Exercise physiologists are best described as health and fitness professionals.
They specialize in helping people benefit from exercise.
Exercise physiologists help professional athletes perform better longer.
They help patients recover from various diseases. They also perform various
types of research revolving around the human body.
Exercise physiologists can choose to work in several different environments.
They work in the health-care field helping patients with physical therapy
and occupational therapy programs. They also work in hospital-based programs
that deal with lung and pulmonary diseases, cancer, diabetes and cardiac rehabilitation.
It's also common for exercise physiologists to work in universities, teaching
students and conducting research. Or they may choose to work in the private
sector with workers' compensation boards or companies that deal with ergonomics.
Exercise physiologists also work in gyms and fitness centers as personal
trainers, exercise instructors, strength and conditioning coaches and fitness
leaders.
Because they work in so many different environments, it's difficult to
say what a typical workday is. Those who work in a gym or a hospital may work
shift work. Those at a university would likely work during the day, but may
have to work overtime as needed.
Karen Chad is an exercise physiologist by trade. "It really depends on
the facility you're going into, but it's probably fair to say [exercise physiologists]
would work a standard workweek," she says.
Some have a much more physically demanding schedule than others. Those
doing research or teaching in a university would find their jobs to be more
mentally demanding than physically demanding. However, exercise physiologists
who work in rehabilitation, or as personal trainers or fitness instructors,
may find their jobs quite physically demanding.