Move it or Lose it
Introduction to Move it or Lose it
If you’re looking for a really rewarding job with flexible hours and great rates of pay, then let us help you to achieve your goals. Train with us to become an exercise instructor for older adults and we will give you all the knowledge, practical and motivational skills you need to stand out from the crowd.
Our high-quality endorsed training has been developed with experts in ageing research. The FABS Training Programme includes flexibility, aerobics balance and strength. We’ll train you to teach both chair-based and standing exercises so you can work in community, care and leisure settings.
Our aim is to ensure older people across the UK can join a local class to help them stay active and independent. We’ve already got thousands of people moving more and having fun and now we need more instructors to fulfil the demand. As the exercises can be adapted to suit a wide range of abilities, the FABS Training programme gives you both the scope and choice to teach chair-based exercise sessions in care or NHS settings through to active community classes for the over 60s.
Why we're working with Rest Less
We’re looking for passionate and empathetic people seeking a career change who want to make a difference to people’s lives. We recognise the life-skills and experience the Rest Less community bring to this role and believe they’re ideally suited to become Move it or Lose it instructors and be relatable role models. Over 50% of our instructors are over 50 and this opportunity really appeals as they look to step into a more flexible and rewarding career allowing them to give back to their community and keeps them in tip-top condition too.
By becoming a self-employed Move it or Lose it instructor, you have the opportunity to pursue a career you’re really passionate about. Ultimately, you’ll be your own boss and choose the hours you work. And you’ll also be joining a supportive community and be recognised as a member of a highly-respected team working all across the UK to change the way we age.
Move it or Lose it provides all the training, materials and support you need to start your own business and achieve the work-life balance you desire.
Find your perfect opportunity at Move it or Lose it
Real-life stories
Sian's story
Sian worked in management positions for much of her life. At the age of 59, she was offered redundancy. Her husband had retired, so she thought it was time she did so too. But, after 6 months at home, she realised that she didn’t like retirement and missed the social side of work. As Sian was recovering from breast cancer, she saw a ‘Move it or Lose it’ poster in the hospital waiting room and decided this could be just what she was looking for, a totally new way of life that kept her fit and allowed her to still look after her grandchildren.
Before she knew it, she had passed the course and started leading chair-based exercise classes at her local GP surgery where patients improved their fitness levels in just 3 months which transformed their quality of life. At the age of 65, she is teaching nine classes a week, in a range of different settings and says “This isn’t work, this is fun! I just love what I do and how much it helps people to enjoy life again.”
Matt's story
Matt had a successful 20+ year career in corporate branding & marketing. In 2016, he moved back to the UK from Johannesburg to be closer to his father who was battling the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. His return to the UK encouraged him to reassess his priorities. Inspired by the help and rehabilitation care his father had received, he decided that he wanted to help older people to live independently for as long as possible.
In 2017, he qualified to become a Move it or Lose it instructor and has never looked back. Matt runs twelve exercise classes a week to a mix of community, independent living, and care home clients and says that he has never had a more fulfilling career. “The classes I run are great fun, lively and social, and are incredibly rewarding – they also help to keep my brain and body fitter and healthier too! For me, this career uniquely combines some fantastic quality of life elements: exercise & fitness, learning & knowledge, and the ability to benefit others – all set to a soundtrack of laughter & music, which science has proven is beneficial for the mind and spirit!”.
Awards & partnerships
- Winner – The Community Award for Ideas UK
- Official partners with Royal Voluntary Service – tackling loneliness and isolation and improving wellbeing
- Collaborating partners with the Centre for Healthy Ageing Research at University of Birmingham
- Selected as one of the Transform Ageing social entrepreneurs by UnLtd
- RoSPA Project Partner – Stand Up Stay Up
- Winner – The National Diversity Award, Entrepreneur for Age
- Listed in Mills & Reeve 50 Most Innovative Companies
- Winner – West Midlands Academic Health Science Network Award for Excellence in the Prevention of Illness and Promotion of Wellness
- Finalist Great British Entrepreneurs Award – Entrepreneur for Good
- Finalist – UK Active Training Awards, Specialist Training Provider