Career profile for Exercise Physiologist

What does an Exercise Physiologist do?

Exercise Physiologists 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.

What kind of tasks does an Exercise Physiologist perform regularly?

Exercise Physiologists are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

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.
Explain exercise program or physiological testing procedures to participants.
Interview participants to obtain medical history or assess participant goals.
Assess physical performance requirements to aid in the development of individualized recovery or rehabilitation exercise programs.
Teach behavior modification classes related to topics such as stress management or weight control.
Conduct stress tests, using electrocardiograph (EKG) machines.
Measure oxygen consumption or lung functioning, using spirometers.
Educate athletes or coaches on techniques to improve athletic performance, such as heart rate monitoring, recovery techniques, hydration strategies, or training limits.
Evaluate staff performance in leading group exercise or conducting diagnostic tests.
Teach group exercise for low-, medium-, or high-risk clients to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning.
Calibrate exercise or testing equipment.
Teach courses or seminars related to exercise or diet for patients, athletes, or community groups.
Mentor or train staff to lead group exercise.
Measure amount of body fat, using such equipment as hydrostatic scale, skinfold calipers, or tape measures.
Perform routine laboratory tests of blood samples for cholesterol level or glucose tolerance.
Supervise maintenance of exercise or exercise testing equipment.
Present exercise knowledge, program information, or research study findings at professional meetings or conferences.
Order or recommend diagnostic procedures, such as stress tests, drug screenings, or urinary tests.
Plan or conduct exercise physiology research projects.

The above responsibilities are specific to Exercise Physiologists. More generally, Exercise Physiologists are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Assisting and Caring for Others		Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others		Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge		Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Assisting and Caring for Others

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others

Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

What is an Exercise Physiologist salary?

The median salary for an Exercise Physiologist is $50,280, and the average salary is $54,020. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Exercise Physiologist salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Exercise Physiologists earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Exercise Physiologists earn less than $36,070 per year, 25% earn less than $42,550, 75% earn less than $62,600, and 90% earn less than $78,170.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Exercise Physiologists is expected to change by 13.3%, and there should be roughly 1,500 open positions for Exercise Physiologists every year.

Median annual salary: $50,280
Typical salary range: $36,070 - $78,170
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 13.3%

What personality traits are common among Exercise Physiologists?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as an Exercise Physiologist are usually higher in their Social, Investigative, and Realistic interests.

Exercise Physiologists typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Exercise Physiologists typically have strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Exercise Physiologists typically have moderate Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as an Exercise Physiologist tend to value Relationships, Achievement, and Independence.

Most importantly, Exercise Physiologists very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Exercise Physiologists very strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Lastly, Exercise Physiologists strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Exercise Physiologists must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, integrity, and concern for others.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Exercise Physiologists, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

What education and training do Exercise Physiologists need?

Many Exercise Physiologists will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Exercise Physiologists usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Exercise Physiologists

0.4% did not complete high school or secondary school
2.9% completed high school or secondary school
3.6% completed some college coursework
5.6% earned a Associate's degree
24.4% earned a Bachelor's degree
56.0% earned a Master's degree
7.1% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Exercise Physiologists

Exercise Physiologists may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, medicine and dentistry, or therapy and counseling knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Exercise Physiologists might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Medicine and Dentistry		Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Therapy and Counseling		Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Biology		Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Medicine and Dentistry

Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Therapy and Counseling

Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Biology

Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Important Abilities needed by Exercise Physiologists

Exercise Physiologists must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Exercise Physiologists need abilities such as oral expression, problem sensitivity, and oral comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Exercise Physiologists, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Critical Skills needed by Exercise Physiologists

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Exercise Physiologists frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Exercise Physiologists, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Instructing		Teaching others how to do something.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Exercise Physiologist

Exercise Physiologist

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