| Job Category |  | Personal Care & Service |
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| Job Description | | Fitness workers instruct or coach groups or individuals in various exercise activities. Because gyms and health clubs offer a variety of exercise activities such as weightlifting, yoga, aerobics, and karate, fitness workers typically specialize in only a few areas. Fitness trainers help clients to assess their level of physical fitness and help them to set and reach fitness goals. They also demonstrate various exercises and help clients to improve their exercise techniques. They may keep records of their clients’ exercise sessions in order to assess their progress towards physical fitness. Personal trainers work with clients on a one-on-one basis in either a gym or the client’s home. Aerobics instructors conduct group exercise sessions that involve aerobic exercise, stretching, and muscle conditioning. Some fitness workers may perform the duties of both aerobics instructors and fitness trainers. |
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| Working Conditions | | Recreation and fitness workers may work in a variety of settings—for example, a health club, cruise ship, woodland recreational park, or playground in the center of a large urban community. Regardless of setting, most recreation workers spend much of their time outdoors and may work in a variety of weather conditions, whereas most fitness workers spend their time indoors at fitness centers and health clubs. Recreation and fitness directors and supervisors, however, typically spend most of their time in an office, planning programs and special events. Directors and supervisors generally engage in less physical activity than do lower level recreation and fitness workers. Nevertheless, recreation and fitness workers at all levels risk suffering injuries during physical activities.
Many recreation and fitness workers work about 40 hours a week. People entering this field, especially camp counselors, should expect some night and weekend work and irregular hours. About 36 percent work part time and many recreation jobs are seasonal. |
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| Salary Range | | Median annual earnings of fitness trainers and aerobics instructors in May 2006 were $25,910. The middle 50 percent earned between $18,010 and $41,040. The bottom 10 percent earned less than $14,880, while the top 10 percent earned $56,750 or more. Earnings of successful self-employed personal trainers can be much higher.
Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of recreation workers in 2006 were: $27,200 in other amusement and recreation industries; $22,630 in civic and social organizations; and $22,770 in other schools and instruction. |
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