Top Trainers Are Becoming Longevity Coaches, Not Just Workout Experts

NASM data shows personal trainers are expanding beyond exercise programming as client demand for longevity and GLP-1 guidance reshapes the profession

Being a successful personal trainer isn’t just about prescribing the right workouts or having the right energy for clients. Having a diversified skillset — with the credentials to back it up — is key, as the top-performing fitness professionals are moving away from traditional, session-based hourly models to operate as highly specialized health and wellness coaches.

A new report from the National Academy of Sports Medicine reflects a changing landscape, with personal trainers adapting their businesses to meet the demands of modern-day clients, while the industry as a whole shifts towards holistically integrated fitness and wellness.

The data, compiled from 1,133 active personal trainers across the U.S., reveals three key trends reshaping the way fitness professionals are operating their businesses: longevity, artificial intelligence and GLP-1s.

Those three buckets are rapidly changing not only consumer habits, but also their expectations when they begin working with a trainer. 

Longevity Supersedes Aesthetics

A vast majority of trainers (88%) reported that longevity has become their clients’ No. 1 priority.

That’s no surprise, as biohacking and longevity protocols continue entering mainstream wellness discourse, with more and more Americans embracing practices — no matter how outlandish — in the hopes of extending their lifespan and healthspan.

Trainers are increasingly hearing from clients in their 20s and 30s who express the desire to lift heavy weights and maintain mobility well into their 50s, 60s and 70s.

The AI of it All

AI has become an inevitability in the fitness and wellness industry, with 45% of millennial trainers reporting using AI weekly. Despite that widespread adoption, 44% fear what threat the technology poses to their careers.

Gen Z isn’t worried, though — just 18% of those younger trainers fear being replaced by AI tools, signaling a generational divide in how AI’s role is perceived in the industry.

Technology is a key component of personal trainers lives, however, with 43% of trainers using wearables, and a third are now engaging in content creation on social media.

GLP-1 Talk Takes Over Sessions

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of personal trainers say they are working with clients who use or inquire about GLP-1 medications.

That aligns with a longstanding trend of nutrition playing a key role in personal training, with overall nutrition being the top subject that professionals are asked about, according to the report.

And trainers are adapting quickly to the rising population of GLP-1 users entering the gym, mostly by educating themselves — notably, understanding the importance of strength training and protein intake to preserve muscle while on the medications.

What Differentiates the Top-Performing Personal Trainers

As clients seek out trainers who not only know how to coach them through workouts, a new financial premium has arisen for trainers able to offer behavioral psychology, accountability and specialized guidance and support.

The report identified that for the top earners making more than $100,000 annually, success arrives from building diversified businesses that combine in-person coaching, virtual support, specialized expertise and recurring revenue.

From the data, the NASM also identified the top five projected 3-year growth areas, according to trainers:

• 74% are focusing on active aging and senior fitness
• 68% on virtual and hybrid coaching
• 62% on medical-fitness partnerships
• 41% on group fitness and bootcamps
• 35% on youth sports performance

“We are witnessing the greatest professionalization of the fitness and wellness workforce in the history of the industry,” said NASM CEO Mehul Patel. 

“The market now demands more than just workout programming; it requires specialized, science-backed partners for clients,” Patel continued. “Technology can deliver information, but a great personal trainer helps people turn that data into lasting change. At NASM, we set the standard for that work, equipping our community with evidence-based tools required to decisively lead this new era of human performance.”