1. Fitness apparel designer
Salary Pakage: $70,000
Education: Bachelor degree fine arts in the apparel design
Do you have a pair of sweat-wicking shorts that you like to wear? And your girlfriend's knee-stretchingly flattering yoga pants? Someone had to come up with the stitching, elastic, and cotton that would eventually become workout staples. Apparel designers at major companies such as Reebok, Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour frequently come from the fashion industry, with many holding specialised design degrees from schools such as Parsons School of Design, Rhode Island School of Design, or the Fashion Institute of Technology. Meetings with cross-functional teams, seeing market trends, researching, sketching, and (most crucially) working out are all part of their day-to-day work. This allows them to see firsthand what garments need to do at the gym.
2. Registered dietitian
Salary Pakage: $60,300
Education: Bachelor degree science in nutrition, National Dietitian Registration exam (optional).
Registered dietitians are the miracle workers that provide nutrition advising to a variety of personal clients, food corporations, and health organisations that may change bodies and lives, as the saying goes: fitness results are 80 percent diet, 20 percent exercise.
Registered dieticians—also known as R.D.s—often use social media to share accurate and up-to-date nutrition information in a way that the average person can understand and use to get the results we want from our workouts, in addition to developing and implementing wellness programmes for individual clients as well as corporations across the country. Willow Jarosh, co-founder of C&J Nutrition, says, "It's incredibly fascinating to work with clients in our private practise and watch how the adjustments we make with food positively influences elements of their life they never expected." “There is a lot of nutrition misinformation out there, and some of it can be rather damaging. The biggest benefit is clearly getting through to people—whether one-on-one, through workplace wellness, or through our media work—and offering them skills that help them construct healthier lifestyles with evidence-based nutrition.”
3. Professor of kinesiology
Salary Pakage: $64,600
Education: Ph.D. degree kinesiology
Being a kinesiology professor entails staying on top of the latest research and scientific insights that affect the way millions of people move. Kinesiology is the study of physical activity and encompasses research in exercise, sport, and everyday movements, ranging from mundane tasks (rising stairs) to hard labour (carpentry). Professors of kinesiology are the go-to people for learning how different motions alter, shape, strengthen, and develop our bodies. When you hear in the news that a research team has discovered that squats are the most effective total-body exercise, you can know the study was led by a kinesiology professor.
4. Physical therapist
Salary Pakage: $67,000
Education: Doctorate degree physical therapy (D.P.T.)
Elite athletes and weekend warriors alike are vulnerable to injury, which is where physical therapists, the unsung heroes of our profession, step in. When sprains, strains, and overuse limit your ability to get the most out of your workouts and meet your fitness objectives, physical therapists acquire their PhD degree to help you move and function better. While the majority of physical therapists work for a larger corporation or clinic, 21.6 percent of them own or partner in their own practise.
5. Fitness tech engineer
Salary Pakage: $135,000
Education: Software engineering or Master's degree in biomechanics.
It's all about finding answers to real-world issues like stinky training clothing, fussy fitness monitors, and hurting muscles when it comes to fitness equipment. Athletes inspire all of this gear, but engineers are needed to bring it to reality. “Athletes provide us with the expertise to think beyond today's trends or marketing tales to truly solve a problem,” says Christopher Bohannon, director of product engineering at Snapbac, an active muscle recovery apparel line. “It's not unusual for us to look into the automobile, footwear, consumer electronics, or outdoor industries for the most cutting-edge technology that we can incorporate into our goods. My strategy is to perform research that demonstrates that the science improves the product, which is how I assess innovation success.”
6. Fitness magazine editor-in-chief
Salary Pakage: $90,000
Education: Bachelor degree journalism helpful (optional)
Working as an editor at a fitness publication entails having constant access to experts, trends, gear, and routines that can (and do) alter the way we sweat every day. But take it from the guys at Men's Fitness: It's not just exciting—also it's challenging—to share killer workouts and feature stories with the millions of people who devote their time and lives to fitness. An editor is in charge of researching and discovering timely, relevant, and newsworthy content, as well as assigning stories, editing, collaborating with writers and industry experts, and, most crucially, fulfilling deadlines.
7. Fitness start-up partner
Salary Pakage: $85,600
Being the CEO of any company is a risk, but it's a sure bet that if you can change people's bodies, they'll show up at your gym. Even if you won't be making huge profits for a few years, you'll be compensated in other ways, such as being at the forefront of fitness trends and providing boutique, personalised exercise. Plus, you'll keep in great shape.
Ramón Castillón, an executive of Basecamp Fitness in California, says, "As a partner, I don't think like a trainer, I think like a consumer." “I go to class every day and meet with my team on a regular basis to ensure that we are producing the greatest product possible. Programming and designing workouts takes a lot of time and effort. At the end of the day, I'm a customer, not an entrepreneur. Every day, I get to work out and get paid!”
8. Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Salary Pakage: $47,100
Education: Bachelor’s in science (optional)
Being a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (aka C.S.C.S.) puts you miles ahead of the average trainer (who, let's face it, sometimes has no certification, knowledge, or qualification to teach you how to exercise). Fitness professionals with a C.S.C.S. are fitness experts that coach their customers using scientific knowledge with the primary purpose of increasing athletic performance. Their education and accreditation enable them to do sport-specific tests, as well as plan and implement the most effective diet and injury prevention strategies. As a C.S.C.S., you can offer your clients a one-stop fitness shop, which means more money and recognition for you.
9. CEO of a gym chain
Salary Pakage: $1-5 million
Education: Substantial commercial and industry experience, A bachelor's degree is required.
This is the field of work for you if you're seeking for a steady stream of income. Being the CEO of a big-box gym chain such as Equinox, Planet Fitness, or Gold's Gym is similar to being the CEO of any other business: high-profile, high-pressure, and possibly lucrative. But it's more about shaking hands and signing documents than WODs and training methods—in fact, a business degree is probably preferable to a biology degree. Because a CEO's key responsibilities include serving as the direct interface between the board and management of the firm and communicating to the board on behalf of management, a CEO's day-to-day is largely committed to the boardroom and meetings—not time at the gym.
10. Fitness model
Salary Pakage: $2,500 per day
Education: knowledge of exercise
Show up, put on some of the hottest new workout gear, get your photo taken in breathtaking locales while participating in fitness-related activities, and get rewarded handsomely: Fitness modelling is, without a doubt, a dream job. But take our word for it: Fitness modelling assignments are extremely competitive, require a great level of discipline, and are difficult to come by—even the fittest of guys might spend months without securing a campaign. Signing up with a talent agency, such as Sports + Lifestyle Unlimited, increases your chances of landing a job (which has offices in the fitness-industry hubs of Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles). You don't need us to tell you that achieving magazine-worthy abs is a difficult task.