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Les Mills Instructor Salary

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If you’re wondering about the average Les Mills instructor salary, we have broken down what you can expect in the UK and explained how to maximise your income. That's why we’ve found the key ways in which you can make your business more profitable, and get the most out of your qualifications. 

In this article we will cover:

Just before we begin, if you are looking for a starting point in the fitness industry, you should head over to our website and check out our Level 3 Personal Training Diploma! Alternatively, you can choose from a plethora of fitness courses in our downloadable course prospectus here.

What Is A Les Mills Instructor?

A Les Mills instructor is someone who is qualified to teach branded Les Mills classes to their own clientele. Some popular Les Mills classes include Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Balance and Body Step. 

To teach these classes and work as a Les Mills instructor, the fitness professional must complete a two day Les Mills course either online or in person. This course is made up of extensive theoretical and practical frameworks.

The course is specifically designed to teach you how to run a specific Les Mills class of your choice, and though you do not need any prior qualifications as a requirement, it's likely that you will find gyms won’t hire you if this is the only fitness qualification you hold.

As you can see in the job advert below, this company is looking to hire a Body Attack instructor but also requires a minimum of a level 2 fitness instructing qualification. This is a common theme through gym advertisements for Les Mills instructors, so it is a good idea to complete a level 2 certificate in gym instructing first.

The level 2 course covers the basic principles of exercises and offers a foundational knowledge of the industry. Therefore, completing this course will provide you with the knowledge necessary to move onto the Les Mills course and prepare you for the industry expectations that come with being a qualified Les Mills instructor.

A Les Mills instructor can teach the programme of which they opted for, whether that be Body Pump, Body Combat or any of the other recognisable classes. Remember, Les Mills treats every course as a separate qualification so, if you pay for a Body Attack course that is the only class you’re qualified to teach. 

60 days after course completion, instructors are required to submit a video of themselves conducting a Les Mills branded class. This is the final stage of the course and in order to become a qualified Les Mills instructor, individuals are required to show competency in 3 areas:

  1. Choreography
  2. Technique
  3. Coaching

Obtaining a Les Mills instructor title allows for those to be hired on the premise that they are going to offer a popular class that is world renowned. This makes for an attractive candidate for gyms and some job adverts do specifically seek out people who are trained in a particular Les Mills class.

Les Mills is a recognisable brand that has an extensive library of popular classes that many gyms offer, and so having that title encourages positive opinions and opens up plenty of job opportunities. Many clients and gym goers prefer Les Mills as heading to a class where you already know the routine is a great way to settle into a new gym. Not to mention, they are a really fun and engaging way to get fit!

When a recognisable class is on the timetable, you’re almost certainly going to have a full class, which is great both for the business and for you as the instructor.

Who Hires A Les Mills Instructor?

Les Mills instructors are typically hired on the premise that they have the particular qualification that the company is looking for. For example, a job will advertise for a Body Balance instructor or a Body Pump instructor.

Say a commercial gym is specifically looking for a Body Attack qualified instructor to teach twice a week. If that is the case and you have the means to perform Body Pump, that is simply what you’re limited to, therefore you would not qualify for the role.

Though you may have the title of a Les Mills instructor, you are still only qualified to teach the programmes of which you trained in. For that reason, it is a good idea to take on the likes of a personal trainer diploma for a more holistic approach to a career in fitness, broadening the job roles that you can be considered for.

Getting qualified as a personal trainer would allow you to acquire more experience in the industry and generate more of a stable income, with your Les Mills title offering you an edge over other job applicants. If you want some more information on how much you could make as a personal trainer, be sure to check out our article on the personal trainer salary explained here or read this OriGym guide on how to become a personal trainer.

Now that we have covered the basics, let's dive into what really matters, the Les Mills instructor salary!

Les Mills Instructor Salary

The salary of a Les Mills instructor varies depending on the level of expertise and of course, location. Across the globe Les Mills is practiced and is hugely popular, and though Les Mills themselves don’t disclose the average salary, we did the digging for you to find the current salary estimate in 2023.

First off in the UK, there is an average estimate that the salary of a Les Mills instructor sits at around £20 - £22 per hour. In the UK this is a huge increase from the minimum wage of £10.42, making the idea of becoming a Les Mills instructor much more attractive. 

Similarly, the average Les Mills Instructor Salary in the USA sits at around $23.04 an hour, again a huge increase on the minimum wage bracket. With the correct amount of hours, which typically would correspond to your location, there is a great salary to be made. 

However, it is important to note that particularly in the UK, jobs are advertised on a self employed basis. This could mean that in order to reach the potential of a high Les Mills instructor salary, you would need more than one revenue stream from a single gym. 

There is certainly room for what could be considered as an unlimited salary when working self-employed. Therefore, being hired on a self-employed basis isn’t something that you should be afraid of, in fact it's a great way to inject an element of freedom into your work life.

More importantly, due to Les Mills classes being so popular, there is a much greater chance that a gym will take you on board. The great combination of a fitness instructor or personal trainer status combined with your Les Mills qualifications makes room for more opportunity.

Next we will discuss this in more detail, but first another popular group class among Les Mills enthusiasts is Spin, head over to our article on how to become a Spin instructor here to find out more.

We have some useful resources on getting started in the fitness industry that you can read below:

Les Mills Instructor Salary vs PT Salary: Which is Higher?

Choosing a path to take in the fitness industry can be difficult, especially with so many options. So although the Les Mills instructor salary looks attractive on paper, it is vital you consider how you reach this point. 

Like anything, becoming successful at your craft takes dedication. Yet, there are different routes to victory in the fitness sector that could see your salary reach heights higher than being a Les Mills instructor. 

To explain this clearly, we have found an example role that represents the most common adverts that are put out by employers looking for Les Mills instructors in the UK. Below you can see an advert for a Body Attack fitness instructor.

As you can see, this company is looking to hire a candidate to run 2 classes a week, which they specify is 2 hours per week. Now although the hourly rate is high, the amount of hours is simply not enough to have this as your only job as it works out at a maximum of £38 per week. 

Moreover, working full time as a Les Mills instructor is not realistic if you plan on teaching classes the whole time as this would be exhausting and extremely difficult to keep up with. This is due to the exertion and pure energy that is necessary for teaching a Les Mills class.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways that you can boost your earnings by working as a Les Mills instructor alongside similar professions in the industry. Opting for a career as a personal trainer, for example, can open up countless job prospects and opportunities for progression, allowing you to earn more money further down the line.

For example, below we have shared a job advertisement for a freelance personal trainer in a studio. The expected salary is £25k to £45k and includes the beauty of being freelance, meaning you are not set to particular time limits. 

What we’re trying to say is that although there are limitations on how many gyms advertise for Les Mills instructors, personal trainers are almost always in demand, and it's very possible to have a career that merges both of these roles.

What could this mean for you? This could mean that with a level 3 qualification in personal training, you could earn more money and with the help of CPD courses your business would only get stronger.

So yes, by undergoing training by Les Mills you could earn big money. However, in order to earn a healthy salary, you will have to invest money into multiple courses so that you can offer a variety of classes, plus you would need to find multiple gyms or establishments to work at. 

The fact that many of these jobs require your service for no more than two classes a week, paired with our research showing such jobs are few and far between, it's safe to say that while possible, it would be difficult to earn a significant salary by working solely as a Les Mills instructor.

Ultimately, a combination of fitness roles is the best way to earn a good wage. For instance, a personal trainer with Les Mills most popular classes such as Body Combat and Pump can run classes and 1-1 training sessions, allowing for a flexible but lucrative career.

If you wanted to take your career one step further, some ways of progressing (and increasing your income) could include becoming a strength & conditioning coach or even completing a sports massage certification.

So, of personal training and working as a Les Mills instructor, which salary is higher? All things included, we would definitely say that you can earn more working as a personal trainer. 

That said, incorporating Les Mills classes into a personal trainer business plan will allow you to run classes such as Body Attack and maximise your earning potential at the same time. Keep reading because we will talk about how you can broaden your horizon and maximise your profits very soon.

If you're interested in taking the plunge and becoming a personal trainer, read our article on how to become a personal trainer here.

Les Mills Salary VS Fitness Instructor Salary

Though we have looked at the difference between the Les Mills instructor salary and that of a personal trainer, it is also useful to touch on how a fitness instructor salary differs too. After all, the role of a fitness instructor (also known as a gym instructor) is quite similar to that of a Les Mills instructor. 

The role of a fitness instructor is certainly similar to that of a Les Mills instructor, however, there is a level of security that comes with the role of a fitness instructor. This is because the fitness instructor job description extends beyond just teaching classes. You can be hired as a fitness instructor and always be needed in a gym environment, in other words, it is a much more stable job so long as you put the work in.

Meanwhile, when working as a Les Mills instructor, there is the possibility of a gym changing their class timetable and no longer including Les Mills classes. This situation could potentially see you lose your earnings, especially if you aren’t qualified to do anything else in the gym. Ultimately, there are more varied opportunities and advancements that come with the role of a fitness instructor.

Getting qualified as a gym instructor is a great place to start in the fitness industry and can grant you access to other useful courses that can increase your salary. We have explained everything you need to know about fitness instructor salary in this article, which is a great place to learn what can affect your pay and why you should take ‘average’ salaries with a pinch of salt.

Many job boards only take into consideration the average salary of fitness instructors, sitting at around £16,000 to £18,000. However, these figures are based on contracted fitness instructors, and do not take into account the amount that can be made from being a freelance fitness instructor. 

You could potentially earn a lot of money by being a freelance fitness instructor and working in more than one gym. And though Les Mills courses can increase your chances of being hired in multiple gyms, a fitness instructor role could see you settled in one gym and still getting a great salary or hourly rate to teach a range of classes.

If you’re just getting started in the industry and aren’t quite ready to invest a sum of money into Les Mills courses, fitness instructing can still replicate a similar work life. Level 2 qualified fitness instructors can still run similar classes to those of Les Mills’ as long as they are not the choreography and name of the class is your original and in no way copies the Les Mills licensed version. 

As a fitness instructor, you can choreograph your own classes, and with the help of affordable courses such as exercise to music, you create something unique, fun, and exciting to keep clients coming back to you. 

Read this guide to starting a fitness business bootcamp business with just a Level 2 qualification! 

As you’re now aware, Les Mills do not require any prior qualifications, however gyms do. Outside of job requirements, Exercise to Music is an especially valued course to have in conjunction with Les Mills, as it will further enhance your ability to lead and choreograph classes to a high standard.

Although on paper Les Mills looks like a higher money maker by the hour, it would be difficult to earn a full time wage just working as a Les Mills instructor. Fitness instructing, however, provides the potential for growth in the industry and can surpass the salary of Les Mills instructor by broadening the classes you can offer and enabling you to land a job at a gym.

How to Maximise your Les Mills Instructor Salary

 

Now that we’ve answered ‘how much do Les Mills instructors make?’, you probably want to know how to get more from your role. Fortunately, we have all of the answers.

As we have now established, the average Les Mills instructor salary can be low due to lack of demand in the UK, however, there are many other opportunities in the fitness industry and tons of qualifications that can help maximise your salary. 

Specialist Fitness Courses

Within gyms, further qualifications make you stand out and ultimately make you a much better trainer. Therefore it is a good idea to take specialist fitness courses. Here are just a few of the courses that you could add to your qualifications list to make you stand out from other personal trainers:

These are in depth courses that allow for you to really expand your knowledge and let your clients know that you’re the best pick from the bunch. These qualifications allow you to expand your knowledge and get better results for your clients. 

Further qualifications help to increase your profits by allowing you to offer add-on services, plus they allow you to charge more for those services by marketing yourself as an expert in a niche area of the industry.

For example, you could offer sports massage appointments after a class, the perfect way to finish a strenuous Les Mills Body Pump session. 

Or, you could offer nutrition advice to those attending your classes. Exercising and eating well go hand in hand, so why not tick both of those boxes for your clients and class members!

Becoming a nutrition coach and personal trainer or fitness instructor by completing OriGym’s nutrition course is a great way to show clients that you can be trusted to give the best possible nutritional guidance. Though the basic principles of nutrition are covered in a personal training course, having this further qualification will benefit your business and your clients immensely.

 

 

Enquire to Become a Group Fitness Instructor

Get started in the fitness industry by enquiring about our Level 3 Personal Training Diploma!

 

CPD Courses

Another way of maximising your Les Mills instructor salary is to opt for CPD courses. These can be great add ons to your business as they allow you to vary the classes you offer and make them more exciting! Some great CPD courses include:

These kinds of courses are a great way to get the tools you need to create a new and exciting class. Popular group classes include the likes of circuit training, kettlebell classes and overall group training. 

Any kind of class must be engaging and exciting, so to replicate the intensity of a Les Mills class and be successful all the while, opting for a CPD course could really help you get there. 

CPD courses are a great alternative to Les Mills courses as they give you the opportunity to make unique classes that clients won't see anywhere else. You can create your own choreography from the skills you learnt in the course and watch clients flood in to get involved! 

Kids Classes

One final great way to maximise your Les Mills salary is to find a niche in your area. Les Mills offer training for their class Born To Move, this allows for kids as small as 2 years old to get involved in fun and exciting classes. If this is what your local area is missing, you would be putting a trustworthy branding on a class perfect for kids.

Just imagine your Les Mills instructor salary growing everytime you make another commitment to further your career, that's exactly what you can do with these extra specialist fitness and CPD  courses. Overall, to improve your status in the industry you want to reach as many kinds of clients as possible, the only way to do this is by undergoing the best education to get there.

Before You Go!

Hopefully by now we have answered all of your questions about the Les Mills instructor salary. Whether you’re still set on becoming a Les Mills instructor or you think that becoming a fitness instructor is a better option, we actively encourage you to pursue a career that you are passionate about!

If you do want to take the first step into the fitness sector, check out our Level 3 Personal Trainer Diploma! Read about our fitness qualifications in our downloadable prospectus!

Written by Kimberley Mitchell

Editor

Having gained a B.A Hons degree in Media, Culture and Communications, Kimberley has gained experience in areas of web journalism, website production and marketing.

Alongside this, Kim expanded her knowledge and passion for fitness, by becoming a fully qualified fitness instructuor and personal trainer. Kim has also gained specialist qualifications in yoga, nutriton, spin and many more.

After working in the industry as a PT, Kimberley went on to study an MA in Digital Marketing and continues to expand her knowledge in the industry. Her main focus is to keep up with current trends and communications with a focus around health & fitness, writing and being creative.

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