Upskilling Guide for Fitness Industry Careers 

In this day and age, we are constantly exposed to new information. Some advancements in technology from the previous year are already obsolete. Now more than ever it’s vital to acquire as many skills as possible to make you bulletproof in terms of employment if you’re looking for a career in the fitness industry. 

With these skills in your pocket, not only will you be more employable, but you’ll also be in a better position for growth in your career. If you can show employers that you’re willing to continuously learn to develop your skills, you’ll be top of their list when it’s time for a promotion. 

We’ve created this in-depth guide to help you upskill for various different fitness industry careers.

The importance of upskilling

In today’s world the job market is ever evolving. The current advancements in science and technology allow for constant learning opportunities, regardless of the industry you work in. Here are some reasons why you should upskill if you’re looking for a career in the fitness industry: 

Stay one step ahead: One of the main reasons for continuous learning and upskilling is to remain a step ahead of your competitors. To ensure success in your career, you need to be proactive and show that you’re willing to embrace a growth mindset and move forward with the growth of the business. 

Stay up to date with research: Sports science research is on the rise. You need to stay educated on the latest research to ensure that you’re providing accurate information when offering health and fitness advice. 

Fill in the skills gap: This is the difference between the skills the employers need and the skills employees possess. This has been an issue for a while across the job market and if you can fill the gap, you’re putting yourself in a strong position with potential employers.

How to upskill for fitness industry careers

One of the most obvious ways to upskill in these areas is to sign up for courses. We’ve got a list of different courses below that will help you develop in these areas. However, there are other ways that you can upskill that don’t involve spending money on courses. Some ideas include: 

• Working with a mentor 
• Watching Youtube videos 
• Read books and articles on the subjects 
• Workshops

Different areas of upskilling

If you work in the fitness industry, or you’re looking for a career in the fitness industry, there are several different ways you can upskill, some of the main areas include: 

• Personal training and exercise specific qualifications 
• Business and entrepreneurship
• Marketing and content creation 
• Nutrition 
• Special populations 
• Finance  
• Administration

Business and marketing

When choosing how to up-skill, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pick a course dedicated to fitness. If you’re a self-employed worker, you also need to consider the other roles you play within the business (marketing, management, accounts etc) and whether these skills could be improved. 

Working to increase your knowledge in these areas can have a positive impact on your business, as well as being financially beneficial in the long run. Some areas that you can explore if you’re looking to understand business better: 

• Marketing
• Advertising
• Finance
• Accounting
• Content creation
• Time management

Up-skilling doesn’t always have to come in the form of completing courses. It can be something as simple as reading books and articles via credible sources. Some external sources of information include: 

• CIMSPA CareersHub 
• Active Lincolnshire

Here are some articles on business and marketing for those in Fitness industry careers:

How to become a successful fitness entrepreneur

From opening a gym to becoming a personal trainer, the world of fitness offers an abundance of opportunities for budding fitness entrepreneurs. Before diving into the deep end, though, it pays to do a little bit of research.

To help you get started, we’ve put together this guide to becoming a successful fitness entrepreneur, covering everything from taxes to marketing.

Personal training marketing strategies

Knowing how to promote your personal training business will be extremely important if you want to grow your PT business. You’re going to need to focus on how to get personal training clients, and the solution is marketing. So if you’re struggling to find new clients, here are the personal training marketing strategies that will boost your audience and your potential profits.

Other business and marketing articles:

• How to begin your fitness account on Tiktok
• Personal trainer insurance
• Top tips for successful time management
• Guide to starting a personal training business
• How to write a personal trainer cv
• 5 ways to grow your personal fitness business

Special populations and group exercise fitness industry careers

If you have a career in the fitness industry as a L2 gym instructor or L3 personal trainer, there are several niches you can delve into to make yourself an expert in a particular sector. This gives you more credibility when working with clients, but it also helps to refine your target audience, a key marketing strategy if you want to grow your client base.

Pre and post natal

Did you know that less than 10% percent of personal trainers in the UK hold a pre and postnatal qualification? That leaves a huge gap in the market for coaches who are interested in helping women throughout and pre and post natal journey. 

As a qualified pre and post natal specialist, you will acquire the knowledge to support women during their pregnancy and navigate exercise after birth in order to improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing. 

We’ll let you into a secret, any woman who has given birth is postnatal, whether their child is 6 months or 16 years old. The effects of pregnancy and birth can have a long lasting effect on the body. As a pre and post natal specialist personal trainer, you could be helping women at many different stages of their life. You aren’t restricted to helping women in a certain time frame. 

If you want more information regarding pre and post natal qualifications, read this article:

The importance of being a pre and postnatal specialist instructor 

Studio cycling instructor

One of the most popular gym classes is indoor cycling (also known as spin). This high energy, sweat inducing class will elevate your heart rate and get a lot out of participants in a short space of time. 

If you work in the fitness industry as a level 2 gym instructor or above, you can enrol on a studio cycling course to become a qualified indoor cycling instructor. This will provide you with the means to host studio cycling classes in gym and health clubs, as well as the potential to work remotely as an online studio cycle instructor (e.g Peleton). 

We’ve written an in-depth article on how to become an indoor cycling instructor.

How to become an indoor cycling instructor 

Pilates

Pilates has become extremely popular in the last 2 years, with its rise in popularity comes an increase in job opportunities. As a pilates instructor, you have the opportunity to work in several different settings, including: 

• A mat pilates studio 
• A reformer pilates studio 
• 1-1 mat or reformer pilates 
• A gym or health club 

You don’t need any prior health and fitness qualifications to enroll on a Pilates course, making it extremely accessible for anyone with an interest in Pilates who want to deepen their knowledge. 

It’s also an extremely popular qualification, not just for those seeking full-time employment, but people who want a career in the fitness industry part-time or as a side hustle alongside their day job. As a Pilates instructor, you can choose the hours you work and build a class timetable around your work and social life? Interested in learning more? Read our article about Pilates instructor training.

How to become a Pilates instructor  

Nutrition

Nutrition is and always will be a hot topic in the health and fitness industry. As the rates of obesity rise across the world, there has never been a better time to qualify to help people understand how to navigate nutrition to improve their health. 

As a nutritionist, you have a variety of different career options. You can work as an online or in-person nutritionist, work within a sports setting, or help food companies develop products. These are just some of the options available. Many gym instructors and personal trainers also add a nutrition qualification to their portfolio in order to better help their clients achieve their goals. 

Likewise, a nutritionist is one of the highest paid salaries in the UK without a degree. So, if you want to help people live healthier lives and gain a lucrative career, nutrition might be the area for you.

What is a nutritionist?

How to become a nutritionist

Other articles related to this topic:

• How to build a coaching nutrition brand in the UK
• Nutritionist qualifications 
• Nutritionist salary UK 

Strength and Conditioning

Strength and conditioning (S&C) is an often overlooked career in the fitness industry. A strength and conditioning coach will write and implement training programmes to enhance performance. 

One reason that S&C is usually bypassed is because people often think that S&C coaches can only work with elite athletes. Whilst they do often work in a sports setting, this isn’t the only place. The primary goal of an S&C coach is to develop their client/athlete’s performance, regardless of their training level. As a coach, you might be working with a recreational runner, all the way up to a professional track athlete. 

You also have the opportunity to work as an employee for a company or sports team, or be self-employed, working in a gym or clinical setting. If you’re interested in sports performance, strength and conditioning is an area that you should seriously consider. 

How to become a strength and conditioning coach

Strength and conditioning jobs 

How to find your next career in the fitness industry

Fitness industry careers are not hard to come by, you just need to know where to look. One of the most obvious locations to look is job sites such as Indeed and LinkedIn, but these aren’t the only option. Other ways to find a career in the fitness industry include:

• Contacting your local gym/health club
• Council leisure centre websites
• Universities and colleges
• Local clubs and sports teams
• Clinics and hospitals
• Fitness and sport job boards

Conclusion

Fitness industry careers don’t just include those on the gym floor. There are a wealth of different jobs available if you want to work in the industry. The most important thing is that you have the skills, knowledge and desire to work in these positions.

Whether you’re new to the industry, or you’re looking for your next step, upskilling is essential to ensure your success with fitness industry careers.