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If you enjoy staying active, have a good level of fitness, and would love to help others improve their health and happiness, why not become a fitness instructor?
To explore what it takes to succeed in this role, we’ve partnered with Move it or Lose it – a company whose mission is to motivate thousands of people to keep active later in life through exercise classes, both in person and online.
Read on to find out more. You can also request a free brochure from Move it or Lose it using the button below.
What do fitness instructors do?
A fitness instructor is a professional who teaches, guides, and motivates people through physical exercise, helping them improve their health, strength, flexibility, and overall wellbeing. Fitness instructors typically work in gyms, fitness studios, community centres, corporate wellness programmes, or online.
Move it or Lose it specialises in improving fitness in older adults, delivering safe, enjoyable, and inclusive exercise classes that help older adults maintain their independence, improve their strength and mobility, reconnect socially, and enjoy a better quality of life.
Being a fitness instructor with Move it or Lose it involves…
- Planning and delivering group exercise sessions
- Adapting exercises to suit different abilities and needs, including seated and standing options
- Motivating and encouraging participants
- Creating a friendly, welcoming, and supportive class environment
- Building participants’ confidence so they are motivated to return week after week
All Move it or Lose it instructors are self-employed, giving them the flexibility to choose where they work, when they work and how many classes they run. Once qualified, instructors can apply to join the licensed Move it or Lose it network, giving them everything they need to launch, promote, and grow their classes under a trusted national brand.
As a licensee, they can deliver under the Move it or Lose it name, benefit from class listings on the website, and access a wealth of business support, marketing resources, teaching tools, monthly updates, and the wider support of an experienced national instructor community.
Every week, Move it or Lose it instructors support more than 70,000 older adults across the UK to stay active, independent and socially connected through fun, inclusive FABS classes, focusing on flexibility, aerobics, balance, and strength.
What skills do I need to become a fitness instructor?
No previous fitness background is required to train as a Move it or Lose it instructor, as you’ll receive full training. Many instructors join from completely different careers, including teaching, healthcare, caring roles, charity work, corporate roles, parenting, and semi-retirement.
However, the right person will have…
- A genuine interest in helping older adults.
- Good communication and people skills.
- Confidence to lead a group.
- A warm, friendly and inclusive approach.
- Reliability and professionalism.
- A willingness to learn.
- An interest in staying active.
- The ability to adapt exercises for different needs and confidence levels.
- A desire to make a positive difference in the local community.
Specific advice for mature professionals
This role can be particularly well-suited to people in their 50s, 60s, and beyond who are looking for a new chapter that offers flexibility, purpose and connection. Many people come to Move it or Lose it without a traditional fitness background.
Life experience, empathy, communication skills and confidence with people are all highly valuable. Former teachers, nurses, carers, healthcare professionals, charity workers, parents returning to work and career-changers often find that their previous experience transfers well into this role.
For mature professionals, the role can provide a purposeful alternative to full-time work or a way to ease into semi-retirement without slowing down. It can keep instructors active, socially connected, and involved in their local community, while allowing them to build a timetable that fits around their lifestyle.
The training is designed to meet learners where they are and build their skills step by step, so they feel confident delivering safe, enjoyable, and professional classes for older adults.
What will I love about being a fitness instructor?
This can be a flexible and rewarding role, especially for people in their 50s and beyond who are looking for a new direction, a second career, or a meaningful way to stay active and connected.
Key benefits include…
- You can choose when, where and how much you work.
- Classes often run during the day, so evenings and weekends can remain free.
- It can fit around caring responsibilities, part-time work, semi-retirement or family life.
- You can start small with one or two classes and build gradually.
- It offers purpose, social connection and the chance to make a real difference.
- It is a relatively low-overhead business to set up.
- Keep 100% of your class income as a self-employed instructor.
- Helping older adults improve strength, balance, confidence and independence.
- Becoming part of a growing area of health, wellbeing and active ageing.
For those who choose to become licensed, Move it or Lose it offers the reassurance of joining an established national network, rather than starting from scratch. Many instructors come to the role later in life, with 86% of the network aged 50+ and 69% having trained at a career-transition point. This means new licensees join a community of people who understand what it’s like to retrain, build classes locally and create flexible, purposeful work later in life.
Sian’s story
Other success stories
Kimberley previously worked as a PA and part-time carer before training as a Move it or Lose it, instructor. She now delivers 13 classes per week, typically working between 10am and 3pm, allowing her to balance work and family life.
“This job is 100% the best job I’ve ever had. I love the freedom of running my own business, meeting incredible people, and helping them stay active and social. The support from the team and fellow instructors is amazing – I genuinely look forward to every class.”
“After working for decades in road haulage, it was a massive change of direction to retrain as an instructor. I have had all the help and support I could have needed and now really enjoy running classes and seeing people having fun and improving their quality of life.”
What are the challenges of being a fitness instructor?
As with any self-employed role, income is not guaranteed and depends on the number of classes you run, how many participants attend, and the local demand in your area.
Things to consider include…
- You may need time to build up a regular class following.
- You’ll need to arrange suitable venues.
- Venue hire costs vary by location.
- You’ll need insurance, a music licence, and basic portable equipment.
- Some local marketing may be needed to attract participants.
- You’ll need to be confident leading groups and managing different abilities.
- You are responsible for running your own classes and managing your own timetable.
- Ongoing learning and CPD are important to keep classes safe, fresh and effective.
How much will I earn as a fitness instructor?
As a self-employed fitness instructor, earnings vary depending on location, venue costs, class size, class fee, and how many sessions are delivered each week.
As a guide, Move it or Lose it provides the following earning examples based on charging £6 per person, with 15 people per class, over 48 weeks of the year, excluding venue hire…
- 5 classes per week: approximately £21,000 per year
- 10 classes per week: approximately £43,000 per year
- 15 classes per week: approximately £64,000 per year
Many instructors choose to run classes between around 9.30am and 3.00pm, making the role particularly suitable for family-friendly working, semi-retirement or people who want to keep evenings and weekends free.
Are there opportunities to progress?
There are several ways to develop in this role.
An instructor may begin with one or two local community classes and gradually build a fuller timetable. They may also choose to work in different settings, such as community halls, leisure centres, retirement housing, care settings, small groups or one-to-one sessions.
After completing the FABS Training Programme, you can apply to become a licensed Move it or Lose it instructor. The licence provides access to the Move it or Lose it brand, listing on the website class finder, marketing support, ongoing business and teaching resources, monthly video tutorials, regular updates, discounted CPD and a supportive instructor network.
Further progression may include…
- Building a local class timetable
- Working with care homes, retirement villages or community organisations
- Offering additional class formats or specialist sessions
- Undertaking further CPD
- Supporting people through community health, wellbeing and social connection initiatives
How do I get started as a fitness instructor?
To become a qualified fitness instructor with Move it or Lose it, learners complete the FABS Training Programme. The programme was developed in partnership with the Centre for Healthy Ageing Research at the University of Birmingham and is built around national CMO and NICE guidelines for older adults.
It includes…
- 35+ hours of guided eLearning
- 100+ exercises taught, practised and adapted
- Seated and standing exercise options
- Safe exercise principles for older adults
- Motivation, adherence and behaviour change
- Inclusive, adaptable exercise design
- Observation and error correction
- Cueing, communication and group management
- Two practical training days, either online or face-to-face
- Assessment and certification
There are no formal written exams. Assessment includes interactive eLearning quizzes, two pieces of coursework and a practical assessment where learners deliver a taster session.
Course fees are currently £520 for online practical training days or £570 for face-to-face practical training days. Both include guided eLearning, two practical training days, assessment and certification. Payment can be spread over three interest-free instalments via Klarna.
Final thoughts…
Becoming a Move it or Lose it instructor offers an opportunity to build a flexible and rewarding career while making a real difference to the lives of older adults. Through leading safe and enjoyable exercise classes, instructors help people stay active, maintain their independence, and enjoy valuable social connections.
With no previous fitness background required and comprehensive training provided through the FABS Training Programme, the role is accessible to people from a wide range of backgrounds who are passionate about supporting others and promoting healthy ageing in their communities.
Head over to the Move it or Lose it website to find out more.