How To Become A Fitness Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a fitness assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Fitness Assistants are found working in gyms, community centers, country clubs, and anywhere fitness programs occur. Their responsibilities involve assisting members of the program, maintaining equipment, and providing orientations to new clients. They can also design personalized workout programs for their clients using health assessments. Besides knowledge of health and wellness, they also have to demonstrate excellent customer service skills.

Fitness Assistants don't need to have a college education. A high school diploma or GED is enough to get you through the door. However, degrees in Kinesiology, Sports Science, and Nutrition tend to give you an edge.

On average, Fitness Assistants in the United States earn a yearly salary of roughly about $28,311. That's more or less $13 an hour. Suppose you want to cash in a bigger paycheck. In that case, there are plenty of opportunities for career advancement. Fitness Assistants often move on to more lucrative positions such as Exercise Physiologist, Personal Trainer, and Group Fitness Instructor.

ScoreFitness AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,790

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.4

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 5.11%

Black or African American 7.05%

Hispanic or Latino 10.64%

Unknown 5.40%

White 71.31%

Gender

female 54.70%

male 45.30%

Age - 36

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 36

Stress level

4.4

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.5

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a fitness assistant

Explore fitness assistant education requirements

Most common fitness assistant degrees

Bachelor's

69.5 %

Associate

13.0 %

High School Diploma

10.0 %

Start to develop specific fitness assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
CPR	20.56%
AED	12.45%
Facility Equipment	11.39%
Facility Maintenance	8.58%
Customer Satisfaction	8.54%

Complete relevant fitness assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New fitness assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a fitness assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real fitness assistant resumes.

Gain additional fitness assistant certifications

Fitness assistant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific fitness assistant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for fitness assistants include Certified Personal Trainer and First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor.

More About Certifications

Research fitness assistant duties and responsibilities

Provide market research and generate leads using social media (facebook) in order to target prospective clients.
Perform emergency care if need such as CPR
Execute first aid or CPR when need.
Assist in the cardiac rehabilitation clinic which include implementing progressive rehabilitation methods with education for long term health and wellness.

Prepare your fitness assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your fitness assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a fitness assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable fitness assistant resume templates

Build a professional fitness assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your fitness assistant resume.

Apply for fitness assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a fitness assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do fitness assistants rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Fitness assistant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2023

Pros

Training and operating fitness department

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2021

Pros

No punching a time clock. Ability to set own hours - although you’ll make more if you are flexible with client availabilities. Rewarding helping others get healthier and seeing the positive outcomes in their fitness/health.

Cons

Early mornings and late evenings - midday naps are often needed. Typically need to work Saturdays. People think that a personal trainer’s time is worthless because they rarely call to cancel… no-shows are always happening and it really sucks for the trainer, especially since it happens so often.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020