Juggling 300+ freelance instructors
Operating some of the most extensive studio timetables in the industry, Total Fitness delivers an average of 71 group exercise classes a week at its clubs, with its busiest site offering more than 120 classes every week.

Managing such a high volume of classes, delivered by more than 300 freelance instructors in addition to the Total Fitness internal team, was a time-consuming challenge, particularly when arranging instructor cover due to sickness or holidays. The Fitness Experience Managers at Total Fitness relied on WhatsApp and other social messaging group chats to coordinate their studio teams and were fielding requests day and night, which was hugely disruptive for their work-life balance. The story wasn’t much better for the group exercise instructors, who typically teach across multiple operators and found it difficult to juggle cover requests across numerous group chats.

The compliance process was another time consuming task, with the certificates and insurance of all team members coordinated manually at each site, placing an additional time and responsibility demand on managers.

Management in one simple app
Total Fitness set up a three-site trial with CoverMe Fitness, an ingenious app that streamlines the process of finding cover in just three clicks and 21 seconds, improving operational efficiency for facilities, while giving fitness professionals more opportunities to work and increase their income. CoverMe Fitness also improves team communication, with operators reporting a 78% increase in team engagement and satisfaction as a result. The app also encompasses instructor compliance and recruitment, as well as recognition and rewards for team members.

Using CoverMe, managers at the trial sites saved approximately 10 hours each month and class cover rates doubled from 40% to over 80%. Following the success of the trial, the app is now being rolled out across the brand’s 15 clubs in the UK.

Saving a full-time role
Dean Zweck, Product Development Manager at Total Fitness, explains: “The results from the pilot were very encouraging. In the majority of our clubs the management of group exercise falls under the remit of our Fitness Experience Managers, along with the wider gym floor experience, Personal Training, our small group workout product, Squads, and much more. Arranging cover and checking documents for compliance took each of them more than 10 hours a month on average. Extrapolating that over 15 clubs, it’s the equivalent of another full time member of the team.”

Beyond the extensive time saving, which managers are now investing in other responsibilities, there were two other stand out benefits of the trial.

“The additional layer of compliance, which was previously done manually, gives us peace of mind. Having an automated system that identifies and notifies both clubs and instructors when certificates or insurance are due to expire has saved even more time, and gives increased protection to our members and our instructors, by ensuring their paperwork is up-to-date at all times.

“The one-way messaging broadcast feature is a game changer too. Now we have a simple way to communicate to all instructors at the same time to share updates or information, without opening the door to a protracted dialogue between club and instructors. Lines of communication are open with instructors, but in a controlled and compliant way that is fair for all.”

With a number of team members able to approve cover requests and communicate with instructors, the app has significantly reduced the amount of time managers are contacted out of hours. “Our managers can now enjoy their downtown and annual leave, without being interrupted by requests for cover on a noisy WhatsApp chat, reducing their stress and anxiety,” says Zweck.

But that’s not all. The data insight provided by CoverMe Fitness has enabled Total Fitness to accurately evaluate where further training or recruitment is needed. Zweck explains: “Through CoverMe we can objectively show where recruitment gaps are in the delivery of our timetable and direct resources there. As a result, in the 2025 financial year we have allocated a dedicated training budget to upskill in specific classes including aqua, indoor cycling and kids classes. We are lucky to have team members that crave personal development and want to participate in CPD courses to deliver more classes; our Gen Z team members have jumped at the chance to teach aqua, and we’ve also been able to offer places to some freelance instructors who want to diversify too.


“Overall, CoverMe has been an excellent acquisition for us; to have one app that not only increases efficiencies in ways of working and compliance, but also improves the experience for our freelancers definitely provides value for money. The insight gained during the pilot has resulted in us rolling the app out across all 15 Total Fitness clubs.”

Choosing CoverMe to solve the problem of finding cover for group exercise instructors was an absolute "no brainer”, according to Serco Leisure’s National Commercial Programming Manager, Stephanie Wiltshire, a former a group exercise instructor who went on to manage group exercise for Serco’s leisure centres in Kent.

Serco Leisure, which manages 39 facilities with health and fitness operations across the country, recently went live with CoverMe at its Kent sites; Lockmeadow Leisure Centre in Maidstone, Maidstone Leisure Centre and Swallows Leisure Centre in Sittingbourne. Around 150 classes run each week across the three venues, and CoverMe is efficiently and effectively sourcing instructors around three to four times per week, when the regular team is on holiday or off sick.

Wiltshire, who has been working in the industry for 16 years, explains: “After spending years as either an instructor or managing group exercise, it was a no brainer to jump onboard an app where everything is in one place and cover can literally be arranged at the click of a button.

“A year ago, when I was Kent Health and Fitness Manager for Serco Leisure, finding cover for classes fell entirely on my lap for all our sites. It takes a lot of time out of a health and fitness manager’s day. It can also get very messy and diluted when you’re using different forms of communication – some instructors want to be contacted via group chats, others don’t, some prefer email and some like a phone call. It’s easy to make a mistake when the messages aren’t in one place.”

With CoverMe, operators are connected with inspirational, qualified and vetted instructors, filtered through the app’s algorithms and analytics, which identify the most suitable freelance instructors, factoring in skills, proximity and availability – all in real time – so managers can source and book class cover in just three steps.

“Having been responsible for finding the cover instructors myself, I would say CoverMe is saving our health and fitness managers around five hours plus per week. CoverMe significantly improves their work life balance; they are no longer the victim of multiple group chats, being contacted on every social media platform possible, every hour of every day,” continues Wiltshire.

The ability to have more than one admin on the app means staff can truly have time off and, when at work, can focus on other activities when they need to, knowing another member of the team can handle the cover request.

“For example, Caroline, our health and fitness manager at Swallows Leisure Centre, was on the gym floor delivering inductions the other day when a notification for cover came through on the app. She quickly approved the cover request, finished her appointment and then checked the app again to see that the cover had been arranged. Historically, the stress of trying to find time to send and manage all those messages, emails and calls would have been immense. As a result, we’ve definitely seen fewer class cancellations.”

Wiltshire has been impressed with CoverMe’s instructor portal, which requires all necessary certification and insurance documents to be uploaded and vetted by CoverMe’s staff before they are approved on the app. She says: “We require a £10 million public liability insurance from our instructors, and it’s really important to us that the CoverMe app can take that into when vetting suitable instructors. If an instructor is not compliant they cannot teach for us; it’s just another headache we no longer have to worry about. The same with insurance. CoverMe takes ownership, making sure these things are correct and up to date, with the parameters set by the club. CoverMe flags up when someone’s certification or insurance is due to expire and freezes their account if it’s out of date, so we always remain compliant. Before now this has been hard to keep tabs on.”

Wiltshire concludes: “The onboarding process was also super smooth and easy. CoverMe did 99.9% of the work for us, making it a stress-free and easy to manage process. It’s been a great tool for Kent so far and I will be overseeing the process as and when it launches across our other sites too.”

From overweight to overachieving, Les Mills instructor, Justin, is simplifying freelance life with CoverMe

Justin’s journey into fitness began as a very personal one. At 42, having lost more than nine stone through sheer determination and the help of Slimming World, he gained enough confidence to step back into a gym environment.

But sticking to what he knew – the treadmill and cross trainer – he soon became bored, uninspired and ready to cancel his membership. During a chance conversation, a Les Mills instructor invited Justin to try her BodyPump and BodyCombat classes. Little did he know it would change the course of his entire life.

He says: “I was nervous walking into that first class, but something clicked. I was hooked. Not just by the energy of the workout, but by the sense of community, the motivation in the room, and the confidence of the instructor – she didn’t just teach, she inspired. That moment changed the direction of my journey.”

Within four months of starting classes Justin signed up to qualify as a BodyPump instructor himself, and now, almost eight years later, has completed training in seven additional Les Mills programmes. “Every class I teach is a reflection of my journey,” he says. “My greatest passion is creating a space where others can feel the same empowerment I did, where fitness stops being a chore and becomes something truly transformative. Becoming a Les Mills instructor didn’t just change my body, it changed my life. Through my classes, I strive to help others realise the same is possible for them.”

Alongside a full time role at Bannatyne for five years, Justin worked as a freelance instructor teaching Les Mill’s BodyPump, BodyCombat, Grit, BodyStep, BodyBalance, RPM, Sprint and Strength Development at multiple clubs, including Everybody Health and Leisure clubs in Cheshire East, where he was introduced to a game-changing team management app, CoverMe Fitness.

Like many freelance instructors, Justin found arranging class cover frustrating and time-consuming. Most communication happened in group chats, which were easy to lose track of, leading to confusion and inefficiency, and managing cover, logging sessions and keeping track for invoicing all added to his administrative burden.

He explains: “One of the biggest challenges for freelance instructors is gaining access to consistent opportunities to earn more income. Previously, I would have to post in group chats or contact the different fitness managers or class coordinators directly to secure additional work or find cover – a process that was often unreliable and inequitable. Some instructors weren’t included in chats, while others hesitated to volunteer due to group dynamics, meaning some classes had to be cancelled or, where available, substituted for virtual Les Mills classes. At the same time, a few instructors were perceived as taking every opportunity, leaving colleagues frustrated and creating tension within teams. CoverMe addresses these issues by offering a structured, impartial system for managing cover. By keeping assignments anonymous, it removes the potential for competition, resentment or exclusion. Instructors gain fair access to opportunities, managers avoid the administrative burden and members benefit from reliable class continuity.

“CoverMe also provides access to gyms that might not frequently advertise or offer permanent positions. This gives freelancer instructors a chance to showcase their skills, build relationships with new venues and potentially secure more permanent roles in the future. It’s a valuable tool for increasing both visibility and opportunity in a competitive industry.”

Justin has since moved to a Sales Executive role with equipment supplier A50 Fitness, whilst still continuing with his freelance classes, making the CoverMe app more valuable to him than ever.

He says: “I typically start my day by checking the app for any available cover opportunities, monitoring it periodically to see if new classes have been posted that I can cover. Before CoverMe, I often missed calls or accidentally overlooked messages in busy group chats. On occasion I’ve even forgotten to record classes in my diary too, which sometimes led to double bookings.

“CoverMe helps me to manage my schedule more effectively. I can see what’s available in real time, making the most of my time and boosting my income by around 5 - 10%. It’s also significantly reduced my admin, from around one to two hours a month on invoices alone to just 20 minutes, as well as removing the frustrating back-and-forth communication, which in turn has lowered my stress levels.

“The QR code for check-in is so quick and efficient, minimising wait times at reception, and the calendar integration, which automatically stores my scheduled classes, means it’s easy to keep track of upcoming bookings and refer back to past sessions. No more double booking! Another key benefit is that it keeps all your important documentation, such as certificates, insurance and qualifications, in one central place.”

  Justin says being a freelance instructor is an exciting but challenging career path, with the admin often being the toughest part. He believes tools like CoverMe make the job more sustainable by cutting through the clutter and giving instructors the freedom to focus on teaching.

“CoverMe has the potential to play a significant role in shaping the future of freelance instructing,” he explains. “It not only benefits instructors by streamlining administrative tasks and providing greater access to opportunities, it also supports clubs by enabling fitness managers and class coordinators to manage cover more efficiently at their end, centralising communication and automating key processes.”