6 Signs You’d Make A Rock Star Fitness Instructor

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Ever thought about auditioning to become a fitness instructor at your local gym or fitness studio? Here are some clues or signs that you’ve got what it takes to make a class sweat and bounce.

1. You like people. Period.

The best instructors are the ones who engage with clients and genuinely care. These instructors exude positivity in their everyday interactions all while holding clients accountable to what they want out of a fitness program. If you don’t like people and couldn’t care less about helping others reach their health & fitness goals, you will never achieve rock-star status.

2. You have a sense of rhythm and can count beats.

If you are tone-deaf and not good with music, your clients who aren’t tone deaf and are good with music will get mad that you’re not on beat. If you grew up playing an instrument or dancing, things like the fact that there are 8 counts within a measure will come naturally to you.

3. You are a smooth talker, and can also juggle many things.

Group fitness instruction requires you to be constantly talking to your class, describing movements and inserting motivational commentary when necessary. If you are someone who typically stumbles over words or are naturally more reticent, becoming an instructor likely isn’t for you. Also, fitness instruction requires you to be able to move + count + cue + talk all at the same time. This skill requires many different brain neuron pathways working together, and if you’re naturally able to juggle/coordinate many things at once, you likely have the potential to make a fabulous fitness instructor.

4. You have incredible lung capacity.

Going along with the above, talking through an entire class at a respectable volume requires a good amount of stamina, and thus, it might be a good idea to practice running on a treadmill while talking or singing to prep for your next instructor audition.

5. You have grit in your voice.

Biggest pet peeve I hear from most clients is an instructor having a high-pitched, shrill voice. If you are able to deepen the pitch of your voice, you will provide a more pleasant overall experience for clients. Also, you should be able to sense grit behind the voice that is doling out orders, as this grit propels clients to push past their limits and hit certain fitness milestones.

6. You have a presence / aura about you.

Aside from being able to correctly demonstrate the moves with proper form, you need to be able to command a room when you enter it. You are, in essence, the motivational factor of the class and people should aspire to be like you. If you don’t have this quality, it will be hard for clients to respect your instruction. Ideally, you should find that perfect balance between being approachable yet aspirational. I myself tend to rapidly form girl crushes on my favorite instructors (Hi Myra and Abby, from way back when!), so your goal should be to become as crushworthy as possible to become a favorite with clients.

featured image – Flickr / USACE Europe District