous.

As for confrontation, my language and demeanour when dealing with people out and about is both friendly and patient. I never raised my voice or used obscene language in any of my meetings with the Fas officers. Your jumping to conclusions based on my posts. After nearly 16k posts yourself, wouldn't that be an amateur mistake?

I'm not a professoinal internet guy, so that's ok.

And your comment with regards to oversupply and how the only successful ones in the game are the good ones...well isn't that statement applicable to many an industry and well...just plain obvious?

Perhaps. But the barrier to entry in the fitness industry is SUBSTANTIALLY lower so you've far more people competing for entry level jobs and a far wider range of skills and capabilities. There's probably about 100 newly qualified fitness professionals in Dublin alone every 3 months, if not 4-5x that amount. The majority of them will be out of the industry in a year. And while you'll say that improves your chances, unless you've a good athletic background and connect wit the right people, you can spin you wheels for years and get nowhere.

Excuse my bluntness but I don't attribute much weight to people trying to deter me without substantial backgrounding to do so i.e do you have first hand experience in the matters you speak of? And would you not care to put forward some positive reinforcement to myself and Jay since it seems we are going ahead with this?

Outside of dealing with FAS on certain matters, quitting a cushy career in accounting to open what is now a pretty successful gym where people are seeing life changing results, and being close friends with some of the bigger independent gym owners in the city and talking to them regularly about all of this? Nah, I got nothing.

And no, this is a discussion forum. I won't just pander. The fitness industry is tough. I know some VERY capable and smart people with years of experience struggling to turn it into a full time job. I offered constructive criticism and there's some more stuff in this post. If that doesn't make you feel all warm inside, ah well.

Either way, I honestly do wish you the best of luck on it. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done0, but it is tough and if I can help you with anything once you get going, let me know.

jayjaynomad

im on the wed and thurs course! the only experiance i have is goin the gym myself never thought any classes or done biology just have a real interest in this type of work so hope all goes well,it does seem like a really good course be good to get a foot in the door with a job during it,my funds arent the healthiest either lol!
how about u have you done much of this work?

jayjaynomad

hey hanley
thats good stuff about your gym great its a success,but at the same time you left a job to start a career in the fitness industry for whatever reasons but that sounds similar to what supine and myself are about to do!
Obviously i dont think im gonna land a top notch job and make millions but just wondering i just have a keen interest in the industry but you have to start somewhere!
Whats so hard to break into it,is it just overload of people? surely if someone breaks there balls trying to be a success and has a very keen interest in it they eventually will get a break? what do u think i would like to hear any positive or negative feedback cheers pal!
oh yeah and any chance you might have some work exp going in a few weeks lol...

Zamboni

supineflyer wrote: »

Cheer's Jay but I've come up against a wall of resistance with the women I've spoken to. Two different officers on three occasions all saying nope your out of luck son. Christ, maybe it'd be easier to just live off the state like the other parasites do for their whole lives and spend my easily collected money in the pubs and bookies?

They said the funding was finished at the beginning of September and only those people who applied before this, got the grant. I was a week too late basically. Do you know what date you applied for the grant? Was it in August?

As a posible remedy I suggested that they could put my name down for approval when the funds kick back in, in November and grant me the funding then. They agreed this was a good idea but not possible because courses must be pre-approved on their system before people start them. Absolute bullsh!t if I've ever heard it. Caught out on a slight technicality that means I'll be stone broke trying to afford this course and get myself off social welfare.

About a decade ago I went into Fas to give me some level of support to do the NCEHS. They said no. I said thanks and left. Then I made cut backs in my lifestyle and saved and paid for the course myself. It took longer than I wanted.
Just an option you could try.

supineflyer

Zamboni wrote: »

About a decade ago I went into Fas to give me some level of support to do the NCEHS. They said no. I said thanks and left. Then I made cut backs in my lifestyle and saved and paid for the course myself. It took longer than I wanted.
Just an option you could try.

Cheer's for the advice.

Don't drink. Don't smoke. Have started working out at home with my meagre equipment. My knowledge of "deals" in the supermarkets has increased tenfold in the past few months and I'm basically cutting out all unnecessary expenditure. It's actually amazing how much money people throw away on frivolous things nowadays.

I will be doing this course regardless of funding, however a few hundred quid from the state would have been nice to alleviate the worries that come with being on a very tight budget.

Transform

was in the airport in baggage area the other day and while waiting ages for a buggy had blazing arguement with a woman and in hindsight was quite rude to her when it wasnt her fault and was just pointing out a few things.

She sent me to a different area to deal with my problem and when i got there the people said "just wait a minute so we can call the right person that will take you to a staff only area so you can get your buggy" - they ended up calling the woman i had a big arguement with, she was the one person that could help me and how much of a dick did i feel when i saw her walking towards me.

This conversation reminds me of my experience. i.e. dont piss off the people that you ultimately need.

There are a flippin ton of trainers on this forum that can and would teach you much much more than you could and will ever learn on your stepping stone course so keep that in mind and build bridges not walls

supineflyer

Hanley wrote: »

Yes, I have. But to attribute that as being the reason you can't get funding is ridiculous.

Ah now. If you can go back and show me where I actually stated that the dregs of society are the reason I can't get funding then I'll eat my weights bench.

Hanley wrote: »

Perhaps. But the barrier to entry in the fitness industry is SUBSTANTIALLY lower so you've far more people competing for entry level jobs and a far wider range of skills and capabilities. There's probably about 100 newly qualified fitness professionals in Dublin alone every 3 months, if not 4-5x that amount. The majority of them will be out of the industry in a year. And while you'll say that improves your chances, unless you've a good athletic background and connect wit the right people, you can spin you wheels for years and get nowhere.

Very valid point. However I'm in the belief that if your deterred by the fact that people aren't succeeding somewhere in life and you transfer this negativity onto yourself, even though you actually have a passion for it, then you've basically doomed yourself from the start. Les brown, a motivational speaker put it brilliantly to his audience when he asked, how many of them, had over the years, actually talked themselves out of doing something they had always dreamt of. In amongst all this rabble, I do understand that it won't be an easy, but hopefully with training, studying and hard work it will pay off.

Hanley wrote: »

Outside of dealing with FAS on certain matters, quitting a cushy career in accounting to open what is now a pretty successful gym where people are seeing life changing results, and being close friends with some of the bigger independent gym owners in the city and talking to them regularly about all of this? Nah, I got nothing.

Now here's the important stuff. Not only can I now take what you say with much more creditability but you've practically just become an inspiration with your risky career move and ultimately life enhancing decision. Congratulations to you sir.

Hanley wrote: »

Either way, I honestly do wish you the best of luck on it. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever done, but it is tough and if I can help you with anything once you get going, let me know.

Thank you for the offer. Perhaps I might take you up on this when I'm qualified. Advice from someone in the know is rare compared to all the opinions floating around out there.

Zamboni

supineflyer wrote: »

Cheer's for the advice.

Don't drink. Don't smoke. Have started working out at home with my meagre equipment. My knowledge of "deals" in the supermarkets has increased tenfold in the past few months and I'm basically cutting out all unnecessary expenditure. It's actually amazing how much money people throw away on frivolous things nowadays.

I will be doing this course regardless of funding, however a few hundred quid from the state would have been nice to alleviate the worries that come with being on a very tight budget.

Fair play.
Just a word of warning though.

A 16 week course in the basics of anatomy and Exercise to music is not going to provide you with a decent living.
At best it will get you a slighty higher than minimum wage job in a big box gym scrubbing machines and hoovering.

Those courses do not equip you with the skillset required to run a business. Capital, enterprise, marketing, people person, accounting, long hours would all be required to attempt to harvest a living out of a saturated market.

Is availing of free third level education an option for you?
If you really want to earn money in sport/exercise I would suggest grabbing a sport science degree (whilst they're free) and emigrating.

Best of luck with it all the same.

cc87

There are loads of really good and reputable sites on the internet that will teach you more than pretty much any fitness instructor course will, spend time looking through them picking up the useful bits of information and discarding the rubbish.

Then after you have completed your course and have a qualification, you will be ahead of many other people in similar positions to you.

You need to have some kind of a plan about what it is exactly you want to do, run your own place like Hanley or work in a similar facility, go down the bootcamp/fitness classes route, whatever it is just know what you want.

And get experience, anywhere and everywhere you can.

supineflyer

Zamboni wrote: »

Fair play.
Just a word of warning though.

A 16 week course in the basics of anatomy and Exercise to music is not going to provide you with a decent living.
At best it will get you a slighty higher than minimum wage job in a big box gym scrubbing machines and hoovering.

Those courses do not equip you with the skillset required to run a business. Capital, enterprise, marketing, people person, accounting, long hours would all be required to attempt to harvest a living out of a saturated market.

Is availing of free third level education an option for you?
If you really want to earn money in sport/exercise I would suggest grabbing a sport science degree (whilst they're free) and emigrating.

Best of luck with it all the same.

Cheers once again. I've been told this numerous times and have no illusions as to what I'll earn or where I'll be starting off at.

And if I ever decide to make the leap and start a business I'll perhaps look into doing a course related to this and possibly contacting the enterprise scheme to obtain information and maybe a mentor to help with the setting up process.

As for college. I won't bang on about it, but basically it isn't for me. If in the future I need to go down this route again, I will, but until then I'd like to get some real world experience and network with people who really know this industry.

As for emigration, I've already experienced that. Australia, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, loads of money but miserable. I left that job to come back and pursue something I have a passion for.
I have opened my mind to leaving again once I'm certified and with some experience to maybe work in England or somewhere in Europe. No kids, no mortgage or any ties so this is a possibility.

Hanley

supineflyer wrote: »

Now here's the important stuff. Not only can I now take what you say with much more creditability but you've practically just become an inspiration with your risky career move and ultimately life enhancing decision. Congratulations to you sir.



Thank you for the offer. Perhaps I might take you up on this when I'm qualified. Advice from someone in the know is rare compared to all the opinions floating around out there.

Waiting until your qualified would be stupid. Theres things you need to learn and know that you can't even comprehend at the moment and they're mistakes that'll cost you big time.

The hardest part for me has been sales. Like it requires a full on paradigm shift to be able to ask people to hand over a lot of money. You need to be supremely arrogant or REALLY believe in what you're doing.

...fortunately Im both!!

As Zamboni said - approach any course with skepticism. You need it to get insured but won't learn anything of real value. That comes after when you learn from people, do your own research and even hang around here talking with people who know what they're doing.

supineflyer

jayjaynomad wrote: »

im on the wed and thurs course! the only experiance i have is goin the gym myself never thought any classes or done biology just have a real interest in this type of work so hope all goes well,it does seem like a really good course be good to get a foot in the door with a job during it,my funds arent the healthiest either lol!
how about u have you done much of this work?

Am booked in for the Wednesday/Thursday course myself. Wonder if we'll be able to figure out each other's identities.

And I have some experience in the industry yeah but I'll expect myself to be very rusty because I haven't worked in health and fitness in a few years.

jive

Transform wrote: »

was in the airport in baggage area the other day and while waiting ages for a buggy had blazing arguement with a woman and in hindsight was quite rude to her when it wasnt her fault and was just pointing out a few things.

She sent me to a different area to deal with my problem and when i got there the people said "just wait a minute so we can call the right person that will take you to a staff only area so you can get your buggy" - they ended up calling the woman i had a big arguement with, she was the one person that could help me and how much of a dick did i feel when i saw her walking towards me.

This conversation reminds me of my experience. i.e. dont piss off the people that you ultimately need.

There are a flippin ton of trainers on this forum that can and would teach you much much more than you could and will ever learn on your stepping stone course so keep that in mind and build bridges not walls

QFT.

There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum not only in the practice of their field of expertise but also relation in to gaining entry to and sustaining a job/career in that field (fitness). Not only that, but they're also very willing to help strangers for no monetary reward on this forum. It's rare that any professionals give out advice for free in the vast majority of industries out there, use your time here wisely and open your ears

jayjaynomad

ah thats good stuff you got booked in! hope it goes well for us..
lol ill be looking at every1 now thinking is supine flyer my boards buddy!

jsmith99957

Hi Guys.

Im looking to do a fitness course also. I am new to boards and I joined to hopefully gain some advice. This is a big financial commitment for me and I want to make sure im doing the right course. Do you have any feedback on the imageft course ?

Thanks a mil

Anfield lady

Hoping to do the course in Galway with imageft - would love some advice also! It all looks great on paper