Career Overview
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.
Also Known As
- Clinical Exercise Physiologist
- Exercise Physiologist
- Exercise Specialist
- Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant
Alternate Job Titles
- Applied Exercise Physiologist
- Bariatric Weight Loss Counselor
- Cardiac Exercise Physiologist
- Cardiac Exercise Specialist
- Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Physiologist
- Certified Exercise Physiologist (EPC)
- Clinical Exercise Physiologist
- Clinical Exercise Specialist
- Exercise Physiologist
- Exercise Planner
- Exercise Scientist
- Exercise Specialist
- Fitness Specialist
- Injury Prevention Specialist
- Kinesiotherapist
What You'll Do
In this role, your typical responsibilities include:
- Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
- Provide emergency or other appropriate medical care to participants with symptoms or signs of physical distress.
- Demonstrate correct use of exercise equipment or performance of exercise routines.
- Recommend methods to increase lifestyle physical activity.
- Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.
- Prescribe individualized exercise programs, specifying equipment, such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, ergometers, or perceptual goggles.
- Provide clinical oversight of exercise for participants at all risk levels.
Knowledge You'll Use
You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:
- Customer and Personal Service
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Therapy and Counseling
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Biology
Essential Skills
Success in this career requires strong skills in:
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Instructing
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key Abilities
This career requires key abilities in:
- Oral Expression
- Problem Sensitivity
- Oral Comprehension
- Deductive Reasoning
- Speech Recognition
- Written Comprehension
- Inductive Reasoning
- Speech Clarity
- Written Expression
- Information Ordering
Work Style
People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:
- Dependability
- Cooperation
- Attention to Detail
- Social Orientation
- Achievement Orientation
What Matters in This Career
This career tends to satisfy these work values:
- Relationships
- Achievement
- Independence
- Recognition
- Working Conditions
Education & Preparation
Typical Education: Bachelor's Degree
Related Work Experience Needed: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
On-the-Job Training: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months
Education Details: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Experience Required: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Technology You'll Use
Popular Technologies & Software
- MEDITECH software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
Tools & Equipment
- Arm crank ergometers
- Automated blood pressure measurement equipment
- Automated external defibrillators AED
- Bioelectric impedance analyzers
- Cholesterol analyzers
- Cycle ergometers
- Desktop computers
- Dual energy x ray absorptiometers
- Echocardiography systems
- Electrocardiography EKG machines
- Electromyographs EMG
- Electronic spirometers
- Electronic timing systems
- Exercise treadmills
- Goniometers or arthrometers
Work Environment
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Contact With Others
- Telephone Conversations
Salary & Job Market
| Salary Percentile | Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Entry-Level (10th percentile) | $40,930 |
| Median | $58,160 |
| Top Earners (90th percentile) | $79,830 |
Workers Employed Nationally: 8,110
Related Careers
If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians
Education: Doctoral Degree
Median Salary: >$239,200
Physical Therapists
Education: Doctoral Degree
Median Salary: $101,020
Physical Therapist Assistants
Education: Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
Median Salary: $65,510
Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
Education: Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)
Median Salary: $46,180
Athletic Trainers
Education: Master's Degree
Median Salary: $60,250
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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.