You could take a college course in personal training or gym instructing.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

You could do a Personal Trainer Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

You can apply to become a personal trainer or set up your business, if you've got qualifications and experience as a fitness coach or gym instructor.

You can do qualifications through private training companies who offer specialist courses in gym instructing and personal training.

You could train in a similar role as a physical training instructor in the armed forces.

You can find out more from the:

• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy
• Army

You'll need:

• customer service skills
• the ability to teach people how to do something
• the ability to work on your own
• physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
• knowledge of psychology like theories of motivation
• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design fitness programmes
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• sensitivity and understanding
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

You'll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults

As a personal trainer you could:

• help clients set short and long-term fitness goals
• plan a fitness programme to help clients achieve their goals
• teach, motivate and coach clients in how to follow their programmes safely and effectively
• give advice on health, nutrition and lifestyle changes
• help clients with their workouts
• check and record clients' progress, like measuring heart rate and levels of body fat
• promote your services and do business admin tasks if you are self-employed

You could work at a fitness centre or at a client's home.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.