By Kelly A. Goff
Unlike the dot-com bubble, the fitness industry’s rapid growth shows no signs of bursting. The U.S. Surgeon General reports more than 60 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. An increasing number of adults are spending more time and money on fitness, and companies are recognizing the benefits of keeping employees healthy. Reduced physical education programs in schools have parents spending an extraordinary amount of money on extracurricular sports. Aging baby boomers are flocking to gyms in record numbers.
What does this mean for you? If you’re contemplating a career change, the job outlook in the personal fitness field is ripe with opportunity. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook for 2006-07, employment of fitness workers is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through 2014.
What they do
Fitness workers lead, instruct and motivate individuals or groups in exercise activities, including cardiovascular exercise, strength training and stretching. They work in commercial and nonprofit health clubs, country clubs, hospitals, universities, yoga and Pilates studios, resorts and clients’ homes. Increasingly often, fitness workers also are found in workplaces where they organize and direct health and fitness programs for employees of all ages.
Although gyms and health clubs offer a variety of exercise activities such as weightlifting, yoga, cardiovascular training and karate, fitness workers typically specialize in only a few areas, such as personal training or group exercise.
Personal trainers work one-on-one with clients either in a gym or in the client’s home. Trainers help clients assess their level of physical fitness and set and reach fitness goals. They also demonstrate various exercises and help clients improve their exercise techniques.
Group exercise instructors conduct group exercise sessions that involve aerobic exercise, stretching and muscle conditioning. Because cardiovascular conditioning classes often involve movement to music, outside of class instructors must choose and mix the music and choreograph a corresponding exercise sequence. Pilates and yoga are two increasingly popular conditioning methods taught in exercise classes. Instructors demonstrate the different moves and positions of the particular method; they also observe students and correct those who are doing the exercises improperly. Group exercise instructors are responsible for ensuring that their classes are motivating, safe and challenging, yet not too difficult for the participants.
Pastry chef to personal fitness princess
After finishing her bachelor’s degree and working for a year, Kristen Horler decided to go to culinary school and become a pastry chef. After two years of solitude, whipping up lemon curd and baking hundreds of pounds of banana bread in the fluorescent kitchens of posh hotels, she became a spinning instructor to balance out the social aspect of her life.
“I’m a people person, and being a chef was a bit too isolating,” said Horler. While teaching, she met the man of her dreams. “After I got married, it became clear to me that the crazy hours I worked as a chef weren’t conducive to a quality family life.”
Horler decided then to get serious about a career change and became certified as a personal trainer. The national certification boosted her credibility and success with clients and made her more marketable to health clubs. It wasn’t long before she said goodbye to ganache and hello to “give me 20.”
It was shortly after the birth of her first child that Baby Boot Camp® was born. Horler searched for a postnatal fitness class to help her lose weight and get back her pre-baby fitness level. After extensive research, she was unable to find a challenging workout that didn’t require hiring a personal trainer and a babysitter or the purchasing of a gym membership. Drawing from her experience as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer, she developed Baby Boot Camp to balance the fitness needs of new moms with their desire to spend time with their baby.
What started as Horler and three friends doing cardio drills with their babies in jogging strollers is now a rapidly expanding stroller-fitness franchise program with hundreds of locations across the United States, Australia and Canada (www.babybootcamp.com). Although much of her day is spent running the burgeoning business, Horler still takes personal training clients and instructs Baby Boot Camp classes.
“I love the one-on-one interaction with people,” says Horler. “I meet so many interesting individuals, and I really enjoy helping people reach their goals, increase their self confidence and become role models for their children.”
Is a career in fitness for you?
Horler says if you’re not a people person, you’re not going to like this industry.
“One thing that nobody prepares you for with personal training is that you sort of play the role of a therapist. When you’re working one-on-one with someone an hour a day, one to three times a week, clients tend to tell you about their lives. I know a lot of people who have left the industry because they couldn’t deal with that aspect,” shares Horler.
Overall, people planning fitness careers should be outgoing, good at motivating people and sensitive to the needs of others. Excellent health and physical fitness are important because of to the physical nature of the job. Those who wish to be personal trainers in a large commercial fitness center should have strong sales skills as well.
Many positions in the fitness field are part-time, so you may have to supplement your income with personal training clients or teaching classes at a number of locations.
Pay scale
As health clubs strive to provide more personalized service to keep their members motivated, most will continue to offer personal training and a wide variety of group exercise classes. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the middle 50 percent of those in fitness-related fields 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. Earnings of successful self-employed personal trainers can be much higher. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) supports this with results from its 2005 salary survey. It revealed personal trainers out-earn group fitness instructors, both when working on an hourly basis and as salaried employees.
Benefits
One of the most common complaints among fitness professionals is the lack of benefits. The ACE survey reported only 2 to 7 percent of part-time employees and consultants received health coverage, and 30 percent of full-time employees don’t receive coverage of any kind. However, if you’re retired military or covered by your spouse, this may not be an issue. In addition, fitness workers get the unusual benefit of the use of fitness facilities at no cost.
Training & certification
Personal trainers must obtain certification in the fitness field to gain employment, but group fitness instructors do not necessarily need certification to begin working. The most important characteristic that an employer often looks for in a new group fitness instructor is the ability to plan and lead a class that is both motivating and safe. Group fitness instructors often get started by participating in exercise classes, and some become familiar enough to successfully audition and begin teaching class. They also may improve their skills by taking training courses or attending fitness conventions. Most organizations encourage their group instructors to become certified, and many, like Baby Boot Camp, require it.
In the fitness field, there are many organizations such as the American Council on Fitness (www.acefitness.org), National Academy of Sports Medicine (www.nasm.org) and the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (www.afaa.com) that offer certification. Becoming certified by one of the top certification organizations is increasingly important, especially for personal trainers. One way to ensure that a certifying organization is reputable is to see whether it’s accredited or seeking accreditation by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.
Depending on the certification you seek, it can take from six weeks to six months to become certified. Study materials start at $100, and exam fees range from $200 to $800.
