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The focus on health and fitness these days is making the fitness industry grow bigger than ever before. Becuase of this, there is a need for personal and fitness training like never berfore. It is one of the hottest careers in the fitness industry these days. Online schools and distance learning programs make it easier than ever to recieve your fitness certification and further your career training. After initially receiving your fitness certification, their needs to be continuing education to keep up on all of the latest fitness information. Online education makes it easier than ever do stay current.
- Personal and fitness training jobs are most often part time. It is sometimes possible to increase hours, and therefore income, by working at several different facilities or in clients' homes.
- Fitness workers commonly work nights and weekends, meeting the needs of their clients.
- Certification is usually required for fitness workers and is useful in developing clientel.
- Due to the rapid growth in the fitness industry, employment prospects are projected to be good.
The Work
Fitness workers teach and motivate individual clients or groups to exercise. Exercises may include cardiovascular workouts, strength training, and stretching. A career in fitness can be obtained in commercial and nonprofit health clubs, country clubs, hospitals, universities, yoga and Pilates studios, resorts, and clients' homes. Increasingly, companies are hiring fitness workers to organize and direct health and fitness programs for employees of all ages.
Most fitness trainers will specialize in a particular area, such as weightlifting, kick boxing, yoga, cardiovascular training, or pilates; even though most health facilities offer many types of exercise and fitness options.
Personal training works individually with clients. They may work with their clients at a gym or in the client's own home. Personal trainers assist clients in assessing their level of physical fitness and set and achieve fitness and health goals. Trainers first demonstrate exercises and help clients achieve and improve proper exercise techniques. Trainers usually keep records of their clients' exercise sessions to record and assess clients' progress toward physical fitness goals and objectives.
Group exercise instructors lead group exercise sessions. These sessions could be aerobic, kick boxing, pilates, or muscle conditioning, or some other type of exercise. Cardiovascular conditioning classes often involve movement to music, so instructors must choose and mix the music and choreograph a corresponding exercise sequence. Group exercise instructors ensure that class sessions are motivating, safe, and challenging, yet not too difficult for the participants.
Fitness directors manage fitness-related aspects of a health club or fitness center. Their work involves creating, implementing, and maintaining fitness programs that meet the wants and needs of the club's members. They usually select fitness equipment; they may also coordinate and schedule personal training and group exercise programs; interview, hire, train, and supervise fitness staff; and carry out certain administrative duties.
Fitness workers in smaller facilities with few employees usually perform a variety of duties in addition to their fitness related tasks, such as reception at the front desk, selling programs and signing up new members, offering tours of the fitness center, as well as supervising the weight training and cardiovascular equipment areas. In larger commercial health and fitness facilities, personal trainers are often required to sell their services to members and to make a specified quota of sales, both of personal training and club memberships. Some fitness workers will offer both group exercise instruction and personal training, and often in smaller facilities, the fitness director may teach classes and do personal training.
Working Conditions
Most fitness workers spend their time working indoors at fitness centers and health clubs, or in clients' homes. Most fitness facilities are open long hours, trainers often work nights and weekends and even some holidays. Some trainers may have to travel to different gyms or to clients' homes to maintain a full work schedule. Fitness worker risk suffering injuries during physical activities that are the biggest part of the job.
They generally enjoy a lot of autonomy, however. Group exercise instructors choreograph their own classes, plan various activities, and personal trainers design and implement their clients' individual workout routines.
Career Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
Normally personal trainers must be certified in order to find employment; group fitness instructors often do not need certification to begin working. Usually an employer looks for a group fitness instructor with the ability to plan and lead a class that is both motivating and safe. Group fitness instructors many times are previous exercise class participants who become familiar enough with a particular exercise routine to successfully audition and teach the class. Some fitness organizations prefer that their group instructors eventually have a fitness certification, and many require it for employment.
Several organizations offer fitness certification and continuing education. Certification is increasingly important, especially for personal trainers. Ensure that a certifying organization is reputable by checking whether it is accredited or seeking accreditation by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.
Most online schools that are certifying organizations require a high school diploma, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certitification, and successful completion of an exam, usually with a written component and often with a practical component, as well. All certification exams have a written component, and some also have a practical component. These certification exams generally measure knowledge of human physiology, proper exercise techniques, assessment of client fitness levels, and creation of appropriate exercise programs. Candidates for certification may prepare however they, using study materials, including books, CD-ROMs, other audio and visual materials, and exam preparation workshops and seminars, but exam candidates are not required to participate in any particular training program. Generally certification is in force for 2 years; then it is necessary to become recertified by attending continuing education classes, some of which are available via distance learning programs on the internet. Some certifying organizations offering online education offer more advanced programs of certification which require an associate or bachelor's degree in physical education or another exercise-related subject. This type of fitness certification is generally sought by those individuals interested in training professional athletes, working with people who are injured or ill, or advising clients on whole-life health.
Training and certification for Pilates and yoga teachers is changing rapidly. Due to the increased demand for these forms of exercise recently, the need for more teachers has grown faster than the ability and time allowed to train them properly. Since rising student injuries are directly related to inexperienced teachers, there has been a push toward more standardized, rigorous requirements for teacher training.
Pilates training options range from weekend workshops to several months; however, the trend is toward requiring more training. Training and certification requirements for yoga teachers are similar to those for Pilates teachers, ranging from a few days to more than 2 years. Many people get their start by taking a yoga or pilates class, and then assisting or substitute teaching.
An increasing number of employers require fitness workers to have a diploma, or associate's or bachelor's degree in a field related to health or fitness, and a college degree may sometimes be substituted for certification. People wishing to enter the field of fitness should be friendly and outgoing, good at positively motivating people, and sensitive to the others needs. Strong sales skills are also a plus.
Generally, fitness workers usually do not receive on-the-job training; they must know how to do their jobs when they are hired. Although, sometimes newly certified personal trainers with no work experience will begin by training together with an experienced trainer before they are allowed to train clients alone. Fitness workers occasionally obtain specialized training to teach or lead a new form of exercise, or to work with clients with special or particular needs.
Usually a college degree in exercise science, physical education, kinesiology, or a related area, along with experience, is required in order to advance to management positions in a health club or fitness center. Good managerial skills are required to advance to supervisory or managerial positions; therefore courses in management, business administration, accounting, and human resource management are beneficial for advancement to supervisory or managerial jobs.
Other career paths are available. For example, personal trainers may advance to head trainer, with responsibility for hiring and supervising personal training staff and for bringing in new personal training clients. Or group fitness instructors may aspire to be promoted to group exercise director. The group exercise director is generally responsible for hiring instructors and coordinating and scheduling exercise classes. Other paths include moving up to fitness director, who manages the fitness budget and staff, or general manager, who's main focus is on the financial aspect of the organization. The general manager is responsible for setting and achieving sales goals, and oversight of all staff; in smaller fitness centers the general manager is usually involved in every aspect of running the facility.
Other fitness workers become entrepreneurs and open their own gyms and fitness centers.
Employment Opportunities and Job Prospects
In 2004, fitness workers held about 205,000 jobs. Nearly all personal trainers and group exercise instructors worked in fitness facilities, and health clubs. About 7 percent of fitness workers, mostly personal trainers and group exercise instructors working on contract, were self-employed. Many fitness workers have more than one job, teaching and/or doing personal training at several different fitness centers on a part-time basis and at clients' homes.
Rapid growth in the health and fitness industry equate to good opportunities for fitness workers. Also, the need to replace the many workers who leave these occupations each year will feed the growth. Career training in this field is essential and with the help of online schools, it is easy.
The need for fitness workers "who are concentrated in the rapidly growing arts, entertainment, and sports and recreation industr”is projected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations thro ugh 2014. Individuals and businesses are spending more time and money on fitness, recognizing the benefits of health and fitness programs and other services such as wellness programs.
Concerned with staying healthy, physically fit, and independent, aging baby boomers have become the largest demographic group of health club members. In addition, rapid increases in children's health club membership has come about due to the reduction of physical education programs in schools and parents' growing concern about childhood obesity. Athletic youths also are hiring personal trainers, and weight-training gyms for kids younger under the age of 18 are projected to continue to grow. Growing concern with physical fitness and rising incomes are fueling the steady growth in health club membership among young adults.
Expected Earnings
In May 2004, median annual earnings of personal fitness trainers and group exercise instructors were $25,470; the middle 50 percent earned between $17,380 and $40,030; the bottom 10 percent earned less than $14,530 while the top 10 percent earned $55,560 or more. Of course, successful self-employed personal trainers can enjoy much higher earnings.
A large number fitness workers work part time, so they usually do not receive employment benefits such as paid vacation, health insurance or retirement plans from their employers; however, they do get the benefit of the use of fitness facilities at no cost.
Additional Information
Certifications:
* American Council on Exercise, 4851 Paramount Dr., San Diego, CA 92123. Internet: http://www.acefitness.org
* American College of Sports Medicine, P.O. Box 1440, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1440. Internet: http://www.acsm.org
* National Academy of Sports Medicine, 26632 Agoura Rd., Calabasas, CA 91302. Internet: http://www.nasm.org
* National Strength and Conditioning Association Certification Commission, 3333 Landmark Circle, Lincoln, NE 68504. Internet: http://www.nsca-cc.org
Pilates certification:
* Pilates Method Alliance, P.O. Box 370906, Miami, FL 33137-0906. Internet: http://www.pilatesmethodalliance.org
Yoga teacher training:
* Yoga Alliance, 7801 Old Branch Ave., Suite 400, Clinton, MD 20735. Internet: http://www.yogaalliance.org For a free directory of fitness career training programs, go to:
eLearningYellowPages.com
*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
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