The Work : As a fitness trainer you will train people in different aspects of physical fitness and help the obese and sedentary get into shape. You will instruct or coach groups or individuals in various exercise routines (weights, aerobics, and flexibility training), besides monitoring their progress through methods such as BMI (body mass index) and cardiovascular levels. If required, you will also give them basic advice on health and nutrition. You will demonstrate the correct use of various training apparatus and gadgets such as trampolines, weights, rowing machines, etc.

Your professional training and experience will also equip you to design specific programmes for different people – keeping in mind their age, lifestyle and health parameters. Suggest forward-bending exercises to someone with a spinal problem and you’ll only end up worsening the situation – making your poor client double up with pain!

Fitness trainers work in gyms, big hotels, health clubs, fitness centres, spas, tourist resorts and even cruiseliners. After gaining some experience you could choose to run your own fitness centre. Another lucrative option today is to organise workplace wellness and fitness programmes for large companies. Increasingly, companies are laying great emphasis on physical fitness over and above the fiscal fitness of the organisation. They are offering their employees the facility of a well-equipped company gym where as a fitness trainer you could be advising top-notch executives how to stay in good shape.
Because gyms and health clubs offer a whole variety of exercise routines such as weightlifting, aerobics, karate, kickboxing, spin cycling, yoga, pilates or tai chi, you can choose to specialise in the areas you are comfortable with.

Let’s take a look at some of the different kinds of work you could be doing as part of the fitness industry:

Fitness trainers help clients assess their level of physical fitness and help them set and reach fitness goals. They also demonstrate various exercise routines and help clients improve their technique. They also keep records of their clients’ exercise sessions to analyse their progress and physical fitness.

Personal trainers work with clients on a one-on-one basis with celebrities and others who like privacy while they work out — either at a gym or at the client’s home. The workout is specially tailored to suit the client’s specific health and fitness requirements. Obviously, you would prescribe a far more exacting routine for a football player or swimmer as compared to that for a film star or company honcho.

Aerobics instructors conduct group workout sessions that involve aerobics, stretching and muscle conditioning exercises. You could even conduct these classes in a gym or at your own studio.

Sports instructors coach professional and non-professional athletes on an individual basis. They organise, instruct, train and lead athletes specialising in indoor and outdoor sports or self-defence training such as judo and karate. Using their expertise in the sport, sports instructors evaluate the fitness level of the athlete and the athlete’s opponents to devise a competitive game strategy.

Yoga and naturopathy experts work in yoga or fitness institutes and in hospitals as consultants or instructors. Similarly, you could also work as a personal trainer for the well-heeled client who does not have the time or desire to go to a public gym or for someone suffering from a specific health problem. As more and more people look for holistic alternative cures and remedies that are natural and free from side effects, naturopathy and yoga have great promise.

Employment Opportunities : Today, fitness in India is a whopping Rs.2,000 crore industry and most fitness centres are swanky studios offering an array of fitness regimes such as aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, dancercise and other workouts with sophisticated machines. Moreover, be it at home or at the fitness centre having a qualified trainer has become the ‘in-thing’. With gyms and health clubs mushrooming all over the country, the demand for qualified instructors is going up sharply. And this spells good prospects for those aiming to pursue fitness as their career. Trainers with the ‘right’ qualification can teach just about anybody who can pay to be healthy and fit — from hardworking executives to the stressed-out CEOs, the politicians, the self-conscious student, the middle-aged housewife.

There are many factors driving the emergence of financial planners. For one, money decisions have become more

What it takes?
Understandably, the first essential for this profession is an athletic body and loads of energy. Apart from a love for fitness, you need to practice what you preach. You can’t possibly flaunt dark circles and a paunch, while exhorting your clients to pound the treadmill and do fifty push-ups! As a fitness instructor you will also need to keep abreast of the latest developments in health science.

Besides a good physique and determination to spend long hours in spandex, you must have good knowledge of human anatomy, diet, nutrition and other health and fitness related matters.

You also need to be innovative enough to vary the exercise routine to avoid monotony and boredom. Make sure you introduce an element of “fun”, taking care to devise an upper and lower body workout that exercises all muscle groups uniformly.
To learn the basics, you will need to enrol for a professional training programme. But treat the course as a mere kick-off point. Keep reading up on fitness and experiment continuously — there’s no end to learning in this field as new research and equipment keeps hitting the headlines.

After finishing the course you can start with assisting a senior Aerobics Instructor before you start taking your own classes or become a personal instructor. Good communication and interpersonal skills will hold you in good stead, as you have to deal with all kinds of people.

Where to study?
You can go for a professional course like the Nike Aerobics Course or Reebok Instructor Certification programme or for any of the several reputed locally offered courses like those at Talwalkar’s in Mumbai.

The basic course is for 80 hours, with around 30 hours of theory and the remaining made up of practical sessions. At the end of the course there are exams, both written and practical, to be passed before you can become a Reebok Certified Fitness Instructor. Except for Step Reebok, most programmes are not equipment-based.

In Delhi, Reebok India organises the course twice a year under the Reebok Instructor Alliance programme. The 2 ½-month 80-hour course culminates in an A-level Master Trainer Exam, which you must clear in order to be certified as trainer. Check for branches in other cities on their website: www.reebok.com.

Only five colleges in India offer a Bachelor's Degree in Yoga & Naturopathy (5½ yrs). However, Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (www.ccryn.org) has formulated the syllabus for a 1-year Diploma in Yoga & Naturopathy (DYN) which is approved by the M/o Health & Family Welfare. The Council presently finances 17 centres for conducting these courses. There are numerous private centres as well. But you will need to ensure that they are not manned by self-taught quacks.

Similarly, if you wish to train in any of the martial arts (Judo, Kung Fu, Karate), please do so from a “belted” or certified trainer/expert.

Acquiring skills in massage therapy, reflexology, accupressure will be an asset.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) offers courses in Sports & Athletics Coaching in a large number of disciplines at its various branches.