Beyond the Gym: Finding a Career in Fitness and Wellness That Offers Purpose, Growth, and Impact
Posted: 6/24/2026
According to the Health and Fitness Association, a record 81 million Americans belong to a gym, studio, or other fitness facility, pushing membership penetration to 26.1% of the US population ages 6 and older.
Industry data indicates the workforce within the American health club and fitness sector experienced an average annual growth of 6.2% throughout the five-year period from 2021 to 2026.
With such a robust outlook, there is ample opportunity to be excited about and to pursue a career in fitness and wellness. However, the industry holds many different paths – corporate, commercial and gig/independent. It can be difficult to know which is the right one to follow. The industry can be highly influenced by trends and is extremely competitive with the saturation of influencers, enthusiasts and fitness professionals.
According to McKenzie Correll, Elevation Health’s Regional Operations Manager - East, “When making a career decision, it’s important to find a path which aligns with your own values, and to carefully analyze both the sustainability and growth opportunities when considering either an employer or independent-venture.”
During her 16-year career in fitness and wellness, Correll gained experience in many diverse environments, including commercial gyms, community recreation centers, freelance work, and corporate fitness. Her professional journey has spanned every tier, from serving as a front desk attendant and in membership sales to roles as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and in management.
“My path began in the high-intensity, burnout-heavy atmosphere of commercial fitness clubs. While I value the lessons learned, the constant pressure of monthly sales goals resetting to zero, high staff turnover, and the exhaustion of working split shifts just to secure a stable income felt professionally limiting and unsustainable in the long term,” she noted. “I transitioned to corporate fitness, specifically with Elevation Health, seeking a professional niche that would allow me to fulfill my passion for coaching and mentoring while providing the work-life harmony necessary to support my family. Elevation Health was my choice because its dedication to its core values—passion, trust and transparency, a people-first approach, collaboration, growth, and environmental responsibility—mirrors my own principles.”
When making a decision as to which career path to follow – corporate fitness, commercial fitness, or gig fitness work – the biggest differences come down to who employs you, who your clients are, and the level of stability and flexibility you have.
Feature |
Corporate Fitness | Commercial Fitness | Gig/Independent Fitness |
| Client Acquisition | Provided by Company | High Traffic/Sales Team | Self-Marketing |
| Income Stability | High | Moderate | Variable |
| Benefits | Provided (Health, 401K, PTO) | Cometimes available | Rarely available |
| Sales Pressure | Low | High | Self-directed |
| Key Focus | Wellness, Engagement/Retention | Member Acquisition/Sales | Specialized Results |
In her experience, Correll sees three primary benefits to working in corporate fitness, relative to other industry sectors:
- Absence of Aggressive Sales Targets
- Opportunities for Career Advancement
- Balanced Work-Life Integration
Elevation Health’s model is focused on its core values as a means to positively impact the wellbeing of the communities it serves by providing personalized programs and encouraging employees to explore and apply their passions to make a greater impact.
“What Elevation Health has learned is that an adaptive approach to fitness and wellness programs, which leverages the human-connection of in-person interactions and the accessibility of virtual services, provides both the fitness professional and the customer value, fulfillment, stability and growth,” Correll shared.
If you’re interested in making a difference by contributing to community health and wellness, building activation skills and expanding your career opportunities, learn more about Elevation Health’s career opportunities here.
