7 Careers in Exercise Physiology You Never Knew About
What do a personal trainer, diabetes educator, and Air Force human performance specialist have in common? It might be a degree in exercise physiology.
A subfield of exercise science, exercise physiology is the study of how the body responds and adapts to physical activity. The field is distinct from physical therapy and physical education and comes with a range of possible career options.
Exercise physiologists work in a variety of settings, including health care, athletics, community organizations, private businesses, and the military. But what does an exercise physiologist do? Here are seven careers for exercise physiology majors you never knew about.
A common career path for exercise physiologists is working as a personal trainer, designing exercise programs to help healthy individuals achieve and maintain their fitness goals. Exercise physiologists also work in clinical settings with specific populations, such as people with cancer. Exercise can play an important role during cancer treatment and recovery, including reducing treatment side effects and the risk of relapse and improving mood, sleep, energy, and appetite. In the emerging field of exercise oncology, cancer exercise trainers create individualized exercise plans for patients and survivors to help improve their quality of life and meet their goals for sustaining or regaining health and wellness.
Another specific population exercise physiologists work with is people with diabetes. Not only does exercise play a critical role in preventing diabetes, but it also helps people with the condition control their blood sugar levels and prevent complications. Exercise physiologists can become certified to work as diabetes care and education specialists, providing information and support to help patients manage their condition and live well with diabetes.
While some exercise physiologists specialize in serving a specific patient population, others work in clinical settings where they see a range of patients. For instance, some exercise physiologists work at physical therapy clinics as part of an interdisciplinary team of providers helping patients with injuries or medical conditions regain function and reduce or manage pain. An exercise physiology degree also prepares students to pursue the additional education and certification necessary to become a physical therapist.
One unique workplace for exercise physiologists is the military, or research organizations that work with the military, such as the Consortium for Health and Military Performance. Health and human performance specialists in these settings use evidence-based research and practices to optimize the mental, physical, and emotional health and performance of individual service members and teams in service of carrying out their missions. This includes improving baseline health as well as resilience to and recovery from illness, injury, and trauma.
An exercise physiology degree is also valuable for a career in athletics coaching, whether in a professional, collegiate, or school sports setting. Like military human performance specialists, sports performance coaches leverage their exercise science knowledge to help elite athletes reach their full potential by optimizing their physical and psychological performance. Training in nutrition, psychology, and sports management can also be valuable for performance coaches.
While sports performance coaches focus on training individual athletes, recreation center directors support the health and wellness of an entire community by designing and overseeing activity programs for a town, school, or facilities like a public park or pool. Not only do they design safe and appropriate exercise activities for children, seniors, and others, but they also use management and organizational skills to oversee facilities and staff and work in partnership with a range of people and organizations in the community.
Exercise is beneficial for people of all ages and abilities. Similar to recreation center directors, activities directors at independent or assisted living facilities support the health and wellness of seniors or people with disabilities by designing activities to preserve residents’ cognitive and physical function and promote active, healthy lifestyles.
Whether you are interested in pursuing a career in health care, education, athletics, the military, or other fields, a degree in exercise physiology opens doors to a range of rewarding career options.
“Most exercise professionals love their jobs and look forward to going to work every day,” said Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Chair Glen Duncan, PhD, ACSM-CEP, a professor at Washington State University.
It’s also a growing field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 10% increase in exercise physiologist jobs by 2032, a much faster growth rate than the average for other occupations.
Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in exercise physiology. The Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology program provides an in-depth understanding of the roles of nutrition and exercise in health and disease, a uniquely holistic approach that prepares students for careers in clinical and other settings and makes them competitive candidates in the fast-growing field of exercise physiology.
“Many employers are excited about hiring someone who can provide quality nutrition assessment and education to clients, in addition to their exercise training,” said Duncan. “Nutrition and physical activity are the cornerstones of chronic disease prevention and treatment, and so students must know both disciplines to fully address disease processes and outcomes.”