Embracing your love for exercise and fitness can offer you an excellent career opportunity. If you’re currently not getting career satisfaction, or you wish to push the boundaries of what you are capable of and carve a new way of life for yourself, delving into the world of fitness can be exactly what you need.

There has never been a better time to get into this sector as the market value for the fitness industry has reached an all-time of £5.1 billion, and with the ONS stating there are around 191,000 people employed in the sports and fitness industry to meet growing demand, there is likely going to be a career path perfect for you.

So, what can you do to turn your love of exercise into a career? Whether you want to know how to become a personal trainer or you want to look at other options, there is likely the perfect fitness career out there for you.

Personal Trainer

Let’s start off with the most obvious of job roles in the fitness sector: personal training. As of 2022, there are over 23,000 personal trainers in the UK, but with the fitness sector booming right now, there has never been a better time to look into how to become a personal trainer. 

You can become a self-employed trainer and find your own clients, or you can work for a company providing services to clients and members for a set wage. To get the most from this career, you need to become a certified personal trainer to develop your skills to help people reach their personal goals for fitness and nutrition.

If becoming a personal trainer is for you, salaries start from around £15,000 and can be unlimited depending on your drive, whether you work for yourself or a company and how successful you are with client results, especially if you promote yourself via social media.

Nutritionist

If you prefer to delve into the nutrition side of fitness to help you help others eat better and be healthier, gaining your qualification as a nutritionist can be a great career path for you. You can team this with your exercise knowledge to offer clients a more well-rounded approach to nutrition and fitness as a whole. To pursue this career path, you must get a degree or Master’s in Nutrition. The study period can be lengthy, depending on your current qualifications, and lasts anywhere from three to seven years to become a fully qualified nutritionist. You reasonably expect to earn upwards of £23,000 per year as a nutritionist, but those in the private sector can potentially earn from £30,000 to £70,000.

Gym Manager/Owner

While not as lucrative as becoming a personal trainer or a nutritionist, a gym owner or manager allows you to keep your fingers in the fitness industry and put your skills to use, making sure the facilities have what they need for members and are safe for people to use. You can implement new methods of training, bring in new equipment and bring in new members thanks to your passion. Typically, gym managers can earn, on average, over £40,000 per year.

If you’re opening up your own gym, then you can create a fitness space that has everything you feel a good gym should have, create the perfect atmosphere and give people something new and different thanks to your knowledge and experience. You don’t need any qualifications to open a gym or become a gym manager, but experience, knowledge and skills in working with people to help those who hit their goals would be an advantage. Reports suggest gym owners earn around £43,000 per year, depending on the size of the gym and the niche you slot into, e.g. boxing gym, CrossFit only or a sports-dedicated gym.

Physical Therapist

You will need a university degree to become a physical therapist, and this can take from three to six years to complete. However, if you have a passion for helping people and want to work with people overcoming illnesses and injuries to help them improve their mobility and enhance their quality of life, this could be the right career path for you. Physical therapists are instrumental in assisting people to regain mobility and require you to be caring, passionate and creative to give clients what they need. It’s not about becoming as fit as possible but helping people to control their bodies in a way that supports them to get through the day or to work towards full health. You can work in a private setting, in hospitals, rehabilitation centres or from your client’s home directly should you want to forge a career in physical therapy. The earnings potential for physical therapists starts from £23,000 per year and depends on your skills, experience and the setting you work in.

If gaining employment in the fitness industry is something that holds potential for you, there are multiple career options to choose from to help you stay fit, share your knowledge with others and enjoy career satisfaction from discovering how to become a personal trainer or pursuing your degree to become a physical therapist; there is plenty to get stuck into.