The Missing Step Between Personal Training and Medical Exercise Mastery

Why mastering the marketing of fitness solutions is essential before entering the field of Medical Exercise.

By: Tony Avilez, BA, MES, owner - The Body House - Staten Island, NY

A Personal Evolution

After more than 30 years in the fitness industry, I can say without hesitation that becoming a Medical Exercise Specialist (MES) in 2013 was one of the best professional decisions of my life.
The transition brought greater responsibility, deeper purpose, and the chance to help clients in far more profound ways.

But before anyone considers that leap, there’s a step most professionals overlook—
and it has nothing to do with anatomy, kinesiology, or pathology.
It’s marketing.

Personal Trainer vs. Medical Exercise Specialist

The difference between a personal trainer and a medical exercise specialist goes far beyond job titles.

Personal Trainers work primarily with healthy clients who want to lose weight, build muscle, or improve performance. Their mission is to enhance fitness, strength, endurance, and overall well-being.

Medical Exercise Specialists, on the other hand, bridge the gap between healthcare and fitness. They guide clients from medical treatment to full functional recovery through exercise—working with people managing arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, joint replacements, post-surgical rehab, chronic pain, and other conditions.

Both paths serve an important purpose.
But the journey from training to medical exercise requires crossing several divides: an educational divide, an experiential divide, and—most ignored of all—a marketing divide.

The Hidden Divide: Marketing

Let me be direct:

Until you can master the marketing of fitness solutions, you’re not ready to take on medical exercise.

Medical exercise was brought to the forefront by Dr. Michael Jones in 1994. Since then, it has grown worldwide, creating a pathway for complete post-rehabilitation recovery that didn’t exist before.
Yet despite its growth, the concept is still foreign to many clients and medical professionals. That means the industry needs capable, credible ambassadors—people who can communicate clearly and build trust.

Think of personal training as your undergraduate work and medical exercise as graduate school.
Before you move up, you must first master the fundamentals of communication and marketing.

Marketing to Two Audiences

Medical Exercise Specialists must be skilled communicators in two distinct worlds:

1. The Client World – translating complex exercise concepts into hope and clarity for people managing pain or chronic conditions.
2. The Medical World – speaking with healthcare professionals in their language: precise, professional, outcome-driven.

In my own practice, I’ve found that physicians and therapists are under constant time pressure. They want solutions they can trust and partners who make their lives easier.
Building those relationships requires not only technical expertise but also marketing savvy—the ability to present yourself and your outcomes with professionalism, brevity, and confidence.

Why Most Trainers Struggle to Transition

Many personal trainers can get certified over a weekend, find work in a big-box gym, and start training clients within days.
In contrast, the Medical Exercise Specialist path demands long-term study, deeper clinical understanding, and months of applied practice.

Certification is only the beginning.
Afterward comes the true challenge—building a business.

Without the ability to attract, engage, and enroll clients, even the most qualified MES will struggle to practice their craft.
With that ability, however, you possess a professional superpower: independence, stability, and impact.

The Real Prerequisite

Before you upgrade to the level of Medical Exercise Specialist, become truly proficient as a fitness professional—both in skill and in business.
Proficiency isn’t measured in reps and sets; it’s measured in experience, and experience comes from clients.
To get clients, you must learn how to market effectively—to communicate value, create relationships, and build trust.

That’s where Client Magnet Mastery comes in.

Your Next Step

You have a unique opportunity to learn a tested, proven system for attracting and enrolling your ideal clients—the ones who value your expertise and are ready to transform their health.

Discover how to attract, engage, and enroll your dream clients at YourClientMagnet.com.

Before you can master medical exercise, you must first master the marketing of fitness solutions.
Because without clients to serve, even the most powerful certification remains potential—waiting for purpose.