Published: June 11, 2021
The fitness industry is estimated to be a $96 billion market and growing. In the United States alone, there are approximately 340,000 certified personal trainers and 250,000 fitness instructors working professionally. So how do you level up as a fitness professional? You become a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach!
In a recent webcast, our co-founder and Chief Wellness Officer Elyse Wagner, MS, CN, LMHCA explores how fitness professionals can take their career to the next level by becoming Functional Medicine Certified Health Coaches (FMCHC), with two FMCA alumni who are doing just that!
Fitness professionals make up an average of 15% of Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA) students training to become health coaches each year. Why? Well, for two main reasons:
1- As the health and fitness industry continues to shift toward lifestyle-based goals, the addition of a health coach certification becomes increasingly valuable because you can broaden the scope of services you offer, increasing your revenue stream. To make healthy choices, clients need more than a workout program; they need relevant, applicable and skill-based strategies to influence positive and sustainable behavior change. Working with a health coach is the missing link in taking clients to the next level to achieve overall long-lasting lifestyle change. As a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, you will be able to meet your client where they are while employing the foundational principles of coaching to help identify health-related goals, and collaborate on successful strategies to achieve them.
2- Fitness professionals can use the credits obtained from our program and apply them to their hours for recertification or continuing education units. FMCA’s Health Coach Certification Program is approved by both the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), an accredited approver by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
Fitness professionals can be found working in all healthcare and wellness settings, in or outside the gym. Meet two of our alumni who are fitness professionals AND health coaches:
Ben Johnson, FMCHC
Canada | March 2020
Ben Johnson is a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and Personal Trainer. As a passionate advocate of the transformative power of health and wellness literacy, Ben has invested relentlessly in his own education. With more than 20 professional certifications, Ben is an eager student and accomplished communicator.
From speaking events to seminars to traditional one on one coaching and training, Ben brings a broad perspective to the health and fitness field. Catalyzed by the sudden loss of his father to cancer, Ben has more recently focused his studies in gut health and autoimmunity. Ben believes people make good choices when they’ve got access to good information. He is determined to be an advocate of functional health principles and an agent of change to a health and medical system that can and should serve us all better.
Natascha Demner, FMCHC
USA | March 2019
Natascha Demner completed her 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher training at ISHTA Yoga in NYC alongside her prenatal yoga teacher training in 2009. In 2015 Natascha was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and shortly after with rheumatoid arthritis, which inspired profound lifestyle changes and a keen interest in Functional Medicine paired with Mind-Body modalities. In 2020, she graduated from FMCA, two weeks after being diagnosed with breast cancer. After a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, she is now cancer-free and thriving. She believes deeply in the power of community, the healing potential of food as medicine, and that taking care of one’s health is a privilege, not a chore.
Are you ready to broaden your impact in your fitness career, or have any questions? Schedule a call with our Admissions Team to learn more!
Learn More About Becoming a Functional Health Coach – Download Your Free Info Packet
