As a fitness or wellness professional, you’re a catalyst and facilitator in helping others live their best lives. There are major benefits of being a fitness instructor or wellness professional! Seeing someone change their life and take control of their health is priceless — and with industry discounts, some of your favorite brands may literally become priceless to you. From free workouts to discounted apparel, here are some of the benefits available to you as a fitness or wellness professional.
Work out for free
One of the best things about being a fitness or wellness professional... is free fitness or wellness! Perhaps you’ll get a free membership/unlimited classes or services wherever you teach or facilitate. Often fitness studios, gyms or wellness venues have partnerships with other like-minded businesses and you can access industry discounts outside of your home venue.
Work can take you places
If you’re into travel, you may be able to swing some work travel to some pretty cool destinations. As the wellness industry booms, so do wellness travel and retreats. You might want to find an existing retreat company to work with, your studio might offer retreats you can offer to work, or, if you’re really enterprising, you might want to consider starting your own retreat. Always wanted to see Bali? We hear it’s a great place for a retreat.
Flexible schedules
The reason fitness and wellness businesses vary their class and appointment times is that they must cater to demand — and this audience is anything but traditional. As a fitness or wellness professional, you’ll likely have the opportunity to customize your schedule to suit your preferences for optimum efficiency — a luxury not available to everyone in the workforce. Not a morning person? Unless you’re just starting out, you don’t have to work mornings if you don’t want to. If you are at your best at 5 p.m., there’s likely a class or appointment available at that time to facilitate — make sure to talk through your preferences with your managers. And if travel is your thing, you always have the option of finding subs to fill in for your classes while you jet off.
Athleisure is king
None of this needing to decode casual from business casual — every day is Casual Friday when you’re a fitness or wellness professional. Stretchy pants are de rigueur, as are comfy and casual shoes.
Apparel discounts galore
And speaking of clothes! You may not realize it, but if you’re standing up there leading a class or offering a wellness service, you’re an influencer, no matter how many followers you have. Your clients know that you wouldn’t be wearing something you don’t like, and brands know this, too. You can get some pretty sweet apparel discounts, and you may even score some free stuff if you’re lucky.
Self-care is not optional
It’s one thing to burn the candle at both ends at a desk job (still not recommended!), but when your job requires you to be on your feet performing a service for your clients, the idea of self-care becomes essential. You need to take time between your classes and appointments to rest and do the things that recharge you in order to be there for your clients.
A community of those with common interests
As an adult, it can be really hard to find people who share the same interests as you. But if you work in a fitness or wellness capacity, you’ve got a built-in community, from your coworkers to your clients.
Access to learning
Whether you’re a kettlebell instructor or an acupuncturist, your employer will want you to stay current — both with your certifications and industry trends. Many studios and employers will cover these continuing education needs.
Service swaps
This is more of an informal benefit, but one of our favorites. Are you a personal trainer with a massage therapist BFF? Excellent, you two can swap services — you get a free massage, and your friend gets a free training session. Doing trades with friends can be a valuable way to get feedback on your technique from a trusted audience before testing something out on your paying clients, too.
Opportunity to see clients change
While some of these other perks may be self-serving, we saved the best for last. You know you’re making a direct impact on people’s lives every single day. Whether you’re providing them that vital stress release, making them stronger or helping them hit their goals, your job has more of an effect on your clients than you’ll ever know.
These perks are yours for the taking — so take advantage of them. As you help others live healthier and happier, take a moment to reflect on the perks available to you as a fitness or wellness professional. If your studio, gym or wellness venue isn’t already on ClassPass, what are they waiting for? Boost traffic, get discovered and earn more as a ClassPass partner.
