Fitness has always been a highly profitable industry. The industry capitalized largely on the increasing health awareness among people in recent years. But the pandemic ravaged this industry like it did to every other industry. Now if you are one of the fitness coaches whose business has been affected by the pandemic, this post might help you become an online fitness coach.

A brief introduction

Generally speaking, fitness is a state of well-being. It’s nothing but your effort to stay healthy and perform your daily activities without any issue. You can achieve fitness through body exercises, good nutrition, and mental peace. Staying fit makes your body work efficiently and effectively throughout the day without getting fatigued.

People used to visit gyms and wellness centers for fitness in the past. But thanks to the pandemic most of these centers were closed and people were left with no options to remain fit. This is where virtual fitness classes came in handy where the instructors conducted their training online. 

An important tool that can help you conduct these virtual sessions is a Learning Management System. An advanced LMS with its myriad of features can help you create and conduct your training sessions online from the comfort of your home.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to become an online fitness coach. 

Related post: 6 Easy Steps To Teach Yoga Online In 2022

A step-by-step guide to creating a virtual fitness classroom

Decide the type of services to offer

The first step is to decide what you are going to offer to your learners through your fitness course. In other words, the participants should have a clear idea of what they are going to learn from your course. Consider the following two aspects before deciding your offerings – 

• Feasibility: You have to set up your online course in a way that is feasible for both teaching as well as learning. For instance, not every learner will have a treadmill or an exercise bike at home. Your course should revolve around workouts that do not use such machines. In summary, plan your course in such a way that it is feasible for everyone to learn.
• Demand: The significance of physical and mental well-being has created awareness among the people especially during the lockdown. With the inability to step out of homes, everybody is on the lookout for different types of online classes that can help them maintain their fitness routine. Study the demand curve and find out the most popular fitness programs that people are looking for. Build your courses accordingly.

Decide the model of the course

You can consider having the following types of classes in your virtual fitness classroom.

1. Group Classes: If you are planning to have Zumba sessions or any other aerobic workout, go for the group classes. Most of the LMS platforms offer video classes for group audiences. Group classes make the entire session fun for both you and your participants.
2. Personal Training: Some people will prefer to have a rigorous workout session and would want to have personal trainers. For such an audience, you can have personal virtual training classes so that you can focus on one learner at a time.

Decide the format of your class

There are 2 basic formats for an online fitness class:

1. Live Classes: In live sessions, your participants get to interact with you during the class. This serves as extra motivation for them to do better. It also justifies the cost of your course since you are spending time specifically to train them.
2. Pre-recorded videos: This is a self-learning format where you shoot a video, edit it, and post it on your website. Your learners can attend the classes anytime anywhere. All they need is an internet connection. This format is an excellent choice for those who are busy and cannot dedicate a scheduled time every day for a workout.

Decide the equipments

As a next step, you need to plan your equipment. You would definitely need a camera, a microphone, and a video editing tool. Also, an LMS to upload the videos or to run the live sessions. These are the primary tech tools. Apart from this, you would need dumbbells, fitness rings, and other equipment needed to conduct the session. 

Decide the price 

Pricing plays an important role in the popularity of your fitness course. Select a price that is reasonable for your customers and profitable for you. If you have live sessions, you can probably charge more than recorded sessions. And if you are having multiple courses, then you can club them into packages. For example, upper body workout sessions could be a package that has exercise related to the chest and shoulders. This will be not only reasonable for the participants but also an opportunity to sell more for you.

Another option is to provide memberships. Memberships are a way to connect with your learners for a long time and maintain a healthy teacher-learner relationship. Yearly, quarterly, and monthly memberships are the frequently followed membership patterns in the fitness industry.

Advertise

Now that you have taken care of most of the things, it is time to spread the word out to the audience. This phase involves formulating a marketing strategy to attract participants to your fitness course.

Try advertising on your website or social media platforms. Some of your past customers who used to visit your studio could be your friends on social media. Not only will they join your course when they see your ad, but also share it with others. This will pull in more people to your course.

Marketing is even easier with an LMS platform like Learnyst. Learnyst offers a plethora of marketing features such as your own website to promote your courses. 

Further Reading: Marketing your online course – Tips and tricks

These are the steps to follow if you wish to set up your own online fitness studio and be a successful online fitness coach.

Now let us take a peek at the story of a popular fitness coach Tarun Gill and how he made the switch to online training through Learnyst.

Tarun Gill’s online fitness studio

Tarun Gill is a popular fitness coach who has more than 1 million followers. He is the founder of TG Talks Media which is India’s biggest fitness media platform. He forayed into online fitness after serving a career in top companies like IBM and HSBC. Tarun collaborated with Learnyst to build India’s first fitness learning app TG Fitness. Here’s what he had to say about his collaboration with Learnyst – 

“Thanks to Learnyst, I had my own branded app with 20,000 subscribers. Learnyst turned out to be a highly user-friendly platform which was pointed out by most of my subscribers.”

Tarun Gill, Fitness Coach

So if you want to be the next Tarun Gill and start your own online fitness studio, get in touch with Learnyst right away.