Retraining as a fitness instructor

[bluebell321]

Hi
I have a 16 month old DD and 3 months pregnant with 2nd DC. I'm currently working in a high pressured job and can't imagine going back to it after this maternity leave. I have been thinking about retraining as a fitness instructor- does anyone have experience of this? I was wondering on the best training courses or ways to get into it?

I can not comment on the fitness instructor idea but I have done something similar a few years ago I gave up a pressured job in London to spent more time with the DC as DH was travelling a lot and I wanted to be around for the DC so I qualified as a swimming teacher and combined that with being a SAHM. I quickly picked up a lot of work a very good hourly rate but I did have to commute between venues a lot and although I only worked only a few hours here and there those hours are usually at times when others are at home i/e evenings and weekends and this eating in to time when DC are not in school. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I was looking forward to going back to an office job when the time came! Depending on your circumstances it may be a good solution for you but I think it is unlikely to be an easy option. Good luck!

Thank you- good point hadnt thought of that.

A friend of mine did it for a bit but gave up. I think the difficulty is in finding regular clients to give you the income you need. You can only charge so much per class and people prefer PAYG than having to pay upfront. There are a few big names in each area that seem to get the lion's share of business as they are established and it's word of mouth. Then you need to sort out a venue and pay them rent. If it's outdoors it is weather-dependent.
I think if you are a freelance fitness instructor you can be affiliated to a gym but have to pay a chunk of your fee to the gym as well as finding your own clients for personal training there. Not saying it's impossible but there might be an easier way of making money away from the high pressure you're hoping to leave behind.