What does a fitness instructor do?
A fitness instructor advocates good physical health by crafting different fitness programs and providing fitness training sessions to a group of clients or individuals. They focus on different kinds of work-out and exercise routines. A fitness instructor mostly works at a gym; however, there are instances when one can work independently or by providing house calls. Furthermore, a fitness instructor needs to build rapport with clients, making them feel at ease during sessions, which will also be beneficial in gaining a strong client base.
Fitness instructor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real fitness instructor resumes:
- Provide market research and generate leads using social media (facebook) in order to target prospective clients.
- Train in community water safety as well as deep water aerobics, first aid, life-guard assistance, and CPR.
- Teach adult swimming lessons; staff lifeguard; implement department staff training
- Step aerobic instructor, lifeguard and swim instructor, swim team coach.
- Engage kids with a learning activity, and communicate achievements and behaviors to parents
- Host and participate in company workshops, health fairs, and kids' day events.
- Provide health coaching and classes regarding wellness, weight loss, diabetes, and smoking cessation.
- Teach a variety of yoga classes such as yoga sculpt/tone, beginners, restorative, and hot yoga.
- Support the health club, Pilates program, other instructors and members while following employee policies and procedures.
- Strive to inspire participants to accept, love, and care for themselves through yoga teachings and fitness dance.
- Incorporate Pilates reformer into training regimens
- Obtain and maintain company require health safety regulations; CPR certifications.
- Monitor all equipment used in the facility to ensure cleanliness and accessibility.
- Encourage personal responsibility and accountability in organize classes; maintain schedule, class safety and cleanliness.
- Conduct exercise programs, exercise prescriptions, post-cardiac and orthopedic rehabilitation, and individual/group health programs.
Fitness instructor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Fitness Instructors are proficient in CPR, Customer Service, and Work Ethic. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Communication skills, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Fitness Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPR, 25%
Obtained and maintained company required health safety regulations; CPR certifications.
- Customer Service, 17%
Maintained a positive attitude and encourage staff through example in delivering high quality customer service to maximize retention.
- Work Ethic, 6%
Earned progressive and quick promotions and expansion of responsibilities based on excellence in operations as well as commitment and work ethics.
- Front Desk, 6%
Program Design * Participant Supervision, Assistance, and Instruction * Front Desk Duties * New Student Orientation * Daily Facility Maintenance
- Yoga, 6%
Developed exercises programs/routines for senior adults based flexibility, strength, cardiovascular and yoga Junior Fitness Instructor
- Cleanliness, 6%
Encouraged personal responsibility and accountability in organized classes; maintained schedule, class safety and cleanliness.
"cpr," "customer service," and "work ethic" are among the most common skills that fitness instructors use at work. You can find even more fitness instructor responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a fitness instructor to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "many fitness trainers and instructors sell their services, motivating clients to hire them as personal trainers or to sign up for the classes they lead." Fitness instructors often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "instructed 60-minute aqua zumba fitness classes to members and guests of the club twice a week. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling fitness instructor duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "fitness trainers and instructors must be able to clearly explain exercises that they demonstrate to clients." According to a fitness instructor resume, here's how fitness instructors can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "provided customer service and initiated communications with parents. "
Listening skills. This is an important skill for fitness instructors to perform their duties. For an example of how fitness instructor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "fitness trainers and instructors must listen carefully to what clients tell them in order to determine the clients’ fitness levels and desired fitness goals." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a fitness instructor: "communicated workout difficulty with students using heart rate, rpm, and resistance cues".
Motivational skills. fitness instructor responsibilities often require "motivational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "to keep clients coming back for more classes or to continue personal training, fitness trainers and instructors must keep their clients motivated." This resume example shows what fitness instructors do with motivational skills on a typical day: "instructed a weekely motivational fitness bootcamp class. "
Physical fitness. A commonly-found skill in fitness instructor job descriptions, "physical fitness" is essential to what fitness instructors do. Fitness instructor responsibilities rely on this skill because "fitness trainers and instructors must be able to lead classes and to demonstrate exercises to participants or their clients." You can also see how fitness instructor duties rely on physical fitness in this resume example: "planned, organized, and led aqua zumba and zumba fitness classes at numerous facilities throughout the county. "
Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to fitness instructor responsibilities. Much of what a fitness instructor does relies on this skill, seeing as "fitness trainers and instructors must evaluate members’ or client’s fitness levels and create appropriate fitness plans to meet their needs." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of fitness instructors: "teach bosu boot camp, chisel,ironmat pilates,high roller,and absolution. "
The three companies that hire the most fitness instructors are:
- Planet Fitness55 fitness instructors jobs
- Pure Barre31 fitness instructors jobs
- Senior Resource Group23 fitness instructors jobs
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Compare different fitness instructors
Fitness instructor vs. Certified personal trainer
A Certified Personal Trainer is a person who will guide, help, and motivate you to move forward and become successful. Anyone with a mastery of a specific subject can become a personal trainer; however, certification is given only by accredited organizations that can offer licensure or certification programs. Many hope to find their own certified personal trainer in this hectic and convoluted society to accompany them through thick and thin in life.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between fitness instructors and certified personal trainer. For instance, fitness instructor responsibilities require skills such as "work ethic," "yoga," "cleanliness," and "cardio." Whereas a certified personal trainer is skilled in "injury prevention," "group training," "nasm," and "program design." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Certified personal trainers really shine in the retail industry with an average salary of $43,335. Comparatively, fitness instructors tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $37,894.On average, certified personal trainers reach similar levels of education than fitness instructors. Certified personal trainers are 0.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Fitness instructor vs. Manager/personal trainer
A manager/personal trainer performs fitness training, human resource management, and sales in a single job role. First-aid certification is one of the main requirements for the role. The responsibilities of this role are teaching and evaluating a trainer's performance, offering feedback based on the results of the evaluation, creating a workout plan that works for the client, advising the client on nutrition and exercise, and ensuring that health and safety regulations are adhered to when working with equipment.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real fitness instructor resumes. While fitness instructor responsibilities can utilize skills like "work ethic," "yoga," "cardio," and "safety rules," managers/personal trainer use skills like "program design," "payroll," "member retention," and "group training."
Managers/personal trainer earn similar levels of education than fitness instructors in general. They're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fitness instructor vs. Life skills trainer
Life skills trainers are personal health professionals who provide training assistance and supervision to patients, such as personal care, financial management, and social integration. These trainers are required to assist their clients with disabilities with daily living activities while documenting their behaviors and personal hygiene. They can organize therapeutic activities for individuals or groups to maximize their quality of life. Life skills trainers must also assist in meal preparation as well as perform tasks that include glucose monitoring, insulin therapy, and diabetes management.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a fitness instructor is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "work ethic," "front desk," and "yoga," while a typical life skills trainer is skilled in "medication administration," "therapeutic recreation," "medical appointments," and "direct support."
Life skills trainers typically earn similar educational levels compared to fitness instructors. Specifically, they're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fitness instructor vs. Personal trainer
A personal trainer is responsible for monitoring the client's fitness goals by assisting the client with specific and customized routines and exercises to promote healthy well-being. Duties of a personal trainer also include evaluating the client's fitness progress, creating safe programs to improve the client's stamina, educating the client with workout benefits, suggesting on a client's best nutrition plans, and motivating clients with their capabilities. A personal trainer should have excellent knowledge of the fitness industry to support the client's needs.
Types of fitness instructor
Updated January 8, 2025
