Studio Strength instructor course
Give your career as a group exercise professional a lift with our Studio Strength instructor programme.
Our signature Studio Strength® instructor course
Become an industry-leading studio resistance training professional with our leading Studio Strength instructor course.
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Quality content:
Extensive range of theory and practical subjects covered online
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Internationally recognised
Fully regulated YMCA qualification, CIMSPA endorsed
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Completely license free:
No ongoing license fees, renewals or refresher training
Course overview: Level 2 Studio Strength
Want to break free from the commercial constrains of pre-choreographed instructor programmes, including the hefty license and renewal fees? Keen to make your own mark on the world of studio-based resistance training? If so, our Studio Strength instructor programme could be just what you are looking for.
Studio-based resistance training is an extremely popular feature of group exercise timetables around the world and this has been the case for over 20 years. With pre-choreographed programmes, like Les Mill’s Body Pump taking the lion’s share, discover how to create your own freestyle studio-based resistance training classes with our industry-leading Studio Strength Instructor course.
Times are changing and many health and fitness operators are now moving away from pre-choreographed formats, especially those that require hefty license fees. With freestyle formats like our leading Studio Strength programme, you’ll discover how to plan and deliver engaging, high-energy studio-based resistance training programmes to the beat and phrase of the music. Additionally, you’ll also have complete control over your music, choreography and exercises, giving you the freedom to tailor the programme to meet the specific needs of your class participants.
Whether you plan on delivering your Studio Strength Classes in a fitness studio, on a beach, or virtually via a live stream, once you’ve completed this Studio Strength instructor course, you’ll have the knowledge, skills and confidence and competence to deliver safe and effective group resistance workouts after completing our instructor training.
Studio Strength is a Registered Trademark of Health and Fitness Education (Registered Trade Mark No: UK00003816235) and as such, only those who have completed our programme are licensed to deliver Studio Strength classes. Any health, fitness or leisure facility advertising or delivering Studio Strength sessions must ensure that they only use instructors who have completed our Studio Strength instructor course, and that they adhere to our licensing terms and conditions.
If you are a fitness or health operator and you are keen to learn more about how you can start delivering Studio Strength classes in your facility, please get in touch with our Operations team. There are many ways that we can support you to become independent of the license model, including running in-house training programmes for your team.
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Entry requirements
To complete this programme, you will need to hold an industry-recognised fitness instructor qualification (either gym instructor or exercise to music). This is because this programme is not designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of anatomy, physiology, principles of training and other fundamental instructor subjects.
If you don't yet possess a recognised level 2 fitness instructor qualification, you will need to complete the Certificate version of the course. The Certificate covers anatomy and physiology, health, fitness, and professionalism, all included for an additional fee of £220.00. Upon completion of the programme, you'll receive a full Level 2 Certificate in Studio Resistance Training. -
Accreditations
This Level 2 Studio Strength Instructor course is fully endorsed by YMCA Awards and CIMSPA. Upon completion, you'll be able to teach your own freestyle studio-based resistance classes without any of the constraints, limitations or costs of the pre-choreographed providers.
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Learning resources
Everything that you need to achieve will be included in this course. On enrolment, you'll get access to LES, our online learning platform. From here, you'll have access to a range of eLearning and practical instructor videos to guide you through all the necessary learning to prepare you for your career as a professionals studio strength instructor.
Unrivalled support
Outside of the fantastic online learning content, our Studio Strength instructor course also comes with an unrivalled and completely unlimited level of remote learning support. From enrolment, we'll assign you a Learning Support Tutor who will be on hand when you need them. If and when you have any questions about your course content or assessment, all you need to do is reach out and they'll be there to help.
Some of the more common ways that we support our students includes:
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Phone
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Email
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Video call
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Webinar
What you'll learn
Studio strength instructors are passionate and charismatic exercise professionals that can deliver lively and energetic resistance training sessions that are choreographed to the beat and phrase of the music.
Our Studio Strength Instructor course will teach you all you need to know to succeed as a studio-based resistance training instructor, including:
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Musicality skills
Selecting the right music
Working to the beat and phrase
Different choreography formats
Music licensing and legalities
Using music for motivation
Music speed and exercise intensity -
Studio Strength training exercises
Chest and shoulder exercises
Back and trapezius exercises
Squatting, lunging and deadlifting exercises
Bicep and tricep exercises
Core stabilisation exercises
Dumbbell, barbell and disc variations -
Planning Studio Strength sessions
Screening techniques
Gathering participant information
Risk stratification
Contraindications to exercise
Collecting participant feedback
Evaluating sessions for improvement -
Teaching Studio Strength sessions
Effective demonstrations
Cueing and timing
Tone and voice projection
Motivational strategies
Different teaching positions
Correcting techniques in a group -
Health, safety and professionalism
Staying safe in the studio
Professional bodies and registers
Instructor insurance
Managing emergency situations
Professional practice
Customer care
*Images and videos are for illustration purposes and may not depict specific course materials.
Become a Studio Strength instructor and
raise the bar in group exercise
Become a qualified Studio Strength instructor and raise the bar in group exercise and studio-based resistance training. Join our many thousands of graduates currently working in leading health and fitness clubs around the world.
How you'll be assessed
Throughout this Studio Strength instructor course, you'll complete a range of online learning and assessment activities that will ensure you have the necessary knowledge and professional skills to practice. Typically, you'll complete all the knowledge assessments first, then when you feel ready, you'll start on the practical assessments.
The online practical workshops will prepare you for these assessments, so when you feel ready, all you need to do is record yourself teaching a class and submit this for marking. Your support tutor will also be able to help with preparation for this assessment.
We’ve provided a breakdown of the main assessments in this course.
50%
Coursework
- Knowledge workbooks
- Multiple-choice
- Unlimited attempts
50%
Practical
- Full studio-strength class
- 45-60 mins
- Record and submit for marking
Frequently asked Studio Strength questions
We've provided a summary of some of the more common Studio Strength questions that we're asked by students and operators alike. If you do have any further questions, feel free to get in touch with our Careers Team who will be more than happy to assist you.
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How long does the course take to complete?
Our Studio Strength programme is a completely self-paced course and so there are no specific timescales. To some extent, it will depend on your prior learning and experience. For the average learner, especially those who already have experience of delivering group exercise, especially to music and in a studio environment, this course will likely take around 4-6 weeks to complete. This is based on an average of 5-7 hours of learning per week. Please bare in mind though that this is just an estimate, and every learner is different. Our Learning Support Team are highly experienced at supporting to success a wide-range of students with diverse and varied learning needs.
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Can I call my classes Studio Strength?
As an individual instructor, if you have completed our Studio Strength instructor course and you hold a valid certificate, you are permitted to advertise and deliver your classes as Studio Strength. Once you have completed our programme, you will have the knowledge, skills and confidence to be able to deliver this format competently.
As a facility, you are only permitted to advertise and deliver Studio Strength classes to your participants if you can demonstrate that you have satisfied the following two criteria:
- You only use instructors that have completed our Studio Strength instructor programme – no other training providers deliver Studio Strength.
- You reference and link to our Studio Strength page from your website in at least one page for as long as you are advertising or delivering Studio Strength classes.
As a commercial operator/facility, if you are not able to satisfy the above two conditions, it will be deemed that you are infringing our Intellectual Property Rights and we reserve the right to take the appropriate action to address this.
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Who is the Studio Strength certificate recognised by?
Our Studio Strength instructor programme leads to a Level 2 Award/Certificate in Teaching Studio-Based Resistance Training. This is a fully regulated Ofqual qualification and is not just a CPD programme, as such it is recognised around the world by all employers, insurers, and regulators.
On completion, students will receive a YMCA Awards certificate and a HFE certificate (Studio Strength), the latter being that which is required to deliver programmes specifically called Studio Strength.
This certificate is also recognised by CIMSPA, and carries 10 CPD points with them for CIMSPA members wishing to demonstrate they have undertaken further CPD. Additionally, because CIMSPA is a member of the International Confederation of Registers of Exercise Professionals (ICREPs), our Studio Strength instructor programme is recognised around the world with different fitness industry regulators.
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What's the difference between the award and certificate version?
This is a full Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing (Studio-based Resistance Training) qualification which includes many of the mandatory and generic elements (anatomy and physiology, health, fitness and wellbeing, health and safety, principles of exercise, fitness and health) that form part of other full level 2 qualifications (gym instructing, exercise to music, aqua, step etc). If you have previously and recently completed a full level 2 qualification and you have been working in industry since you qualified, then it’s likely that you will only need to complete the award version, because you will be deemed competent in the genetic and mandatory subject areas. If you have no prior qualifications, then you will need to complete the full certificate version of the programme.
There are some nuances to prior attainment and recognition and so if you are unsure which version you need to do, please feel free to reach out to our Careers Team to have your certificates checked.
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