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

What is a fitness consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

John John Petrizzo PT, DPT, CSCS

Fitness consultants fulfill the task of formulating and facilitating personalized exercise programs that will help a diverse group of people feel better about themselves. From those who have special needs and health conditions, to those who simply want to be more comfortable in their own body, fitness consultants serve as the source of their positivity and driving force.

To effectively motivate the clients to push through with their fitness goals, they have to possess good communication and interpersonal skills.

Fitness consultants may choose to work independently or find opportunities with a company. Employers may approve and hire them with only a high school diploma, and train them on the job, while others will prefer candidates who have a master's degree in kinesiology, exercise science, or physical education.

What general advice would you give to a fitness consultant?

John John Petrizzo PT, DPT, CSCS

Associate Professor, Website

I think that having good people skills will become increasingly important in our field in the next few years. You can be knowledgeable, but if you can't communicate what you know well to others, it is going to hurt your chances of being successful.

ScoreFitness ConsultantUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,817

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 42.30%

male 57.70%

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 consultant

Explore fitness consultant education requirements

Most common fitness consultant degrees

Bachelor's

63.3 %

Associate

14.6 %

High School Diploma

11.0 %

Start to develop specific fitness consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Front Desk	22.77%
POS	19.14%
Health Club	8.82%
Customer Service	8.12%
Community Outreach	6.28%

Complete relevant fitness consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New fitness consultants 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 consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real fitness consultant resumes.

Gain additional fitness consultant certifications

Fitness consultant 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 consultant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for fitness consultants include Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Certification.

More About Certifications

Research fitness consultant duties and responsibilities

Body fat and BMI calculation/assessment.
Update the company's Facebook page and write marketing and promotional copy!
Train at risk members how to identify healthy ranges of BMI, BGL & HDL/LDL.
Perform duties for the day-to-day activity supervision and equipment upkeep in the weight room and cardio areas.

Prepare your fitness consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your fitness consultant 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 consultant 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 consultant resume templates

Build a professional fitness consultant 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 consultant resume.

Apply for fitness consultant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a fitness consultant 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 consultants rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Fitness consultant reviews

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 Aug 2020