1. Careers in Exercise and Fitness

2. Personal Trainer
Health and Wellness Coach
Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant
Group Fitness Instructor
Athletic Trainer
Physical Therapy
Exercise Physiologist
Biomechanist
Sports Coach
Sport Psychology
Sports/Exercise Science

3. Training and Coaching
Including: Personal Trainer, Health and Wellness Coach, Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant, Group Fitness Instructor, Physical Education Teacher
Often working in fitness centers or education settings, working either with individual clients, or small groups.
Personal Trainers often focus on fitness or exercise programs for individuals, while Wellness Coaches and Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultants address attitude, and behavior changes toward nutrition, exercise, and other habits that affect overall health.
Group fitness instructors and physical education teachers work with larger groups to present specific exercises, motivate and encourage participants. There is less focus on overall health and more on participation in activity.

4. Education for Trainers
Personal Trainers may have college degree in Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Physical Education, or Nutrition
Required Certification through a professional association such as the National Academy of Sports Medicine or the American Council on Exercise
Certification consists of in-depth written tests measuring knowledge in all areas relevant to fitness, including nutrition, equipment safety, client assessment, exercise plan development and lifestyle changes.
Certificates in CPR and AED are required in order to take either organization's exam

5. Wellness Coaches
Currently no mandated certifications, although most employers require Life Coach training
Training can be through specific life coaching associations. “The requirements to become certified as a wellness coach differ between certifying bodies, but they often include formal training in life coaching, nutrition, health and exercise, as well as practical experience coaching people under supervision.”
May be employed by a fitness/wellness center or a private organization

6. Physical Education Teacher
Required 4- Year degree in Physical Education from accredited college or university
Most states require post-education testing (Praxis or other standardized testing for content knowledge) to earn State Certification
To teach at a level higher than K-12 schools, a Master’s Degree is usually required

7. Athletic Trainer

8. Physical Therapy
“diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions, illnesses, or injuries that limits their abilities to move and perform functional activities as well as they would like in their daily lives. Physical therapists examine each individual and develop a plan using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. In addition, PTs work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.”
education and training

9. Exercise Science
Includes: Exercise Physiologist, Biomechanist, Sports Coach, Sport Psychology, Sports/Exercise Science
Often working closely with athletes to enhance performance through conditioning, nutrition, training, coaching, recovery techniques, and injury prevention, as well as the psychological aspects of the preparation for competition.
May be employed by individual professional/elite athletes, private coaching services, or sports institutes working with a broad range of athletes, from youth, athletes with special needs to professionals.
May also work in a more distant scene from the actual athletics, focusing on enhancing equipment to allow athletes greater performance or devices that assist athletes in training by giving feedback on performance.
Becoming more relevant for the general population, as the benefit of exercise science is applied in clinical settings to assist individuals in exercise to be used as a form of treatment, rehabilitation, or even injury and disease prevention.

10. Education for Exercise Science
Undergraduate degree in Sports or Exercise Science, with a specialization in nutrition, biomechanics, physiology, biology or physics
Graduate or PhD. in Sports or Exercise Science required for most jobs
Other key traits:
Love of sports
Ability to transfer movement concepts between different sports situations
Scientific mind – very analytical, but still able to transfer information on a more basic level to athletes