Are you interested in planning and implementing fitness programs to help people reach their wellness goals? If so, you might be interested in a career as an exercise physiologist. Exercise physiologists develop personalized fitness and exercise programs that help patients recover from chronic diseases and improve physical functions. They perform fitness tests, including measurements of body fat, blood pressure, oxygen usage, and other key patient health indicators. Many of their patients suffer from health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, a long-term disability, or obesity. Exercise physiologists bring their compassion to work, as they encourage patients to reach goals and overcome pain or discomfort. On a daily basis, exercise physiologists make decisions that could affect the future health or livelihood of patients. They must keep accurate records to ensure patients receive appropriate treatments. Strong communication skills help them develop good relationships with both patients and other medical staff. Exercise physiologists work in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and university laboratories. Most work full time, although about 40% of exercise physiologists work part-time. Entering the field of exercise physiology requires at least a bachelor's degree, including coursework in anatomy, science, exercise methods and medical terminology. A few states require licensure, although many states are considering creating licensure requirements.
What they do:
Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexibility.
On the job, you would:
Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
Prescribe individualized exercise programs, specifying equipment such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, ergometers, or perceptual goggles.
Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.
sales and marketing
Arts and Humanities
Math and Science
Education and Training
teaching and course design
listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
reading work related information
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
looking for ways to help people
teaching people how to do something
communicate by speaking
listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
use rules to solve problems
make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.
They do well at jobs that need:
Concern for Others
Attention to Detail
You might use software like this on the job:
Electronic mail software
master's degree or bachelor's degree usually needed
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
You might like a career in one of these industries: