Exercise Physiologist Assess, plan, or implement fitness programs that include exercise or physical activities such as those designed to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, or flexibility.
Exercise Physiologist is Also Know as
In different settings, Exercise Physiologist is titled as
- Bariatric Weight Loss Counselor
- Certified Exercise Physiologist (EPC)
- Clinical Exercise Physiologist
- Clinical Exercise Specialist
- Exercise Physiologist
- Exercise Scientist
- Exercise Specialist
- Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant
Education and Training of Exercise Physiologist
Exercise Physiologist is categorized in Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Exercise Physiologist
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Education Required for Exercise Physiologist
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Degrees Related to Exercise Physiologist
- Bachelor in Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology
- Associate Degree Courses in Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology
- Masters Degree Courses in Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology
- Bachelor in Exercise Science and Kinesiology
- Associate Degree Courses in Exercise Science and Kinesiology
- Masters Degree Courses in Exercise Science and Kinesiology
- Bachelor in Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist
- Associate Degree Courses in Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist
- Masters Degree Courses in Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist
Training Required for Exercise Physiologist
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Exercise Physiologist in different industries are
- Dietitians and Nutritionists
- Athletic Trainers
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians
- Physical Therapists
- Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
- Physical Therapist Assistants
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
- Occupational Therapists
- Sports Medicine Physicians
- Recreational Therapists
- Cardiologists
- Respiratory Therapists
- Physical Therapist Aides
- Radiation Therapists
- Clinical Nurse Specialists
- Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
- Family Medicine Physicians
- Pediatric Surgeons
- Neurodiagnostic Technologists
- Acute Care Nurses
What Do Exercise Physiologist do?
- Conduct stress tests, using electrocardiograph (EKG) machines.
- Demonstrate correct use of exercise equipment or performance of exercise routines.
- Develop exercise programs to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning, in accordance with exercise science standards, regulatory requirements, and credentialing requirements.
- Explain exercise program or physiological testing procedures to participants.
- Interpret exercise program participant data to evaluate progress or identify needed program changes.
- Measure amount of body fat, using such equipment as hydrostatic scale, skinfold calipers, or tape measures.
- Measure oxygen consumption or lung functioning, using spirometers.
- Perform routine laboratory tests of blood samples for cholesterol level or glucose tolerance.
- Prescribe individualized exercise programs, specifying equipment, such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, ergometers, or perceptual goggles.
- Provide clinical oversight of exercise for participants at all risk levels.
- Recommend methods to increase lifestyle physical activity.
- Teach courses or seminars related to exercise or diet for patients, athletes, or community groups.
- Assess physical performance requirements to aid in the development of individualized recovery or rehabilitation exercise programs.
- Calibrate exercise or testing equipment.
- Educate athletes or coaches on techniques to improve athletic performance, such as heart rate monitoring, recovery techniques, hydration strategies, or training limits.
- Evaluate staff performance in leading group exercise or conducting diagnostic tests.
- Interview participants to obtain medical history or assess participant goals.
- Mentor or train staff to lead group exercise.
- Order or recommend diagnostic procedures, such as stress tests, drug screenings, or urinary tests.
- Plan or conduct exercise physiology research projects.
- Present exercise knowledge, program information, or research study findings at professional meetings or conferences.
- Provide emergency or other appropriate medical care to participants with symptoms or signs of physical distress.
- Supervise maintenance of exercise or exercise testing equipment.
- Teach behavior modification classes related to topics such as stress management or weight control.
- Teach group exercise for low-, medium-, or high-risk clients to improve participant strength, flexibility, endurance, or circulatory functioning.
Qualities of Good Exercise Physiologist
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Tools Used by Exercise Physiologist
- Arm crank ergometers
- Automated blood pressure measurement equipment
- Automated external defibrillators AED
- Bioelectric impedance analyzers
- Cholesterol analyzers
- Cycle ergometers
- Desktop computers
- Dual energy x ray absorptiometers
- Echocardiography systems
- Electrocardiography EKG machines
- Electromyographs EMG
- Electronic spirometers
- Electronic timing systems
- Exercise treadmills
- Goniometers or arthrometers
- Heart rate monitors
- Holter monitors
- Hydraulic hand dynamometers
- Intravenous IV infusion pumps
- Isokinetic dynamometers
- Lactate analyzers
- Laptop computers
- Manual blood pressure equipment
- Mechanical stethoscopes
- Metabolic carts
- Microhematocrits
- Multi-line telephone systems
- Muscle strength dynamometers
- Near infrared spectrometers
- Osmometers
- Oxygen analyzers
- Patient weight scales
- Pedometers
- Perceptual goggles
- Personal computers
- Photocopying equipment
- Pulse oximeters
- Skinfold calipers
- Spirometers
- Stair climbers
- Strength training equipment
- Telemetry units
- Underwater weighing tanks
- Urine analysis equipment
- Whole body air plethysmography systems
Technology Skills required for Exercise Physiologist
- Email software
- MEDITECH software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Web browser software