Group exercise instructor
Also known as; Fitness instructor, group fitness instructor, group training instructor
Group exercise instructors are fitness professionals who teach, lead and motivate groups of individuals through intentionally designed, pre-choreographed exercise classes.
What could I earn as a Group exercise instructor?
Your earnings will depend on the hours you work, your location, level of experience and whether you are employed or self-employed. To give you an idea, the data presented reflects the earnings listed in job advertisements across the UK from January to December 2024, as gathered via Lightcast (March 2025). Average annual earnings reflect full-time roles (>32hours/week), however average hourly earnings are a reflection of data collected from full-time, part-time and flexible hours vacancies.
Average UK earnings
Avg. annual earnings
Avg. hourly earnings
total job postings
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- Evenings
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69% of group exercise instructor job adverts are hiring for full-time positions.
What does a Group exercise instructor do?
Group exercise instructors are fitness professionals who teach, lead and motivate groups of individuals through intentionally designed, pre-choreographed exercise classes. They provide instruction across many different class types and equipment sets, from aerobics and step to group exercise. They design and select their own music, class programme and choreography.
Classes are delivered across six different categories:
- Strength and body conditioning (for example, BODYPUMP™, body conditioning, core stability)
- Cardiovascular (for example, Spinning®, indoor cycling, step aerobics, BODYATTACK™)
- Holistic (for example, yoga, pilates, BODYBALANCE™, tai chi)
- Dance fitness (for example, Zumba®, BODYJAM™, street dance, dance aerobics)
- Water workouts (for example, Aqua Zumba®, aqua aerobics)
- Dance (for example, ballroom, Latin, country and western, folk)
Skills and behaviours
The following common or transferable skills are most frequently asked for by employers in Group exercise instructor job adverts across the UK:
| Skills and behaviours | % prevalence in job ads |
|---|---|
| Communication | 37% |
| Enthusiasm | 26% |
| Teaching | 19% |
| Customer service | 19% |
| Operations | 17% |
| Energetic | 15% |
| Coaching | 15% |
| Rapport building | 15% |
| Motivational skills | 11% |
| Strong work ethic | 10% |
To find out more about the minimum knowledge, skills and behaviours an individual must understand and demonstrate to become a Group exercise instructor, you can visit our professional standards library.
How to become a Group exercise instructor
There are several ways you can become qualified as a group exercise instructor. Look at the options below to explore what option works best for you.
Complete a qualification with a training provider
The starting point for becoming a core group exercise instructor is typically to complete a Level 2 qualification such as a Level 2 Certificate in Group Training.
Once you have a Level 2 qualification (this includes a Level 2 Gym Instructor qualification), you can then complete a continued professional development (CPD) course in a specific group exercise discipline such as:
- Studio cycling
- Kettlebells
- Zumba
You can browse all of our endorsed core group exercise instructor qualifications and CPD delivered by our Training Provider Partners in our Endorsed Training Directory.
College or university
Some colleges and universities have embedded core group exercise instructor qualifications into their learning programmes. You can browse our CIMSPA Endorsed Training Directory to check for colleges and universities that are recognised by CIMSPA for providing quality training to students. Here, you can also check what courses our endorsed colleges and universities offer as well as course entry requirements, a summary of course content/material and more information on how to apply.
Apprenticeship
The Leisure Team Member apprenticeship offers options to become qualified as a gym instructor, swimming teacher, pool lifeguard and first aider. With a Level 2 Certificate in Fitness or Gym Instruction, you will then be able to complete specialised group exercise courses.
You can find out more about completing a Leisure Team Member apprenticeship via The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) website
Professional Standards
CIMSPA is the guardian of a single professional and apprenticeship standards framework for the sport and physical activity sector – outlining the minimum knowledge, skills and behaviours an individual must understand and demonstrate for every occupation and job role in the sector.
This standards framework is driving the development of quality education products for our workforce and supporting employers in assessing which job roles an individual is qualified for.
Group exercise instructor Courses and qualifications
Active IQ Level 2 Certificate in Group Training
Active IQ Level 2 Award in Instructing Studio Cycling
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Yoga (Practitioner) (603/3617/1)
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates (Practitioner) (603/3855/6)
What's the best role for you?
Career paths and progression
Career pathways
Side Steps
Next Steps
Aspirational Steps
Career progression
As well as exploring new career pathways, as a core group exercise instructor, you can also choose to progress your career by completing further training or continued professional development (CPD) in your role. This training can be added to enable core group exercise instructors to show their expertise in additional populations, in different environments and with technical specialisms.
Examples of specialisms that may be added are:
- Exercise referral
- Working with older adults
- Working with children
Continuing Professional Development
Studio Cycling
Bootcamp Course
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Yoga (Practitioner) (603/3617/1)
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates (Practitioner) (603/3855/6)
Find a job as a Group exercise instructor
The content of the job posts displayed on the CIMSPA jobs board are pulled in through feeds from websites which are not under the control of CIMSPA.
CIMSPA will not be liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate or incomplete information presented on the jobs board.