Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
Sign In
OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in exercise activities for the primary purpose of personal fitness. Demonstrate techniques and form, observe participants, and explain to them corrective measures necessary to improve their skills. Develop and implement individualized approaches to exercise.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($49K): Accounting
Largest undergraduate program (18.1% of workers): Physical Fitness, Parks, Recreation, and Leisure
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
InstructorFitnessTeacherTrainerPhysicalPersonalAerobicsExerciseGroupCoachSpecialistEducationWeightYogaCertifiedExerciserAttendantConsultantCoordinatorTechnicianWorkerKarateMartialArtsMasterPEPilatesSportsStrengthConditioningSwimWaterTrainingWellnessZumba
Share
Fewer details
Responsibilities and activities

Fitness trainers and instructors typically do the following:

  • Demonstrate or explain how to perform various exercises and routines to minimize injuries and improve fitness
  • Watch clients do exercises to ensure that they are using the correct techniques
  • Provide alternative exercises during workouts or classes for different levels of fitness and skill
  • Monitor clients’ progress and adapt programs as needed
  • Explain and enforce safety rules and regulations on sports, recreational activities, and the use of exercise equipment
  • Give clients information or resources about nutrition, weight control, and lifestyle issues
  • Give emergency first aid if needed

Both group fitness instructors and specialized fitness instructors plan or choreograph their own classes. Classes may include cardiovascular exercises, such as aerobics or dance; strength training, such as lifting weights; or both. Instructors choose music that is appropriate for their exercise class and create a routine or a set of moves for participants to follow. Some may teach prechoreographed routines that were originally created by fitness companies or other organizations.

Personal fitness trainers design and carry out workout routines specific to the needs of their clients. They may work with individual clients or teach group classes. In larger facilities, personal trainers often sell their training sessions to gym members. They start by evaluating their clients’ current fitness level, personal goals, and skills. Then, they develop personalized training programs for their clients to follow, and they monitor the clients’ progress.

Fitness trainers and instructors in smaller facilities often do a variety of tasks in addition to their fitness duties, such as tending the front desk, signing up new members, giving tours of the facility, or supervising the weight-training and cardiovascular equipment areas. Fitness trainers and instructors also may promote their facilities and instruction by various means, such as through social media, by writing newsletters or blog articles, or by creating posters and flyers.

Gyms and other types of health clubs offer many different activities for clients. However, trainers and instructors frequently specialize in only a few areas. The following are examples of types of fitness trainers and instructors:

Personal fitness trainers work with an individual client or a small group. They may train in a gym or in clients’ homes. Personal fitness trainers assess the client’s level of physical fitness and help them set and reach their fitness goals.

Group fitness instructors organize and lead group exercise classes, which can include aerobic exercises, stretching, or muscle conditioning. Some classes are set to music. In these classes, instructors may select the music and choreograph an exercise sequence. They may lead classes that use specific exercise equipment, such as stationary bicycles.

Specialized fitness instructors teach popular conditioning methods, such as Pilates or yoga. In these classes, instructors show the different moves and positions of the particular method. They also watch students and correct those who are doing the exercises improperly.

Fitness directors oversee the fitness-related aspects of a gym or other type of health club. They often handle administrative duties, such as scheduling personal training sessions for clients and creating workout incentive programs. They may select and order fitness equipment for their facility.

Salary
Median salary: $40,510 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $27,840 and $57,490.
$41K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
Fewer details
Salary growth for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$31K$33K$36K$37K$32K$19K$40K$36K$37K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
05K10K15K20K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of exercise trainers and group fitness instructors who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Responsible for Others' Health (40%)
  • Time Pressure (36%)
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Customer-service skills
Many fitness trainers and instructors must sell their services, motivating clients to hire them as personal trainers or to sign up for the classes they lead. Fitness trainers and instructors must therefore be polite, friendly, and encouraging, to maintain relationships with their clients.
Communication skills
Fitness trainers and instructors must clearly explain or demonstrate exercises to clients.
Listening skills
Fitness trainers and instructors must listen carefully to what clients tell them in order to determine the clients’ fitness levels and desired fitness goals.
Motivational skills
Getting fit and staying fit takes a lot of work for many clients. To keep clients coming back for more classes or to continue personal training, fitness trainers and instructors must keep their clients motivated.
Physical fitness
Fitness trainers and instructors need to be physically fit because their job requires a considerable amount of exercise. Group instructors often participate in classes, and personal trainers often need to demonstrate exercises to their clients.
Problem-solving skills
Fitness trainers and instructors must evaluate each client’s level of fitness and create an appropriate fitness plan to meet the client’s individual needs.
Injury and Illness
About 21 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 54% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Fractures
Soreness and pain
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), exercise trainers and group fitness instructors typically hold a high school diploma or equivalent.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as exercise trainers and group fitness instructors as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors

Almost all trainers and instructors have at least a high school diploma before entering the occupation. An increasing number of employers are requiring fitness workers, particularly personal trainers, to have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree related to a health or fitness field, such as exercise science, kinesiology, or physical education. Programs often include courses in nutrition, exercise techniques, biology, anatomy, and group fitness. Personal trainers also learn how to develop fitness programs for clients of all ages.

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors

Employers prefer to hire fitness trainers and instructors who are certified. Many personal trainers must be certified before they begin working with clients or with members of a gym or other type of health club. Group fitness instructors can begin work without certification, but employers often encourage or require them to become certified. Most specialized fitness instructors receive certification for their preferred type of training, such as yoga or Pilates.

Many organizations offer certification. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), part of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, lists certifying organizations that are accredited.

All certification exams have a written part, and some also have a practical part. The exams measure the candidate’s knowledge of human physiology, understanding of proper exercise techniques, and ability to assess clients’ fitness levels and develop appropriate exercise programs. Many certifying organizations offer study materials to prepare for the exam, including books, webinars, other audio and visual materials, and exam preparation workshops and seminars.

Most trainers or instructors need certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillators (AED) before applying for certification in physical fitness.

Education level of Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
About 50% of exercise trainers and group fitness instructors have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 49% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
  1. Physical Fitness, Parks, Recreation, and Leisure
  2. Psychology
  3. Business Management and Administration
  4. Business/Commerce
  5. Biology
Fewer details
College majors held by exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
This table shows the college majors held by people working as exercise trainers and group fitness instructors. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
Higher
Similar
Lower
Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
$30K$45K
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
Doctorate
Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Number of degrees awarded in 2018
Education
Education level of awarded degrees
Assoc./Cert.
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Gender of graduates
Men
Women
Race/Origin
Race/origin of graduates
White
Minority
International
Not so much?
The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as exercise trainers and group fitness instructors, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
Physical Fitness, Pa...PsychologyBusiness Management ...General BusinessBiologyGeneral EducationTreatment Therapy Pr...Physical and Health ...CommunicationsNursingAll other degreesThis jobTop 10 majors
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors per 1,000 workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Fewer details
Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most exercise trainers and group fitness instructors? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as exercise trainers and group fitness instructors. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where exercise trainers and group fitness instructors earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which exercise trainers and group fitness instructors earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
52% of Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 52% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 95% of careers.
52%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
Fewer details
Distribution: Salaries of exercise trainers and group fitness instructors by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$31K$31K$31K$37K$39K$37K$28K$0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000Self-employed not incorporatedSelf-employed incorporatedState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors and gender
With 55% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 68% of careers.
Gender of Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
Men (45%)
Women (55%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$30K$34K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
Fewer details
Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
55%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%. The situation is a little better for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors, with the median salary for men 16% higher than the median salary for women.
16%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors.
Race/origin of exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
White (76% )
Black (14% )
Other (3% )
Asian (3% )
Multiracial (3% )
American Indian (1% )
Hispanic (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$30K$30K$32K$32K$35K$0$20K$40K$60K$80KBlackOtherWhiteAsianMultiracial
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.