How To Become An Online Fitness Coach

If you’re looking to become an online fitness coach in the UK, our step-by-step guide covers everything you need to know:

• Step 1 - Get Qualified To Become An Online Fitness Coach
• Step 2 - Gain Practical Experience To Become A Fitness Coach Online
• Step 3 - Choose Your Specialism As An Online Fitness Coach
• Step 4 - Decide How You Will Deliver Your Online Fitness Coaching
• Step 5 - Get The Right Legal Coverage For Your Fitness Coaching Business
• Step 6 - Decide Your Rates For Your Online Fitness Coaching Business
• Step 7 - Market Yourself As An Online Fitness Coach

If you're interested in pursuing a career in health and fitness and want to eventually become an online personal trainer, you can enrol on OriGym's Personal Training Diploma and qualify in as little as 4 weeks! 

Learn more about our PT courses in our FREE course prospectus!

Step 1 - Get Qualified To Become An Online Fitness Coach

If you’re wondering how to become an online fitness coach in the UK, the first step is to get qualified. You will need to complete the following two qualifications:

• Level 2 Gym Instructor Course
• Level 3 Personal Training Course 

You can either take these courses separately or combined through OriGym’s cost-effective Personal Training Diploma, qualifying in as little as 4 weeks! This will lay the foundation of your career as a fitness instructor and means you can eventually become a personal trainer.

The good news is, you don’t need any specific or additional qualifications to coach clients online! However, if you’re looking to specialise in a particular area of fitness, you should take relevant additional training, such as:

• Level 4 Advanced Sports Nutrition 
• Level 4 Lower Back Pain Management 
• Level 4 Diabetes Control and Weight Management 

Step 2 - Gain Practical Experience To Become A Fitness Coach Online

Even if you’re specifically wanting to know how to become an ‘online’ fitness coach, it will benefit your career to initially gain in-person practical experience.

In doing so, you can develop transferable skills for your online coaching career. 

The best way to do this is by working in a gym or fitness centre as a personal trainer, and gaining experience training clients on a one-to-one basis. 

Working in this capacity will also help you build up a pool of loyal clients who will then follow you when you move your services online.

These individuals will be more likely to invest in your new business, as they will be aware that your training methods get the results they desire. 

Building rapport with in-person clients is therefore so important. Should they follow you to your online services, you can gain immediate financial stability, which is often a worry for any new business venture. 

Step 3 - Choose Your Specialism As An Online Fitness Coach

When exploring how to become an online health and fitness coach, you will need to decide what area you wish to specialise in.  

When making this decision, consider these two questions:

• What area of fitness and training do I personally excel in?
• Who do I want my clients (or 'target audience') to be?

For example, you could decide that you excel in creating weight loss programmes, and therefore wish to target clients looking to lose weight.

By targeting those who are looking specifically for an online fitness coach who specialises in weight loss, you’re immediately more appealing to clients who want specific results or specialised programmes, since you offer the exact service they are looking for. 

In other words, you will be regarded as an expert in that particular type of training, helping you stand out from other coaches who offer more general and holistic services.

Deciding your niche will also help you determine what qualifications are needed to pursue this specific career. 

Step 4 - Decide How You Will Deliver Your Online Fitness Coaching

When learning how to become an online fitness coach in the UK, there are three main ways that you can operate:

#1- Sell Self-Guided Online Fitness Plans

A self-guided plan is when clients independently work through a fitness programme that you give them. For example, you could create general plans for goals such as ‘weight loss’ or ‘gaining muscle’. 

Alternatively, if you already have a Level 3 personal trainer qualification, you would be qualified to create tailored virtual programmes for individuals with more specific needs and goals. 

In each case, the client would conduct the workouts themselves in their own home or at the gym in their own time. 

You could also add further value to your services by offering things such as weekly/monthly video check-ins, or communicating with clients via Whatsapp to support them alongside their plan.

This is a great option if you want to have lots of different clients enrolled on the same programme. You can therefore maximise your earnings since you can take on more clients with the same amount of time and effort. 

We have a whole article on selling fitness programmes online for more information about how to get started with this area of online coaching. 

#2- Coach Clients 1-to-1 Online in Real-Time 

Instead of creating a plan that clients complete in their own time, this option involves coaching clients live on a 1-to-1 basis via video chat. This essentially means giving them everything you would get from an in-person session, just virtually!

This can be done effectively through video calls using your laptop and microphone and can be held on platforms such as Zoom. 

#3- Record Workout Videos To Sell To Clients 

This is essentially when you pre-record videos that you can then sell to multiple clients. 

This means that instead of working with each of your clients individually on separate video calls, you can make one video and send that same video to an unlimited number of different clients!

In other words, you can earn more money from more clients by working the same amount of time! 

Should you decide to pursue this career, you will therefore need to invest in some filming equipment, such as a high-quality camera and microphone. 

Step 5 - Get The Right Legal Coverage For Your Fitness Coaching Business

If you are looking into how to become an online health and fitness coach, there are a two key legalities you should put in place:

#1- Online Fitness Coach Insurance

When considering how to become an online fitness coach, the main type of insurance you will need is personal liability insurance. 

This kind of insurance can provide protection if a client makes a claim against you for an injury or damage to property. A lack of insurance can lead to severe legal fines and in severe cases prison sentences.  

Within the last few years, most insurance providers have extended their policies to cover online sessions and classes. When choosing a provider you will need to read their policies in great detail to ensure you’re receiving accurate coverage. 

You will also need equipment insurance to cover things like your laptop, camera and microphone.

#2- Register Your Online Fitness Coach Business

If you’re wanting to become an online health and fitness fitness coach, you’ll need to register your business with the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for tax purposes. 

This means letting the government know your business exists and is paying relevant tax. However, you’ll only need to inform the HMRC and file a tax return if you earn more than £1000 in a year.

You can register through the UK government website as a sole trader or limited company. 

The best option is to register as a sole trader. This means that you can keep all your business profits after paying tax, but are responsible for your own finances.

It is therefore a good idea to hire an accountant to help you with the financial side of your business and to ensure that you calculate your taxes correctly. 

Step 6 - Decide Your Rates For Your Online Fitness Coaching Business

The next step in how to become an online health and fitness coach is to decide on how much you want to charge for your services. 

You should consider your outgoing expenses when deciding your prices and ensure that they cover costs such as:

• Buying and maintaining equipment such as a laptop, camera, microphone etc.
• Paying for an accountant
• Paying for software such as a website builder

It is also a good idea to conduct some market research to see how much your competitors are charging. This will allow you to price yourself appropriately, finding a balance between your prices being competitive and making a profit. 

To do this, you should try to:

• Offer sessions for slightly less than your competitors
• Provide customers with more than what competitors are offering

You could offer online sessions on a pay-as-you-go basis. But the best way to price your online fitness business is using packages. 

Step 7 - Market Yourself As An Online Fitness Coach

The next step in how to become an online fitness coach is to market your business to attract your first clients! 

Here are some techniques that are particularly beneficial for becoming an online fitness coach:

#1- Develop a Social Media Strategy For Your Online Fitness Coach Business

Social media is one of the best ways to promote your business, build brand awareness and interact with your clients.

For example, you could start a fitness instagram to build your brand this way and interact with followers directly, leading to more interest in your service.

You could also use social media advertising to target a specific demographic- which we will explain more below when we discuss paid advertising. 

#2- Use Family and Friend Referrals To Promote Your Online Fitness Coach Business

Another online business idea is to use a referral scheme. This is when you give current clients an incentive to refer their family and friends to your business. 

People are more likely to use a service when it’s recommended by someone they know and trust, making it one of the best ways to grow your online fitness coaching business!

Examples of popular incentives include:

• Discounted classes
• Free sessions
• Gift cards
• Cash incentives

This marketing tool benefits everyone - your clients will receive a benefit, and you will gain a new client!

#3- Create A Landing Page And Website For Your Online Fitness Coaching Business

When you’re thinking about how to become an online fitness coach, it’s important to have a professional landing page and/or website to attract clients and promote your business. 

A personal training landing page is a stand-alone page customers land on when they click through from something like social media, an email or an ad. 

These pages are less about exploration, and more focused on guiding customers to complete a specific action, turning visitors into leads or sales.

For example, a landing page could feature an enquiry box where potential clients enter their details for you to contact them. 

You will also need a high-quality and professional website that is easy to use and navigate. This gives your business credibility and makes users trust you, making them more likely to enquire and become paying clients! 

A strong website is particularly important if you are wanting to create a library of videos that you then sell to clients, as this is where they will access them. 

#4- Utilise Paid Advertising As An Online Fitness Coach

One of the best ways to market your online fitness coaching business is by using paid advertising. 

This method is great for businesses who are just starting out because:

• They are cost-effective - you only pay if someone actually clicks on your ad. 
• You can target a specific audience, i.e. people who are already searching for online fitness coaching. 
• You can reach a large number of people at the same time
• They are quick and easy to set up

The two main platforms to use paid advertising are Google and across social media. This allows you to reach a greater audience and eventually be a successful online personal trainer.

#5 - Use Email Marketing To Promote Your Online Fitness Coaching Business 

Email marketing involves capturing people’s contact details on your website or through social media, and sending targeted marketing emails to those individuals. 

These emails are a great way for you to advertise your services, increase general brand awareness and promote any offers you are currently running.

Ready to Become an Online Fitness Coach?

As the UK’s leading health and fitness course provider, OriGym has helped hundreds of aspiring fitness professionals get into the fitness industry, including online fitness coaching. 

If you're ready to pursue this career for yourself, get a Personal Training Diploma under your belt! Through qualifying, you will develop beneficial skills and knowledge to ensure the future success of your online coaching business. 

To learn more about our industry-leading qualification, be sure to download our FREE course prospectus here