In this glorious information age, there has never been more advice on the internet on how to get in shape. If you have the desire to lose weight, get stronger or get your cardio up, there is no shortage of coaches offering fitness programming online. But what does online fitness coaching entail?
Online fitness coaching provides clients with a coach who creates workouts and fitness programming specifically for the client. The client will only communicate with their coach virtually. This allows the client to get great workouts and at a fraction of the cost of traditional personal training.
There are many more aspects of this growing industry to cover. Continuing on, we’ll get into more of the specifics of what is required for online coaching and where exactly an online fitness coach may work.
Article Contents
What Kind of Training is Needed To Be an Online Fitness Coach?
To be hired as a personal trainer at most gyms, a certain level of credentials is required. This is so that a coach can provide training in the safest and most optimal way for their client’s body type, experience and capability. But what kind of training is needed to do the job of an online fitness coach?
Personal trainers are at least required to have a Certified Personal Trainer qualification by most gyms. For an online fitness coach, this is not necessarily required, however, clients will generally look for the most qualified person that they can afford.
While there are no specific certifications or degrees that are required to be an online coach, oftentimes, a client may find that their trainer’s physique is the only qualification they need to hire them. Having credentials is never a bad thing as an online fitness coach. There are some common courses that anyone can take to start a career as an online fitness coach. Moving on we will cover how long some of these courses take and what they typically cost.
How Long Does the Training for an Online Fitness Coach take?
Remember that the minimum requirements for a Personal Trainer are not necessarily the same requirements for an online fitness coach unless specifically required by a company they are hired with. And even though online fitness coaching doesn’t necessarily require these certifications, they will give you a credential to point to when clients ask about your training and education. But what kind of timeframe can someone expect to get a qualification like this?
The longest part of becoming an Online Fitness Coach is becoming a Certified Personal Trainer. This credentialing ranges from 4 weeks to 16 weeks. In addition to this, there is approximately a 3 to 6 month period to build an online presence and clientele.
Depending on what type of qualifications an online fitness coach deems necessary for their business and credibility, there are varying lengths of time it will take to complete training or education. Some of the common options for basic online CPT courses are listed below,
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) has been around for 30 years. The NASM curriculum can be completed online in as few as 12 weeks. NASM offers many other fitness programs besides CPT including nutrition, weight loss, flexibility and stretching, injury prevention, and also a business accelerator program, which may help an online fitness coach get a better grasp on the business side of personal training.
- International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) offers a fast track course that is only 4 weeks long. They can also certify yoga instructors, group workout instructors, bodybuilding and powerlifting instructors. Their basic CPT course has several packages available that offer slightly different material but one package that may be of interest to an online fitness coach guarantees that you will have 5 clients within 5 weeks.
- American Council on Exercise (ACE). The certified personal trainer program offered by ACE takes approximately 80-100 hours or 3-4 months for most students. It is an online, self paced course and like the previously listed CPT institutions, they offer multiple levels of certification and specialized courses.
- Undergraduate Degrees in Kinesiology or Exercise Science are credentials that would more than qualify a person to be an online fitness coach. Either of these is a 4-year degree, but it may provide a lot more credibility with a certain type of customer who is willing to spend more money because they want the most qualified person coaching them.
Most CPT or Certified Personal Training programs offer a similar or the same level of training and education. At the same time, a degree in kinesiology or sports medicine will cost more time and money.
How Much Does Training for an Online Fitness Coach Cost?
There is a correlation between the lengths of the programs listed above and their costs. What can you expect to pay for any of these personal training certifications?
Options to become a Certified Personal Trainer for online coaching range from $69 at the very lowest end to almost $2000. And if you decide that you want or need a four-year degree, you can expect to pay approximately $20k-$30k for a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology or a similar field.
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), having the most in-depth courses out of the group National Academy of Sports Medicine also has the highest range of prices. NASM’s 4 CPT courses range from $629-$1889. This does not include the many specialized add on and continuing education courses that NASM offers.
- International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) ISSA CPT courses range from $69-$119. The $69 program offers a base lever certified personal training program for a very affordable price. This program also includes a nutritional course and a CPR certification. For $119 a student is being offered hands-on training in a gym and a guarantee of their first 5 clients in 5 weeks.
- American Council on Exercise (ACE) offers training that ranges from $509 to $899. They are a good middle ground option between NASM and ISSA. The $899 Advantage program they offer is comparable to the NASM’s top-of-the-line course in material and length but at about $1000 cheaper.
- Undergraduate Degree in Kinesiology or Exercise Science
If you have the time and funding, a degree in kinesiology, sports medicine or exercise science would all give you a lot of credibility as an online fitness coach and open up many doors. But anticipate a price tag of about $20k-$30k. This will probably be on the lower end of the price range but it will also depend on where you go to school.
There is big variation in the cost of these programs. It will ultimately be for the prospective coach to decide what qualifications they need. If a coach has years of fitness and athletic experience, they are likely already qualified to train many people but having a certification does give an online fitness coach more authority.
Where's the Best Pace to be an Online Fitness Coach?
Once you have your qualifications, certifications, or credentials to be a confident, knowledgeable fitness coach on the internet, there is now another question to answer. Where is the best place to offer your services and help people get in shape?
The best places to be an online fitness coach are through various online platforms. Some online fitness trainers create their own websites, others work through online intermediary websites, while others use social media to promote themselves and offer their workout programs.
Two of the better options for online personal trainers to connect with prospective clients are online fitness coaching websites like Kickoff and a more entrepreneurial option that many trainers have had success with is Twitter.
What is Kickoff?
There are many fitness websites online that aim to connect clients with dedicated personal trainers. These websites are changing the fitness industry and allowing more people to access higher tier training through online fitness coaches. These services offer flexibility for peoples schedules and tend to be a good option for people who are already familiar with working out but maybe just need a little direction to get started again. One of these websites is Kickoff.
Kickoff, as defined by themselves, “is a remote personal training service on a mission to democratize access to elite training for all people.” Kickoff helps bring premier personal and athletic training to a broader group of people by being able to charge less due to not requiring a trainer’s time and constant supervision. In turn, this opens up the personal training industry to so many more people. In addition, it allows online coaches to help more clients and while making more money.
To get a job with Kickoff as a coach, the main requirement is a Personal Training Certification. They also want their coaches to be experienced in the fitness realm, coaching, and customer service. A good handle on social media is also desired, so each coach can build their own brand and acquire customers.
Twitter as an Online Fitness Hub
The social media platform, Twitter, has become a hub for all types of entrepreneurs in modern times. An industry that has grown rapidly here is online fitness coaching. All kinds of independent fitness coaches promote themselves and their programs through Twitter. But why Twitter?
For those with a knack for social media and self promotion, online fitness coaches on Twitter will have total autonomy, and be able to coach and communicate directly with as many clients as they want or can manage.
As a means of connecting with new clients and promoting your training style/philosophy, Twitter is unmatched by other free services due to its simplicity, ease of use and potential for your tweets to be highly visible.
Twitter also offers advertising that you can pay for to increase your visibility and hopefully attract more followers. The more followers you gain through self-promotion, the more potential clients you will be exposed to. Not only will you find more business through your growing followers, but at some point, you may also be offered advertising money from other companies trying to promote their products or services. There is so much potential for an online coach here.
Conclusion
There has never been a better time for those interested in becoming an online fitness coach than now for this industry. If you are dedicated to this idea as an occupation or part-time gig, any invested time or money can quickly pay for itself and generate income. If you have a passion for fitness and helping people and an aptitude for online communication, you may find a successful new career path in online fitness coaching.
