Programs in fitness instructing prepare people to lead group fitness classes. Students learn how to choreograph and lead a variety of aerobics and fitness courses. For example, students learn how to teach step aerobics, cardio kickboxing, and body sculpting classes.

For many people, exercise can be a challenge. Getting up before school or work to take a jog may seem next to impossible. Lifting weights in the basement may quickly give way to going through some old boxes. Motivation can be a challenge, and when it's just you exercising by yourself, it can be boring.

For these reasons, many people choose group fitness classes. You can opt to soothe your stresses away with yoga, or pump iron between intervals of cardio moves. Or, you can step up and down and around an aerobics step (or "bench"). You can even pretend you're a black belt while practicing cardio kickbox. With the instructor in the front leading you through the moves, and encouraging you to keep going, exercise can be pretty fun.

It's also possible to get paid to exercise, if you're the fitness instructor. It's not as easy as it might look, though. Leading a group fitness class involves lots of planning and preparation. You have to understand the basics of anatomy and exercise, both cardio and weight training. You must be able to choreograph a class so it's both easy to follow, but challenging enough to participants. You also need to know how to handle emergencies. Of course, your knowledge must also be specialized to the class you're teaching.

The best way, then, to become a fitness instructor is to seek training and become certified. Some self-study is necessary. You should take a variety of fitness classes and familiarize yourself with how they are set up. You should also know a bit about exercise in general, so you know the terminology and the basics of proper form. You must also know First Aid and CPR.

The next step is to enroll in a course for the type of class you wish to teach. You can complete the course via home-study, or attend workshops and conferences. In both cases, you complete homework and take an exam. Upon passing, you receive a certificate. In general, you must be certified for each type of course you wish to teach. For example, becoming certified in step aerobics won't qualify you to teach Pilates.

Many proprietary schools and certifying organizations offer courses and training in fitness instructing. Many employers prefer you to be certified through certain organizations over others, so be sure to do your homework before enrolling. Your course work may take a week to complete or up to three months. Often, the amount of time is up to you, especially for home study courses.

Some fitness instructors get a degree in health and physical education from a college or university. An associate degree in this field takes two years of full-time study and a bachelor's degree takes four years.