im a qualified gym instructor with a qualification that is recognized in spain and was just wondering if anyone knew if it is realistic to think i could get work in spain doing this?
im learning spanish as well which may help give me a slight advantage.

thanks in advance.

There are private gyms in the Costa Del Sol.

Spanish gyms tend to be run by the council and not upto much.

I have passed vehicles around that are personnel fitness trainers, some have been English, Spanish and German.

Try lookin at these, fitness is popular in Marbella, Puerto Banus area.

http://www.andalucia.com/health/personaltraining.htm

http://www.starting-a-personal-training-business.com/personal-trainer-spain.html

http://www.stottpilates.com/education/centers/barcelona.html

A friend of mine is a personal trainer. He seems to do ok. I got the impression that most of his sessions are not done in gyms. http://www.ibizapersonaltrainer.com/personal-training.html

Hi there. We are moving to valencia next month and have been researching suitable locations to settle for appx. 4 years now. It seems that whilst there appear to be some smaller gyms, those that are even half way to being ‘well equipped’ are located south of Alicante - guess the philosophy is ‘the more tourists, the greater the demand’! That said, do not expect UK style health clubs - facilities are small and extremely basic in the main. The concept of providing both gym and class based settings, combined with childcare/club activities and relaxation, has yet to reach this part of the world i’m afraid! The further north you venture, the less apparent the opportunities - albeit there are the occasional gyms, dotted round. If you are lucky, you may be able to ‘link’ yourself to one of the local clubs - perhaps a freelance service, using their facilities where necessary and rewarding referrals with small percentage? My advice is to brush up on your language skills - unless you intend to only service english clientele - this is the major stumbling block for most ex-pats. Good luck.

mummytl - 30 July 2008 01:52 PM

The further north you venture, the less apparent the opportunities - albeit there are the occasional gyms, dotted round. .

Spanish lifestyle offers most people the opportunities to do real sports outside rather than in Gyms.

Just visit Decathalon to see how varied and popular sport is in Spain.

In the north the weekends see many people walking up mountains, canoeing, climbing,rollerblading, snorkeling for fish etc etc.

Most Spaniards are, I`d say at least 70% more active in there normal routines than us Brit`s.And when they do need to exercise it`s usually a social walk/running/cycling around the town or beach.

Usually on the outskirts of a town or near a river either early AM or early PM you`ll see the OAP`s doin the Cholesterol Kilometer recommended by the DR, to a Spaniard paying to walk/run on tread mill indoors is completely alien to there logic of doin it for free in the fresh air.

Most of the gyms around my part of spain are used by people who want to Body Build rather than just excercise.

thaks for all the replies.

also,my girfriend is a web designer and was wondering if there are oppotunities available in certain parts of spain for this job.

You didn’t mention whether you hold gym certificate or are PT qualified? If it is the former, you may need to consider your PT course before you go since affiliated work must be covered by personal insurance.

With all the walking you probably wouldn’t need a gym.

If you cannot give time to your body for warmup or exercise then you need to hire a personal trainer, you can know more in detail by visiting here:- http://www.ruthcohen.es