Phoenix – – October 06, 2026 -- The International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) has reinstated Andrew Wyant as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, as the fitness industry grapples with a widening gap between hiring demand and job-ready talent. Wyant succeeds Warren Heffelfinger and previously led ISSA from February 2018 to April 2024, a period during which annual revenue grew from roughly $10 million to nearly $80 million.
Fitness employers report thousands of unfilled trainer positions nationwide
Anytime Fitness reports a deficit of approximately 1,300 coaches across its U.S. locations, Snap Fitness is seeking 4,000 additional trainers globally, and Equinox plans to hire more than 500 new coaches over five years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 388,400 fitness trainers and instructors nationally and projects 7% employment growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 68,000 openings annually. Fitness facility membership reached 81 million Americans in 2025, up 5.2% year-over-year, according to the Health & Fitness Association.
ISSA's 2026 hiring report finds certified trainers lack client-facing skills
Gym operators surveyed in ISSA's 2026 Fitness Hiring Report said new trainers most often lack client acquisition, client retention and sales skills regardless of certification held. Filling a trainer role frequently takes two to four weeks or longer, and 94% of ISSA's gym partners said they would use a platform delivering pre-vetted, job-ready trainers.
ISSA certified a record 35,293 new personal trainers in 2025
That figure marks a 12.8% increase from the 31,298 trainers certified in 2024, making ISSA the top global certifier for the year. Every ISSA Certified Personal Trainer student can also sit the NCCA-accredited exam offered through NCCPT, an ISSA subsidiary.
Career Connect platform links 49,000 certified coaches to 23,000 hiring gyms
ISSA's job guarantee refunds eligible CPT and Yoga 200 students who complete their program and are not hired within six months. Wyant's stated priorities center on improving exam completion rates, teaching client acquisition and retention skills, strengthening the certification-to-employment pipeline, and integrating practical AI tool training into coursework.
Wyant previously led the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and was recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He will spend his first weeks meeting with ISSA teams, students, graduates and employer partners.