First of all... if you have the desire to become a fitness professional and think this is the way to become rich, consider another profession now. Your first and utmost goal to wanting to become a fitness professional is:

Your desire to helping others.

The key to becoming a successful Fitness Instructor should not be because of how much money you can make or how popular you may get... It should be about witnessing the successful goals of your clients... because of you.

As a good Fitness Instructor, you should be able to design moves that will help your students get the most out of their workout - whether a beginner, intermediate or an advanced fitness participant.  

As a good Fitness Instructor, you will want everyone to feel welcome. Making eye contact, smiling, and keeping the students motivated during the session is VERY important!  

As a good Fitness Instructor, you should be able to demonstrate each movement and make modifications for the beginner to the advanced students. You must also explain the benefits of each exercise and demonstrate how to do the exercise to prevent injury. Your main focus should be on helping your students understand the importance of improving (or maintaining) their health and not just on looking better from the outside!

As a good Fitness Instructor, you should focus on making sure the class is fun, making their workout the best it can be and keeping them motivated.

As a good Fitness Instructor, everyday you will have to keep up with your knowledge in fitness, stay connected with the Industry at all times, and give up-to-date fitness/health information for your students/clients. You will need to keep your certification/CPR up-to-date at all times too.  You are not a medical professional, but you are a fitness professional that should be able to share your knowledge of fitness with your clients. 

Zumba Professionals
I would like to point out a specialized class that is now booming and what we also love to teach as well........Zumba Fitness©. Those that want to teach Zumba, MUST attend a workshop to teach Zumba. Unfortunately Zumba LLC© does not require one to have a Group certification or CPR certification.  This may change at the end of 2008, but for now, it is only "optional" to have any type of fitness background. 

Zumba classes are booming all around the country.  However, a lot of these classes are producing Instructors that does NOT have the experience as a Group Fitness Instructor. I feel (remember, this is my personal view) this could cause some injury to the participate and the overall experience to the participate could become negative. The inexperienced Instructor lack knowledge in the fitness industry and the facilities hiring these Instructors to teach these popular Zumba classes could result in some unpleasant situations for everyone. 

With that being said, for the Participate... Please be sure to check the Instructor's qualifications before signing up for the class... Does this Instructor have a nationally, recognized group/fitness certification?  Is this Instructor authorized to teach Zumba©? Is he or she CPR Certified? The Instructor MUST be authorized to teach Zumba. For more information on the integrity of Zumba or Zumba classes, click here

Summary
Donna and I have been in the fitness field for over 28 years.  It is not a full time job for us. We do this because we have the desire to motivate and help others.  The people that you will meet when teaching is the best part of this Industry!  (Including meeting Presenters like Janis, Petra, Gin, and Kathy!) You will hear success stories because of your involvement in your clients’ lives or hear the benefits your clients/students will have in their everyday life, because of you...one way or another!  In fact, all of my good friends that I hang around with are either in my classes or are Fitness Instructors! 

Donna and I have many certifications and work very hard in this Industry. With our own cable show, media attention throughout the years, and event involvement, we feel our main success comes from hearing the wonderful stories from our clients! If you have the desire to help others in fitness...What are you waiting for?

If you feel you can be a Fitness Instructor, start with either AFAA and ACE. FiTour offers continuing education credits and it is inexpensive!

- Debbie

If you would like to email Donna or Debbie...
debbie@fitnessmotivators.com or donna@fitnessmotivators.com

Always have a medical evaluation before starting any new physical activity. If you have chest pain or dizziness during any physical activity, stop and call your health professional. This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. This website or its owner(s) disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.