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Health and fitness instructor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Kevin Rooney Ph.D.,

Kevin Rooney Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical health and fitness instructor skills. We ranked the top skills for health and fitness instructors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 37.1% of health and fitness instructor resumes contained cpr as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a health and fitness instructor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 health and fitness instructor skills for your resume and career

1. 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 health and fitness instructors use cpr:

Certified Personal Trainer with the American Council on Exercise and First Aid and CPR certified.
Maintain CPR & Fitness Certification up to date.

2. Health Fitness

Here's how health and fitness instructors use health fitness:

Assisted health fitness manager with luncheon PowerPoint presentation.
Work as a Health Fitness Specialist at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC.

3. Health Education

Health education refers to education concerning healthcare.

Here's how health and fitness instructors use health education:

Prepared and distributed health education materials including reports, bulletins and visual aids.
Developed and distributed health education materials to YMCA members.

4. Fitness Assessments

Here's how health and fitness instructors use fitness assessments:

Perform comprehensive fitness assessments and evaluations that follow ACSM guidelines.
Conduct fitness assessments and orientations for a variety of populations.

5. Blood Pressure

Here's how health and fitness instructors use blood pressure:

Take blood pressure and heart rate.
Conducted blood pressure, body composition and exercise testing, interpreted results and developed individualized exercise programs based on results.

6. Fitness Equipment

Here's how health and fitness instructors use fitness equipment:

Instructed clients on the proper use of the fitness equipment to ensure safety and good client outcomes.
Assist in maintaining fitness equipment by ensuring participants had correct functionality of equipment and maintaining the equipment in clean condition.

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7. Fitness Programs

The exercise-based programs that are conducted to build and maintain the physical health of an individual are known as fitness programs. These programs prove highly beneficial for health and also, help in reducing the risk of developing chronic disease.

Here's how health and fitness instructors use fitness programs:

Provided fitness programs, assessments and guidance to a population of 3500 members at the Duluth Clinic Fitness & Therapy Center.
Facilitated health and fitness programs utilizing a wide variety of formats.

8. ACSM

Here's how health and fitness instructors use acsm:

Followed ACSM guidelines ensuring safe and healthy exercise technique for strength training and cardiovascular activity.
Coordinated and implemented physiological testing for members in accordance with ACSM guidelines.

9. Yoga

Yoga is a practice grounded in Hindu beliefs that encourage health and relaxation simultaneously. The participant may be asked to control his or her breath while stretching in different positions or take a moment to calm his or her racing mind. The practice speaks towards balancing health in the participant's spiritual, mental, and physical world.

Here's how health and fitness instructors use yoga:

Instructed mat Pilates, yoga, and boot camp for all fitness levels.
Provided stress management classes based on Sivananda Yoga.

10. Physical Education

Physical education includes the organization of games, exercises, challenges, or any activities related to a person's physical well-being. It aims to develop social and motor skills and physical attributes development among children, trainees, or clients.

Here's how health and fitness instructors use physical education:

Assisted with a state of California curriculum for physical education and senior health and wellbeing.

11. Strength Training

Strength training, also called resistance training involves the performance of physical exercise or a training technique aimed at improving muscle strength and endurance using a person's body weight or free weights/weight machine/resistance bands.

Here's how health and fitness instructors use strength training:

Motivated members to challenge themselves to achieve their desired goals by strength training and encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
Developed strength training regimes for youth and adults.

12. Healthy Lifestyle

Here's how health and fitness instructors use healthy lifestyle:

Created daily lesson plans * Taught children about healthy lifestyles and various sports and activities
Served as a liaison between students and parents to promote healthy lifestyles.

13. Health Fairs

Here's how health and fitness instructors use health fairs:

Assist with health fair screenings and promotions.
Oriented members to safe and appropriate equipment use Participated in numerous Health Fairs and Expos

14. Group Fitness Classes

Here's how health and fitness instructors use group fitness classes:

Provided one-on-one consulting, training, and support -Designed and trained group fitness classes -Assisted with administrative functions associated with facility operations
Develop positive relationships with class participants by teaching a variety of challenging and entertaining group fitness classes.

15. Fitness Floor

Here's how health and fitness instructors use fitness floor:

Ensured the fitness floor was kept orderly for the members and minimize any safety hazards.
Conducted fitness consultations, provided fitness floor supervision, and completed daily administrative duties.

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What skills help Health And Fitness Instructors find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on health and fitness instructor resumes?

Kevin Rooney Ph.D.

Associate Dean, School of Sport Science, Clinical Coordinator of Athletic Training, Endicott College

The obvious skills are one's knowledge of anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, and exercise. However, I believe that the most important skill is a person's ability to synthesize their scientific knowledge and effectively apply it in practice.

What soft skills should all health and fitness instructors possess?

Kevin Rooney Ph.D.

Associate Dean, School of Sport Science, Clinical Coordinator of Athletic Training, Endicott College

Communication is the most important soft skill any new and seasoned professional can have. Effective communication demonstrates your command of the information and situation at hand and assists in earning the trust and respect of your clients and peers.

What hard/technical skills are most important for health and fitness instructors?

Kevin Rooney Ph.D.

Associate Dean, School of Sport Science, Clinical Coordinator of Athletic Training, Endicott College

Exercise scientists are well-versed in various areas, including exercise assessment, exercise programming, biomechanics, exercise instruction, and patient/client education.

What health and fitness instructor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Greg Brown

Professor , Dept. of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences, University of Nebraska - Kearney

A lot of undergraduate students in Kinesiology are planning to move on to post graduate education in allied health (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Athletic Training, etc.) so their career advice will come from those allied health professionals.
For those students going into a career right out of their undergraduate program, typically in the health and fitness industry (e.g. personal training, strength & conditioning, health coaching, corporate wellness), they need to keep an eye for budding trends in the industry and not jump on the latest fad. Basically, a trend is something that is new or innovative that also has staying power and will still be viable in a few years. Fads often seem too good to be true and only last a short time before fading away. Think of wearable technology as a trend while Tae Bo was more of a fad.

Do you want to know more?

List of health and fitness instructor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a health and fitness instructor resume and required skills for a health and fitness instructor to have include:

CPR
Health Fitness
Health Education
Fitness Assessments
Blood Pressure
Fitness Equipment
Fitness Programs

ACSM
Yoga
Physical Education
Strength Training
Healthy Lifestyle
Health Fairs
Group Fitness Classes

Fitness Floor
Heart Rate
Physical Fitness
Wellness Programs
Health Screenings
Circuit Training

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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