EMD UK, the national governing body for group exercise, has been working with Active IQ to improve industry qualifications. Having identified that the syllabus of some Level 2 qualifications have not adapted to current fitness trends, EMD UK and Active IQ have developed two fit for purpose qualifications; Level 2 Group Training and Level 2 Group Training to Music.

The Level 2 Group Training is the first of its kind in the industry. Never before has a group exercise qualification not focused on music or choreography. To ensure group exercise instructors have the best start in their group training career, the qualification contains a module dedicated to things self-employed instructors need to know; tax return filing, market research, business planning, personal and professional development. With 57 per cent of instructors being freelance and many on the books for leisure operators, it’s important to make the transition from graduate to instructor as smooth as possible.

The advantages of upskilling are enormous to Personal Trainers, offering a way to expand their business into group exercise without having to do choreographed classes. More and more bodybuilders, strongmen and athletes are using HIIT and circuit-based training methods in their programmes; there is a huge gap for personal trainers to start offering bespoke small group training sessions, in- and off-season, for bodybuilders, strongmen and local sports teams.

Although the Level 2 Group Training bridges the training protocol skills gap, the current Level 2 Exercise to Music syllabus has also been reviewed. With not much of the content changing in the last 15 years, Active IQ and EMD UK have revisited the qualification to strengthen the syllabus in today’s fitness climate.

The new look qualification covers the core qualification units including; anatomy and physiology, health and safety and soft skills such as customer care. The qualification also covers how to plan and deliver group exercise to music classes, looking at choreography structure (verse-chorus / reverse pyramid / cross phrasing etc.) coaching methods, adaptations and regressions.

The Group Training Qualification is currently available from EMD UK with bursary support. People wishing to train in both, can train in Group Training and add the additional Group Training to Music module, effectively reducing course costs and training time.

For more information on instructor training and development, call EMD UK’s career support team on 01403 266000 or visit emduk.org/courses