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Exercise specialist 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 specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for exercise specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 21.4% of exercise specialist resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an exercise specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 exercise specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how exercise specialists use patients:

Developed and planned individualized exercise programs for fitness members, personal training clients, senior citizens and post-rehab physical therapy patients.
Educated patients on therapeutic exercises prescribed by physical therapists, maintained orderliness of clinic and aid in administrative tasks and documentation.

2. Rehabilitation

Here's how exercise specialists use rehabilitation:

Developed accurate individualized exercise prescriptions for participants of Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation.
Coordinated physical therapy transition program and revised policies and procedures to meet standards; Exercise leader for pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation.

3. 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 specialists use patient care:

Accumulated 60 hours of in-patient care at Sunshine Terrace assisted living center.
Applied extensive knowledge of patient care protocol and EKG placement and monitoring.

4. 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 specialists use customer service:

Provided assistance to members as part of delivering exemplary customer service.
Provided customer service by creating a welcoming and friendly environment.

5. Physical Therapy

Here's how exercise specialists use physical therapy:

Scheduled appointments with clients at area health clubs and provided a transition from a physical therapy setting to a gym setting.
Conversed with physical therapy staff and others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, and coordinating treatment.

6. Blood Pressure

Here's how exercise specialists use blood pressure:

Educate clients on health concerns they may have (i.e., diabetes, smoking cessation, blood pressure, nutrition).
Conduct wellness screenings (Blood Pressure and Body Composition) at companies predominantly in the Middle TN area.

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7. 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 specialists use cpr:

Certified in First Aid, CPR, and the use of an AED.
Facilitated CPR education at a community engagement event.

8. Cardiac Rehabilitation

Here's how exercise specialists 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.

9. Cleanliness

Here's how exercise specialists use cleanliness:

Maintain exercise equipment, facility cleanliness, and updated patient information regarding membership testing.
Work with the team to create incentive programs and maintain general facility cleanliness.

10. ACSM

Here's how exercise specialists use acsm:

Maintained clean and sanitary facilities following strict ACSM guidelines.
Conduct fitness assessments according to ACSM Standards.

11. EKG

Here's how exercise specialists use ekg:

Monitored EKG during exercise session for patient health record history and safety.
Perform resting twelve-lead EKG's on all populations.

12. Fitness Assessments

Here's how exercise specialists use fitness assessments:

Performed individual fitness assessments, prescribed and taught exercise programs to campus population.
Conducted fitness assessments including sub-maximum, strength and flexibility testing for employees.

13. Heart Rate

Here's how exercise specialists use heart rate:

Educated and advised athletes on areas such as heart rate monitoring, recovery techniques, hydration strategies, overtraining.
Monitored patients paying close attention to oxygen saturation and heart rate/rhythm during ambulation.

14. 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 specialists use ecg:

Interpret ECG readings before, during, and after assigned exercise session; chart progress and provide feedback for physicians.
Perform health assessment, 12-lead ECG TM testing.

15. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how exercise specialists use vital signs:

Assess patient vital signs before, during, and after group exercise sessions.
Monitor vital signs before and during exercise.

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What skills help Exercise Specialists find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on exercise specialist 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 specialists 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 specialists?

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 specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Hunter Waldman Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Exercise Science, University of North Alabama

I think verbal and written communication is lacking quite a bit in today’s college graduate generation. This is coming from someone who was a college graduate just a few years ago, but since my time as an undergraduate and students today, there is a clear inability for a large percentage of students to pick up on social cues, maintain a productive conversation, or write a respectable email. Jobs in our field are competitive and interviews are still conducted in a face-to-face format. Even if you go to work for yourself, let's say as a personal trainer, then you’ll still be interacting with people in a personable manner.

Each interaction can be looked at as if you are marketing yourself to that potential client or employer and if communication is a weakness, that is an issue. Therefore, I’d recommend graduates taking a gap year to 1) find a temporary job that puts you into contact (face-to-face or online) with various people throughout the day so that these skills can be sharpened over time and 2) practice! Excellent written and verbal skills are honed through practice. Everyone can improve these skills and practicing, watching YouTube videos from communication experts, or even having someone read over your email or recording you converse can all be helpful tools for the recent graduate student.

What type of skills will young exercise specialists 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 specialist 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 specialist skills to add to your resume

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

Patients
Rehabilitation
Patient Care
Customer Service
Physical Therapy
Blood Pressure
CPR
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cleanliness
ACSM
EKG
Fitness Assessments
Heart Rate
ECG
Vital Signs
Patient Education

Risk Factors
Fitness Programs
Training Sessions
Body Composition
Stress Tests
Training Programs
Therapeutic Exercises
Weight Loss
Wellness Programs
Strength Training
Medical History
Healthy Lifestyle
Injury Prevention
Phase II
Electrocardiogram
RPE

Physical Fitness
Fitness Equipment
Echocardiogram
Incentive Programs
Blood Glucose
Fitness Facility
Group Fitness Classes
Health History
Diabetes
Rehabilitation Programs
Front Desk
Health Fairs
Heart Disease
Weight Management
VO2

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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Updated January 8, 2025

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