NASM Docuseries Explores Fitness Careers Beyond the Gym
Krissy Vann | Host, All Things Fitness and Wellness
The National Academy of Sports Medicine has launched an original docuseries examining how fitness and wellness professionals are building careers beyond traditional personal training roles.
Titled This Is Our Court, the series profiles certified fitness professionals working in emerging areas of the industry, including performance, recovery, longevity, wellness and esports.
The first episode features Ricco Phinisee, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer who serves as head fitness trainer for a professional esports team competing in global digital sports leagues.
Phinisee has trained in both fitness and gaming since childhood and now applies exercise science and performance principles to competitive gamers, a role that illustrates how the scope of fitness careers is expanding alongside emerging sports and wellness categories.
“When I got certified, the job I have now did not exist,” said Phinisee. “NASM taught me the science, and that science turned out to apply just as much to an athlete sitting in a gaming chair as one on a court. The credential is what let me walk into a room nobody had walked into before and be taken seriously.”
The launch comes as demand for fitness professionals is projected to continue growing in the United States.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of fitness trainers and instructors is projected to increase 12% between 2024 and 2034, faster than the average across all occupations. Approximately 74,200 openings for fitness trainers and instructors are projected annually over the decade.
At the same time, the types of roles available to fitness professionals are changing. Personal training has traditionally centered on one-on-one or small-group coaching in gyms and health clubs, but professionals are increasingly applying their skills across specialized areas of health, performance and wellness.
Esports represents a particularly unconventional example. Competitive gaming does not involve the same physical demands as traditional sports, but professional players can spend extended periods seated while managing repetitive movements, competition schedules and performance demands. That creates potential applications for fitness professionals in areas including mobility, strength, conditioning and physical preparation.
“The fitness industry doesn’t look like it did even five years ago, and it won’t look the same five years from now,” said Cynthia Flores, Creative Director at NASM. “Ricco’s story is a perfect example of that. He’s building something at the intersection of two worlds that most people never would have connected on their own. We wanted to tell stories like his because they show what’s actually possible with credentials. It was never meant to be one-size-fits-all.”
Through This Is Our Court, NASM plans to highlight professionals pursuing less conventional career paths as the boundaries between fitness, wellness, sport and performance continue to evolve.
For trainers entering the industry, that evolution could also broaden the definition of career progression. Rather than limiting professional development to building a larger client roster or moving into gym management, emerging categories may create opportunities to apply training expertise to entirely different populations and environments.
