To help you make the most informed decision about your career in the fitness industry, we will be covering the:
- Differences between the Group Fitness and Personal Trainer qualification
- Roles, responsibilities, and opportunities of each position
- The qualifications needed for each role
- Scope of practice that each allows
- How to make the decision which is right for YOU.
What do I need to consider when looking to become a Personal Trainer?
There are plenty of reasons that should influence whether you decide to become a Gym Instructor, Group Exercise Instructor, or Personal Trainer. You should consider:
- The outline of each position
- Your duties and responsibilities
- The scope of practice, and the type of facility you want to work in
- Opportunities that each presents
- Progression within your role, flexible hours, and earning capacity
- How you’re going to study
- Qualifications, study delivery, and what is right for you?
What qualifications do you need for your dream job?
When comparing the two qualifications, we can see a big difference between what you will be learning, what you’re qualified to deliver, and what your day-to-day life looks like.
SIS30321 – Certificate III in Fitness qualifies you as a Gym Instructor and Group Fitness Instructor.
In contrast, SIS40221 – Certificate IV in Fitness gives you everything Certificate III in Fitness provides, plus a lot more knowledge, flexibility, and the qualification to deliver one-on-one Personal Training sessions.
Certificate III in Fitness vs Certificate IV in Fitness. Which is right for me?
To understand whether a Group Fitness Instructor or Personal Trainer is right for you, you first need to be asking yourself a few questions.
“What kind of environment do I want to be working in?
“What style of training do I want to be qualified to deliver?”
“What kind of study mode is right for me?”
Today, we will be helping you answer those questions in order to help you make the right career choice.
How do I know which environment is right for me?
The qualification you decide to study will determine the gym, facility, or location you can train your clients in and what style of training or services you are qualified to deliver.
For instance, there are a variety of facilities that only deliver group training and have an extensive group fitness timetable. This can be a facility like Fitstop or REVL. At the same time, other facilities offer Personal Training, for example, Vision Personal Training. Additionally, you have facilities such as Jetts Fitness that deliver everything, including gym membership, Group Fitness, and Personal Training.
You can make your decision purely based on the style of gym or facility you want to work in, but we recommend asking yourself a few more questions first.
What style of training do I want to be able to deliver?
If you love being in a motivating, fun, team environment, you should consider a SIS30321 – Certificate III in Fitness and becoming a Group Fitness Instructor. Additionally, you’re qualified as a Gym Instructor, giving you the ability to develop and demonstrate a fitness program, which gives you the ability to help change even more lives! If you like the idea of getting the perks of working with a wide variety of clients in a motivational environment, then a Certificate III in Fitness could be for you.
However, if you love the idea of everything SIS30321 – Certificate III in Fitness offers but want to help people on a more individual and personal level, then studying SIS40221 – Certificate IV in Fitness should be considered. Working with clients as a Personal Trainer gives you extensive knowledge of Strength and Conditioning techniques, the ability to develop advanced training programs, and the knowledge and qualification to deliver a high standard of personal, on-one-on training sessions. If you like the idea of creating your own hours, having higher earning potential and working with a wider scope of clients, then the SIS40221 – Certificate IV in Fitness could be for you.
Although, if you only want to work with clients one on one sooner, the good news for you is that we have a Fast Track Personal Trainer course. This allows you to study fewer units from our SIS30321 – Certificate III in Fitness, which gives you the entry requirements to study SIS40221 – Certificate IV in Fitness sooner.
Final thoughts.
Now that you have a better understanding of where you might want to work and what kind of training you would like to deliver, you should be able to make a more informed decision about which qualification is right for you! At Vast Fitness Academy, we are 100% online for both our Certificate III and IV in Fitness so that you can study at your own pace from home.
If you want to get started in your dream job or find out more about what Vast Fitness Academy has to offer, book a call with one of our career advisers today.
