How To Become A Fitness Consultant

By asking how to be a fitness consultant, you’re on the right path to embarking on a rewarding career.

To provide you with everything you need to know, we’ll break this article down into 5 steps: 

• Step 1: Secure The Right Qualifications To Become A Fitness Consultant
• Step 2: Gain Valuable Work Experience To Become A Health and Fitness Consultant
• Step 3: Develop A Niche To Excel As A Fitness Consultant
• Step 4: Find A Fitness Consultant Job
• Step 5: Make Connections In The Industry To Help You Evolve As A Fitness Consultant

However, to advise clients in the best possible way, you’ll need to complete personal training courses. With our Personal Trainer Diploma, you can get qualified in the best way and start your journey towards a brand new career.

Find out more about how we can help you gain valuable knowledge to share with clients by downloading our course prospectus here.

Understanding The Role & Salary Of A Fitness Consultant

If you’re wondering what a fitness consultant is and how it differs from a fitness instructor, it’s likely you’re not alone. When researching how to be a fitness consultant, you may have noticed the terms fitness consultant and fitness instructor are often used interchangeably.

However, there are slight differences to these roles. Although fitness consultants will have the minimum of a Level 3 Gym Instructor qualification, they won’t carry out the same responsibilities.

As a fitness consultant, you’ll be more of a guide than anything.

A fitness consultant helps create specialised workouts and provides injury management by advising technique and lifestyle changes. Fitness instructors usually take more of a ‘hands on’ approach with gym goers, through leading classes and monitoring the use of equipment.

Fitness consultants usually find employment in gyms or fitness centres. Working in a gym means you can help retain clients by working closely with fitness instructors and personal trainers to advise on the right training needs.

According to Indeed, the average fitness consultant salary in Ireland is €26,836. This is based on 46 salaries submitted anonymously by employees and collected from jobs posted on the website in the past.

Salaries will differ depending on where an individual is employed and the nature of their employment, such as full-time or part-time work. 

Private sector roles could be even more, and as you gain experience in the role of a fitness consultant, you’ll be able to command a higher salary.

Step 1: Secure The Right Qualifications To Become A Fitness Consultant

The most common and popular way to become a health and fitness consultant is through personal training courses. 

You can get started by enrolling on a diploma for personal training, allowing you to qualify with both a Level 3 Fitness Instructor and a Level 4 Personal Trainer qualification.

It’s important you ensure the courses of your training providers are regulated by Ofqual and endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), meaning you can be assured they meet industry standards.

The Personal Trainer Diploma provides individuals with the skills and foundation knowledge to progress in the fitness industry. Most importantly, you will learn how to plan and deliver personal training sessions which will help you improve your communication skills as a fitness consultant.

Alongside this, students will learn about anatomy and physiology as well as the basic principles of nutrition which is important for understanding what the best advice is to provide individual clients with. 

Aside from requiring candidates to have at least a Level 3 qualification, most employers will expect applicants to also have some experience of being a fitness consultant, such as this job ad below:

As you can see, a fitness qualification is listed as a requirement for all applicants. Completing a course is also important for gaining experience in delivering the practical course elements, especially for those looking for their first fitness consultant job.

Step 2: Gain Valuable Work Experience To Become A Health and Fitness Consultant

As highlighted by the job advertisement above, most employers will expect some form of experience if you’re looking to be a fitness consultant. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be experience as a fitness consultant - it could be as a gym instructor or personal trainer.

This can be any experience where you have used your knowledge to advise, instruct, or train clients. 

This is why it’s important to gain the qualifications mentioned earlier, as having practical experience in the fitness sector and gaining valuable experience will set you apart from other clients when looking to be a fitness consultant. 

Let’s look at a few different ways you can achieve the necessary practical experience.

#1 - Become A Health And Fitness Consultant By Choosing A Course With Practical Experience

Choosing the right course isn’t just important for gaining a necessary qualification - a good course will also provide you with invaluable practical experience. 

Exactly how much practical experience you gain from your course will depend on how you study. Most providers will offer you the option of studying:

• Full time
• Part time
• Online

While the course content is the same across all methods of study and all offer an element of practical experience, the only practical element for online study is the final assessment so this is something to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, full-time and part-time courses also include practical study, including gym-based workshops. 

This is part of the reason it’s important to compare PT courses, and find one that’s regulated by Ofqual. As this is the government body responsible for setting frameworks for vocational courses, they will all cover the same content as they have to meet the standards set by Ofqual.

These courses can offer practical experience in the following ways:

• Practical Workshops - As part of any full- or part-time personal training course, you’ll be required to engage in practical workshops, as well as online/classroom-based learning. Not only does this allow you to put theory into practice, it’s a perfect way to gain practical experience for delivering a PT session. Practical workshops allow you to improve your communication skills which are necessary when looking to become a health and fitness consultant.
• Practical Assessments - All courses have a practical assessment, during which you'll deliver a customised personal training session for a client. While this is a requirement to pass the course, it’s also another way to develop your skills and gain practical work experience in your journey to be a fitness consultant.

For example, OriGym’s personal training courses offer both of these practical elements in order to complete the course, as well as expert guidance to help you succeed with a wide range of customers and clients.

#2 - To Be A Fitness Consultant, Look For Work Experience Positions In The Fitness Industry

While you’ll gain valuable practical experience on your chosen course, volunteering in other areas of the fitness industry is a brilliant way to supplement that. 

If you’re unqualified, or in the process of completing your personal training course, you’ll likely find it difficult to gain practical experience in a gym.

This means you should look for work experience opportunities in other fitness-related institutions such as:

• Sports clubs (like a local football or cricket team)
• School sports teams
• University sports clubs
• Youth centres

Many youth clubs and sports groups are often looking for volunteers to help run them, meaning you can provide coaching and gain practical experience this way. 

Volunteer positions can be advertised on sites such as Do IT, or general jobs boards like Indeed.

Even if you don’t want to work with children or coach a particular sport, this is important for building a foundation that allows you to progress onto more advanced work experience, and can even help you secure a fitness consultant job in the future.

#3 - Use Connections From Your Course Provider When Looking To Be A Fitness Consultant

During your time completing a diploma in personal training, you’ll meet plenty of people who can help you gain valuable work experience. Aside from aspiring students, the trainers on your course will have plenty of connections.

For example, any personal training courses you enrol on with OriGym will be taught by qualified personal trainers and experts in the industry. Even if they can’t provide you with experience themselves, they can certainly point you in the direction of people who can.

Your tutors may know someone who owns a gym or runs their own personal training business. This mutual connection could give you work experience or allow you to shadow them for a period of time. 

If you approach them through mutual contacts (i.e., one of the tutors on your course), they’ll be much more likely to provide you with this experience too.

Aside from your tutors, you’ll want a course provider that offers post-course support to help you gain work experience. Being provided with award-winning career advice when you qualify means you can have access to a team of experts and partner gyms to gain this experience with.

- - - -

If you’re wondering how to be a fitness consultant, check out these articles to find out how you can break into the fitness industry:

• How To Become A Fitness Instructor
• 13 Key Interview Questions For Fitness Instructors
• Fitness Instructor Vs Personal Trainer

Step 3: Develop A Niche To Excel As A Fitness Consultant

Gaining the experience mentioned above isn’t just important for improving your skills and securing a job - it also helps you decide what you enjoy, and the kind of people you want to be a health and fitness consultant for.

Depending on your ambition and the groups you’d like to help, there are plenty of areas you can specialise in. Your niche may be in:

• Training professional athletes
• Working with elderly people
• Tailoring workouts for those with disabilities

Finding a niche you’re passionate about as a fitness consultant is important for job satisfaction. Knowing you’re advising those who require your knowledge to improve their lives will make for a rewarding career.

By discovering your niche, or finding where you’re happiest, you can better equip yourself to find a role in a place tailored to your skillset.

For instance, if you make the decision to work with those with disabilities, you’d be best suited to browsing for positions in the NHS or in privatised care.

As you gain meaningful experience, you might also choose to further your knowledge, and develop professionally, at which point you’d consider enrolling on a Level 5 Personal Trainer Course. 

These are great for improving your skills and understanding the best ways to help clients as a fitness consultant, as well as better equipping you for any future roles you pursue.

Step 4: Find A Fitness Consultant Job

Once you’ve gained your qualifications and experience, it’s time to find a job to become a fitness consultant. There are various ways you can get started in the industry and we’ll break these down below!

#1 - Look For Opportunities On Job Boards To Be A Fitness Consultant

To become a health and fitness consultant, the best tools you can use to find employment opportunities are job boards. Not only will these websites keep you up to date with job openings as soon as they’re available, they’re also very easy to use.

Examples of job websites include:

• Indeed
• Glassdoor
• Reed

If we take a look at Indeed, this allows you to search for a job title and location. You can also filter results further depending on salary estimates and the company you want to work for: 

You can also allow notifications on job websites to inform you about any relevant opportunities or upcoming interviews. Many of these websites will also send specific emails to you alerting you about new jobs.

#2 - Keep An Eye On Company Websites Posting Fitness Consultant Jobs

Similar to job board websites, some companies and universities will have a section of their website dedicated to posting job vacancies.

For example, the University of Liverpool has a section on their website dedicated to sports vacancies:

If there’s a particular company or institution you want to become a fitness consultant for, you should check this area of their website regularly to ensure you don’t let a potential opportunity pass you by.

For smaller gyms or general fitness, you should use job boards such as Indeed or Glassdoor, as these are often the most convenient places for these facilities to post their vacancies.

#3 - Social Media Is A Great Tool To Find Work As A Fitness Consultant

With the rise in the popularity of social media, many companies will post job advertisements on their pages to increase the number of applicants. This is a good reason to follow any fitness business accounts you’re interested in working for. 

Many companies will use this as a way to generate interest in their job opening to people who aren’t actively looking on job boards or company websites for employment opportunities.

If the gym you follow is small, you could message them directly if they have posted a job advertisement to show your interest. However, if the gym or fitness centre is a chain or large company, it’s unlikely you’ll get a reply.

A job advertisement on social media for a fitness consultant might look something like this:

While most of these posts will have information about the role, they will likely direct you to their website or a place where you can find out the details of the job and how to successfully apply.

Step 5: Make Connections In The Industry To Help You Evolve As A Fitness Consultant

Once you’ve secured your ideal job as a fitness consultant, this doesn’t mean your journey stops there. As mentioned earlier, connections and networking are important when working in the health and fitness sector.

Creating contacts with a network of professionals means you open yourself up to more opportunities and people to offer your services to as a fitness consultant.

Having these connections means people can help you change or evolve your career in the future, allowing you to develop a further niche or find steady employment in a new gym or fitness centre.

Creating strategic partnerships means others in the industry can refer clients to you and vice versa. 

Attending fitness community events or classes at other gyms or fitness centres in your area is a great way to find like minded people who can help advance your career and provide you with clients when you become a health and fitness consultant.

Before You Go!

By following our steps, you’ll be ready to help clients in the best possible way towards advising clients on how to reach their goals and lead a healthier lifestyle.

With our range of personal training courses, specifically our diploma in personal training, you’ll be provided with plenty of skills and knowledge to become a successful fitness consultant.

Download our course prospectus to find out more or leave your details below.