SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCE A FUTURE IN

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1 SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCE A FUTURE IN SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCE

2 WHAT IS SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCE? Through sport and exercise science you can make a difference for people in all walks of life by helping them improve their health, fitness and performance levels. Sport and exercise science involves understanding responses and adaptations to human muscular activity. This knowledge is used to enhance performance of athletes and improve the health and wellbeing of the general public. The core fields involved are anatomy and physiology, nutrition, exercise and health assessment, and exercise prescription. You could be working with national sports teams on their training and conditioning, helping track and field athletes improve their techniques, advising and planning fitness programmes for private clients, or delivering health and fitness programmes for staff in large businesses. Do you love to keep fit and healthy and take part in a range of sporting activities? Are you keen to help others achieve to their potential? If so, a career in sport and exercise science could be the ideal fit for you.

3 OUTLOOK AND TRENDS The sport, fitness and exercise industry has expanded as New Zealanders increasingly pursue the health benefits of an active lifestyle. Over 500,000 people have memberships at gyms and other exercise facilities. The industry employs over 5,000 individuals, with growth of up to 3% per year projected for sports and fitness workers until at least Sources: DOL Occupation Outlook 2014; NZ Register of Exercise Professionals, Industry Guide. Government sponsored initiatives targeting the prevention of lifestyle diseases have created increased opportunities for careers involving exercise and nutrition for health. New opportunities are emerging in areas such as sports technology and performance analysis. For example, the Warriors rugby league team employs performance analysts and Auckland Rugby employs a video analyst. High performance sport In 2010 the New Zealand government announced an initiative to ensure that New Zealand is consistently one of the most successful sporting nations in the world. High Performance Sport New Zealand was established and a significant increase in high performance investment is creating employment opportunities. Occupational health and wellbeing Increasingly, organisations are committing to safeguarding and improving the health and wellbeing of their employees. This is partly a response to legislation and partly due to employers realising they need to look after their workers in order to attract and maintain the workforce they need. EMPLOYMENT FIELDS Graduates can find employment in a range of sectors: Sport: designing and monitoring physical conditioning programmes, working with teams and individuals from youth development through to elite athletes Business/industry: working in an occupational health role to ensure and improve health outcomes of staff in organisations Business/entrepreneur: running own business in a related field Health: developing training and exercise programmes for wellness, injury rehabilitation and disabilities. Providing clinical exercise testing and prescription, and nutrition advice Fitness: helping individuals and groups to improve fitness and overall health, either in gyms or private studios. Can involve delivering wellness programmes for corporates Education: teaching sport and exercise science in schools and sports academies Defence/protection: working as a physical conditioner for the police or military CAREER ROLE EXAMPLES Exercise and wellness specialist/consultant Develop initiatives and exercise programmes to increase physical activity levels. Develop and implement health and wellness campaigns, such as smoking cessation, health checks, diabetes screening. Meet regularly with participants to discuss progress and goals. Research and write marketing material for health programmes and initiatives. Strength and conditioning specialist for a national/regional sports team Develop athlete performance plans and individualised physical conditioning programmes to assist players to achieve personal and team goals and prepare for competitive events. Provide on and off field support for players through nutrition and recovery strategies. Monitor progress and provides direction to players. Collaborate with coaches and physiotherapists. Clinical exercise physiologist Provides individualised and specialised exercise and lifestyle education for clients, including people with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, or chronic pain or injury. Provides specialised exercise testing, exercise programming and client education in conjunction with other medical and allied health professionals. Personal trainer Discusses lifestyle and fitness goals with clients. Takes clients for personal training sessions. Assesses fitness and body types and designs appropriate fitness programmes. Explains and demonstrates exercises, weight training or class routines. Gives advice on nutrition and injury prevention and recovery.

4 SALARY GUIDE Salary varies depending on the type of contract and level of expertise required. Higher salaries come with experience or through building up a business or consultancy. Exercise and wellness consultant Sport development officers Salary (per year) $40,000 - $55,000 plus depending on organisation and experience up to $76,000 depending on organisation and experience Personal trainers $35,000 - $98,000 depending on clientele, hours and experience Clinical exercise physiologist $45,000 - $60,000 plus depending on experience Sources: Statistics New Zealand, June 2013 New Zealand Income Survey; DOL, Occupational Outlook 2014; payscale.com (Feb, 2015), Salary range is indicative of the New Zealand job market at the time of publication (early 2015) and should only be used as a guideline. SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE Skills Assess and evaluate clients athletic/sporting ability Prescribe appropriate exercise programmes Provide appropriate nutrition advice Safely operate and demonstrate technologies used for the assessment and monitoring of clients Develop and lead exercises classes for groups Customer service, with ability to build strong relationships Verbal and written communication. A good listener Team player, able to work unsupervised and manage time effectively If self-employed, skills are needed in sales, development and maintenance of client base, and business administration. Knowledge Anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and basic nutrition principles Health and safety regulations and first aid PERSONAL QUALITIES Patient, friendly, outgoing, supportive and professional Enthusiastic and able to motivate clients Energetic, fit, healthy and strong, with good physical co-ordination Organised and adaptable PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION Most fitness industry businesses will only employ fitness instructors registered with the New Zealand Register of Exercise Professionals. Registration requires completion of an appropriate qualification at a registered education provider, along with the payment of an annual fee. THE AUT ADVANTAGE AUT sport and exercise science graduates have developed experience and practical knowledge through extensive industry experience and cooperative education placements. Third year students complete placements of approximately two days a week throughout the year. AUT has strong connections with the high performance sport and fitness industries, through SPRINZ (Sports Performance Research Institute NZ), links with High Performance Sport New Zealand, national sport organisations, health providers and industry partnerships with AUT Millennium, Harbour Sport, and the YMCA. FURTHER STUDY OPTIONS Further study in sport and exercise science is available at postgraduate level, from postgraduate certificate to the Doctor of Philosophy. The School of Sport and Recreation has research strengths in exercise science, physical conditioning, coaching, injury prevention and human performance, physical activity and nutrition, and sport management. Research may be connected with the following research institutes and centres: Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand (SPRINZ), Coach Development Centre (CDC) and The Human Potential Centre (HPC).

5 Ryan Turfrey Strength and Conditioning (S&C) Specialist, High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) Bachelor of Sport and Recreation (Sport and Exercise Science), Master of Sport and Exercise As part of a wider support team to the Rowing NZ Elite programme, I work to improve the physical capacity of individual athletes and crews in order to perform on the biggest sporting stages (currently the next Olympic Games), as well as providing specialist support in the rehabilitation of athletes returning from injury. The role requires the planning, design and implementation of specific weight training programmes and the tracking and benchmarking of athletes performance over an extended period of time. I collaborate with senior colleagues, world-leading coaches and other specialist support staff. My work offers immense satisfaction, it s extremely hands-on and the technical aspect of working with athletes complements the theoretical components of sport science. Following graduation at the end of 2010, I have worked with Olympic and Elite level athletes and teams such as the Silver Ferns, Black Sticks Hockey, Athletics NZ, the NZ BMX programme and Rowing NZ. For the future, I am working towards obtaining a Senior S&C position, leading a full national scale Olympic programme. EMPLOYER COMMENT In this industry we look for graduates who have spent time gaining on-the-job skills to practicably apply theory to practice. To work with the world s best you need to have spent time implementing, reflecting and developing your skills as a practitioner. Graduates need to know the wellfounded essential principles of sports performance, and sift through emerging trends to find a competitive edge. While studying, Ryan gained experience as an intern practitioner, working with developing and high performing athletes carded by HPSNZ. He knew how to blend innovation with proven methodologies and continued to study and grow his skills on the job by stretching himself and undertaking challenging roles and duties. In comparison to his peers, Ryan effectively bridged the gap between industry and the theory, knowledge and skills gained from study. His career with HSPNZ has flourished as a result. Trent Lawton Regional Manager, Strength and Conditioning (Waikato), High Performance Sport New Zealand

6 SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCE USEFUL WEBSITES Sportspeople and jobs New Zealand Register of Exercise Professionals High Performance Sport New Zealand hpsnz.org.nz Sport New Zealand Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand Exercise Association of New Zealand FIT fitness and exercise industry job site Sport Performance Research Institute NZ For the most up-to-date information on sport and exercise science study, visit our website: You can also contact the AUT Student Centre team for help and advice: 0800 AUT UNI ( ) CITY CAMPUS 55 Wellesley Street East, Auckland Central NORTH CAMPUS 90 Akoranga Drive, Northcote, Auckland SOUTH CAMPUS 640 Great South Road, Manukau, Auckland AUT MILLENNIUM 17 Antares Place, Mairangi Bay, Auckland Connect with us now: The information contained in this career sheet was correct at time of print, May 2015.