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Exercise physiologist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Toni LaSala Ph.D.,

Toni LaSala Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical exercise physiologist skills. We ranked the top skills for exercise physiologists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 22.3% of exercise physiologist resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an exercise physiologist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 exercise physiologist skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how exercise physiologists use patients:

Evaluated acutely-ill cardiac patients after cardiovascular events/procedures for their physician-ordered cardiac rehabilitation.
Published fitness articles for quarterly newsletter distributed to patients, and provided motivation and maintenance recommendations on health and fitness practices.

2. Rehabilitation

Here's how exercise physiologists use rehabilitation:

Developed and facilitated aquatic therapy rehabilitation exercise programs.
Specialized with Phase-I inpatient cardiovascular rehabilitation.

3. Cardiac Rehabilitation

Here's how exercise physiologists use cardiac rehabilitation:

Perform as a cardiac rehabilitation exercise physiologist including exercise prescription, exercise administration, exercise heart monitoring, and educating cardiac patients
Supervised and instructed aerobic and resistance exercise regimen for clients in their 12 week cardiac rehabilitation program.

4. Acls

Here's how exercise physiologists use acls:

Maintained ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor and ACLS certifications
Phase II / III Cardiac Rehab Exercise Physiologist / ACLS certified.

5. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how exercise physiologists use patient care:

Communicate with physical therapists and physical therapy assistants to result in proper patient care during therapy.
Provided patient care with departmental responsibility for staff supervision while maintaining duties of an exercise physiologist.

6. EKG

Here's how exercise physiologists use ekg:

Analyzed EKG information post-exercise to determine heart function abnormalities and report to patient s Cardiologist and Primary Care Provider.
Recognized abnormal clinical and EKG responses to exercise and notified medical director when prudent.

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7. ACSM

Here's how exercise physiologists use acsm:

Administered exercise programming prescribed by the doctor and/or based on ACSM guidelines for Phase I, II, and III patients.
Performed stress testing and other fitness tests in order to provide and update individual exercise prescriptions based on ACSM guidelines.

8. Physical Therapy

Here's how exercise physiologists use physical therapy:

Train cardiology fellows, nurse practitioner students, nursing students, medical assistants as well as physical therapy/occupational therapy students.
Assist in patient documentation and other logistical support in order to streamline physical therapy treatment.

9. Blood Pressure

Here's how exercise physiologists use blood pressure:

Conduct daily fitness assessments including blood pressure, body composition, flexibility, cholesterol profile, and sub-maximum cardiovascular test.
Represented hospital in community outreach programs including cholesterol and blood pressure screenings.

10. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how exercise physiologists use cpr:

Fulfilled role of annual CPR trainer, and created and chaired annual charity golf tournament..
Instructed adult and infant CPR classes.

11. ECG

An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a piece of medical equipment used to determine a person's heart rate. It is one way of monitoring and assessing the heart by conducting ECQ where a device called electrodes is connected to a machine by wires. This device is stick to the skin, particularly in the arm, chest, and leg part of the body.

Here's how exercise physiologists use ecg:

Completed preliminary assessment of ECG and providing recommendations for the specific exercise protocol to the physician supervisor.
Monitored ECG through use of ScottCare/VersaCare Telemetry Systems.

12. Pulmonary Rehab

Here's how exercise physiologists use pulmonary rehab:

Work in Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation case managing and education patients who had a recent cardiac event or have pulmonary disease.
Coordinated and planned preventative and rehabilitation health care for patients in the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program

13. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how exercise physiologists use customer service:

Played an integral role in increasing member retention by providing education, follow-up and exemplary customer service.
Provided quality customer service to enhance patient experience during appointments.

14. Heart Rate

Here's how exercise physiologists use heart rate:

Monitored patients paying close attention to oxygen saturation and heart rate/rhythm during ambulation.
Monitor cardiac responses during exercise to ensure health of patient and to make sure patients stayed within prescribed heart rate range.

15. Diabetes

Diabetes refers to a disease of uncontrolled sugar levels in the body.

Here's how exercise physiologists use diabetes:

Delivered key contributions to development of written materials bolstering diabetes prevention program for patients and other MTF s/practitioners.
Collaborate closely with Training Program Administrator on Diabetes Champion Course developing and refining in-person lectures.

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What skills help Exercise Physiologists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on exercise physiologist resumes?

Toni LaSala Ph.D.

Internship Coordinator, Exercise Science, William Paterson University

For an Exercise Physiologist working in Cardiac Rehab:

-Experience working with clients in Phase 2 and Phase 3 Cardiac rehabilitation
-Knowledge in assessments (subjective and objective) by going over medical history, assess risk factors at rest and during exercise
-Working knowledge of Cardiac Stress Testing
-Develop appropriate individualized exercise programs
-Demonstrate and lead proper exercises to improve patient's health

What soft skills should all exercise physiologists possess?

Toni LaSala Ph.D.

Internship Coordinator, Exercise Science, William Paterson University

Students need to be compassionate and have great communication skills to be able to speak and listen to patients/clients for a variety of reasons. Some patients/clients like to talk about themselves and just want a listening ear and to hear what they are saying regarding their overall day to day activities as it relates to their health. They also need to communicate with the health care team.

They must possess strong written skills as they need to track all aspects of the patient/client visits.
Knowledge of how to use a computer.

What hard/technical skills are most important for exercise physiologists?

Toni LaSala Ph.D.

Internship Coordinator, Exercise Science, William Paterson University

-Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science
-Knowledge in reading EKG's,
-Proficient in taking blood pressure
-Measuring pulse oxygen levels and heart rate
-Cardiopulmonary stress testing
-Knowledge in performing appropriate body composition methods
-Knowledge of how to prescribe exercise programming to those with special consideration (e.g., osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, pre and post-transplantation, metabolic disease, lung disorders, cancer, etc.)
-Working directly with patients to assist in lifestyle and behavior change

What exercise physiologist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Garrett Peltonen

Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Western New Mexico University

As the American College of Sports Medicine says, 'exercise is medicine.' Thus, helping people become more active and witnessing improvements in their physical and mental health is extremely rewarding. On the contrary, it is often difficult to overcome the barriers of modern society to increase physical activity. These barriers primarily include a lack of physical activity infrastructure and lack of social support.

What type of skills will young exercise physiologists need?

Frank Wyatt

Professor, Midwestern State University

Well, using the word "skills" is somewhat misleading. First and foremost, the greatest tool that Exercise Physiologists will have in the coming years is their knowledge base. The field is changing so rapidly that our scientific knowledge of exercise and the human body is broadening at an incredible pace. As it relates to skills, I would say that being able to apply the aforementioned knowledge base will be a skill. The field has become so sophisticated in terms of cellular, molecular, and genetic components that an individual will have to be "skillful" in relaying that information to the application. Lastly, laboratory skills (i.e., blood analysis, metabolic measurements, genetic identification) will be necessary.

What technical skills for an exercise physiologist stand out to employers?

Grayson Lipford Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Physical Education & Exercise Science, Methodist University

Although the ability to design and implement training programs that are effective at helping clients and patients reach their goals while simultaneously motivating them to adhere to their program is has always been the crux of what we do, additional technology skills are becoming increasingly important. The ability to market using social media, where most people get fitness information from, for marketing has been implemented for years, but now being able to deliver products and services through a variety of pathways, most involving technology, is a growing area. Communications skills, although not technical, so to speak, are some of the most important "soft-skills" for those in Kinesiology/Exercise and Sport Science to possess.

Do you want to know more?

List of exercise physiologist skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an exercise physiologist resume and required skills for an exercise physiologist to have include:

Patients
Rehabilitation
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Acls
Patient Care
EKG
ACSM
Physical Therapy
Blood Pressure
CPR
ECG
Pulmonary Rehab
Customer Service
Heart Rate
Diabetes
Vital Signs

Risk Factors
Blood Glucose
Phase II
Health Education
Body Composition
Heart Disease
Test Results
Education Classes
Medical History
Nuclear Stress Tests
Electrocardiogram
Fitness Assessments
Wellness Programs
Arrhythmia
Healthy Lifestyle
Weight Loss

Aacvpr
Strength Training
Injury Prevention
Training Programs
Lifestyle Changes
IV
Holter Monitors
Informed Consent
Cardiovascular Disease
Physical Fitness
Health Fairs
Patient Charts
Weight Management
COPD
Fitness Programs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Exercise Physiologist Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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