20 fitness influencers worth knowing

Measured August 31, 2026 — every follower count, engagement rate and last-posted date below was read from the accounts themselves on that day, not estimated.

Fitness is a tag covering work with little day-to-day overlap. On this page a competitive physique athlete taking contest-prep clients sits beside an ultrarunner who holds a world record, a TV host who races Ironman and marathons, a strength coach with a master's in exercise science, a PhD working on women's metabolism and performance, and a coach whose bio states plainly that the content is not all about fitness. 199 accounts carry this vertical in our index, with a median of 56k followers, inside a corpus of 153,443 Instagram profiles. The 20 shown below sit well above that median and the top of the page runs into the millions, so a brief pitched at the largest account will not read the same to the rest.

Candidates came from our production creator index, filtered automatically on business, agency and repost patterns, on Instagram category and on bio language, then classified and put through a second pass whose job was to argue for exclusion. Whatever survived was measured live from its own profile and its own recent posts. A person reviews and merges the page before it publishes and does not choose the members. 31% of the indexed set carries a verification badge. Among the listed creators whose like counts are visible, median engagement rate is 0.75%; 18 of the 20 had posted within the last week at measurement, and median reels share across the listed creators is 58%.

How this vertical is distributed

Measured across the 199 fitness influencers above 10,000 followers in our creator index of 153,443 profiles, on August 31, 2026.

Median followers: 56K
Verified: 31%
Median posts: 947
Above 1M: 10

Median engagement (18 of 20): 0.75%
Posts that are reels: 58%
Posted in the last week: 18 of 20

10K–100K · 128100K–1M · 611M+ · 10

Where to look first

Highest engagement

@carly.jb

8.1%

Measured over their own recent posts, against their follower count on the same day.

Most conversation

@kaisafit

6 comments per 100 likes

133 median comments. The account where a question in the caption is most likely to be answered.

Most engagement per post

@leanbeefpatty

74,050 median likes

Absolute volume rather than rate — the number to plan a reach target against.

The list

Ordered by audience size. Follower counts as recorded on August 31, 2026.

1
𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐅 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐘
VerifiedAthlete
@leanbeefpatty
CODE:BEEF @gorillamind @gymshark @macrofactorapp @versagripps my hand painted designs: @leanbeeftees 🐮 💪workout programs now available 👇
5.4M
followers
Engagement
1.4%
Median likes
74,050
Comments
408
Reels
58%
Posts
926
Last posted
4 days ago
How to brief them
Commission demonstration-led workout reels — reels are 58% of recent posts, and she last posted 4 days ago, so a placement can be slotted into an active cadence. Her bio already carries @gorillamind, @gymshark, @macrofactorapp and @versagripps alongside her own @leanbeeftees line and workout programs, so brief around a crowded existing partner slate and expect to share the frame with her own products. The 74,050 median likes is the figure to plan against rather than the 5,365,729 follower count; at that size 1.4% engagement supports a single well-placed integration rather than a multi-post series.
2
Hicham Masrar
VerifiedPublic figure
@hichammasrar1
📺 TV Host 🇲🇦 🥇 Fitness Addict | Ironman 70.3 🏅 marathon runner 🏃‍♂️ 📩 For collab : ☞︎
4.1M
followers
Engagement
0.1%
Median likes
4,556
Comments
55
Reels
33%
Posts
577
Last posted
3 days ago
How to brief them
Commission endurance-training and race-day content — he presents on TV and runs marathons and Ironman, so on-camera spoken segments and static race posts both sit inside what he already publishes. Only 33% of recent posts are reels, so brief for a stills or carousel placement alongside any video rather than assuming a reel-first grid. Against 4,103,213 followers the median is 4,556 likes and engagement is 0.1%: plan against the likes figure, not follower reach, and treat the deliverable as a credibility placement rather than a volume buy. He lists a collab email in the bio, so approach direct.
3
MADISON DE JESUS-WALKER
@mdj_fitness
🎥YT: MDJ FITNESS @gymshark ATHLETE || “MDJ10” @ryse ATHLETE || “MDJ” WIEIAD AS A FIT GIRL WHO DOESN’T CUT OR BULK™
1.7M
followers
Engagement
1.4%
Median likes
23,515
Comments
278
Reels
67%
Posts
1,719
Last posted
2 days ago
How to brief them
Commission WIEIAD-format day-of-eating reels, which is the frame she names herself and which fits a grid that is 67% reels with a post 2 days ago. Food, drink and in-frame kitchen products slot into that structure directly; she is already a @gymshark athlete and a @ryse athlete, so apparel and supplements are committed categories to route around. Plan against 23,515 median likes rather than the 1,716,951 follower count — that is the reach a single WIEIAD placement actually earns at a 1.4% engagement rate.
4
Kaisa Keranen
VerifiedCoach
@kaisafit
M.S. Exercise Science⁣ Founder of @justmove 💪
1.1M
followers
Engagement
0.2%
Median likes
2,195
Comments
133
Reels
50%
Posts
2,869
Last posted
1 weeks ago
How to brief them
Commission technique-led exercise demonstration from a coach who lists an M.S. in Exercise Science — instructional reels with the product used in the movement, and matched static frames for the other half of the grid, since reels are only 50% of recent posts. Placement works best inside the coaching content itself rather than as a separate spoken endorsement. Engagement is 0.2% against 1,060,055 followers, so plan against the 2,195 median likes and 133 median comments, not the follower count; last posted 10 days ago, so build lead time into the delivery window rather than assuming a daily slot.
5
Strength Training by Shaina Fata
Verified
@shainamarie.b
💪🏾 Functional Strength Coach | Mom 🌱 Helping women build strength, confidence & consistency 🏋🏾‍♀️ DM “COMMIT” for my programs ⬇️ My App (7 days FREE)
848K
followers
Engagement
0.8%
Median likes
6,222
Comments
187
Reels
42%
Posts
2,126
Last posted
2 days ago
How to brief them
Commission functional strength coaching content — demonstration sets and training-day segments — from a working coach who posts as a mom and frames her work around women building strength, confidence and consistency. She runs her own programs and app, so there is an existing commercial calendar to place around; equipment, apparel and training-support products fit the frame she already films in. Only 42% of recent posts are reels, so brief a static or carousel slot alongside the video rather than assuming a video-only grid. Plan against the 6,222 median likes rather than the 847,500 followers; at that size 0.8% engagement is the normal shape, and she last posted 2 days ago, so cadence supports a multi-post flight.
6
Michellepxt 🇩🇴| Online Coach
VerifiedFitness Trainer
@michellepxtt
Getting strong & healthy together🤍 @gymshark | MICHELLE10 👇JOIN MY GYM CHALLENGES/COMMUNITY👇
742K
followers
Engagement
1.9%
Median likes
14,239
Comments
92
Reels
75%
Posts
227
Last posted
yesterday
How to brief them
Commission training reels — 75% of recent posts are reels, and she last posted 1 day ago, so a multi-part sequence fits her cadence rather than a single drop. The bio's "JOIN MY GYM CHALLENGES/COMMUNITY" framing means the strongest placement is a product used across a structured challenge her followers are already following, not a one-off mention. At 741,768 followers the 1.9% engagement rate is the number to plan against: it supports briefing for participation and comment-thread activity, not reach alone, though the 92 median comments means the response volume is modest — set completion or sign-up expectations against the 14,239 median likes instead.
7
Silvia Merenciano Perez| ONLINE COACH 🤎
Verified
@silviamerencianoperez
📍Liverpool 🇬🇧 Lost 20kg & help you do the same 🤍 @aybl @teveo athlete ‘SILVIA’ managed by @fitfck_mgmt
585K
followers
Engagement
0.4%
Median likes
2,214
Comments
27
Reels
75%
Posts
1,133
Last posted
today
8
Emmalee Prindle
VerifiedCreator
@therealemmy.p
fitness | lifestyle | travel @therealfitemmy collabs: 💌
557K
followers
Engagement
—
Median likes
hidden
Comments
155
Reels
67%
Posts
304
Last posted
3 days ago
How to brief them
Commission reels for the grid — 67% of recent posts are reels, and the fitness/lifestyle/travel mix in the bio supports either a training-format spot or a product carried through a trip. Posting is current, last posted 3 days ago, so a dated campaign window is workable. Likes are hidden by the account, so plan measurement against the 155 median comments rather than a like count or engagement rate; ask for comment-driving prompts in the caption and treat that as the reporting metric. A second handle, @therealfitemmy, is listed in the bio, so confirm which account the deliverable runs on before contracting.
9
John | Online Fitness Coach
VerifiedCoach
@beingjustjohn
Fitness coach whose content isn’t all about fitness
474K
followers
Engagement
0.1%
Median likes
528
Comments
39
Reels
67%
Posts
627
Last posted
today
How to brief them
Commission reels — 67% of recent posts are reels — for a fitness coach whose stated remit runs wider than training, so the placement can sit in lifestyle or off-topic content as easily as in a workout demo. Posting cadence supports a multi-post series rather than a single drop: 627 lifetime posts and last posted 0 days ago. The number that changes the plan is the 528 median likes against 474,265 followers, a 0.1% engagement rate: brief this for volume of placements and repeat exposure, not for a single flagship post carrying a launch.
10
killjoy
Fitness Model
@carly.jb
AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! @gymshark @younglaforher KILLJOY
439K
followers
Engagement
8.1%
Median likes
35,444
Comments
203
Reels
8%
Posts
193
Last posted
5 days ago
How to brief them
Commission still photo posts and carousels — only 8% of recent posts are reels, so the grid is a photo feed and a video-first brief works against the pattern. Fitness Model category with no stated practice in the bio, so treat it as wardrobe and in-frame product placement in stills rather than a spoken or written claim. The number that sets the plan is 8.1% engagement on 439,322 followers, unusually high for that size and carried by a 35,444 median likes on 12 sampled posts; buy the single static placement rather than a multi-part video series. Last posted 5 days ago, so a normal posting cadence supports a scheduled drop date.
11
Karim Hawash
Verified
@karim.hawash
🏋️‍♂️ Coach X @equinox 🎖 Olympian athlete 🌐 IFBB Pro MP 🥇 Mr.Olympia 2020 Amateur MP 🤼‍♂️ Wrestling World Champion 🧬 @gatsupplements Code ‘Karim’
Posts about coaching, bodybuilding achievements, and supplement partnership.
421K
followers
Engagement
—
Median likes
hidden
Comments
70
Reels
58%
Posts
931
Last posted
yesterday
12
Josh Taubes - Fitness Coach -
VerifiedAthlete
@diesel.josh
Instructive/Motivating Workouts NYC Training/Worldwide Coaching Natural Bodybuilder 5’10
419K
followers
Engagement
0.7%
Median likes
2,901
Comments
36
Reels
8%
Posts
1,623
Last posted
yesterday
How to brief them
Commission instructive workout demonstrations for the static feed — form breakdowns and coaching cues in-frame, with the product used in the set rather than talked about. His bio frames the work as NYC training plus worldwide coaching, so an equipment or apparel placement inside a training demo fits the content he already makes, and posting 1 day ago against 1,623 lifetime posts shows a steady cadence to slot into. The number that changes the plan is 8% reels: this is a feed-post account, so brief photo or carousel deliverables and treat any reel as a stretch ask, not the default. Plan against 2,901 median likes and 36 median comments from the 12 posts sampled, not the 419,262 follower count.
13
Michelle MacDonald, CSCS | Transformation + Prep Coach
VerifiedCoach
@michellemacdonaldofficial
Strength Coach. Athlete. Founder Coaching women to build muscle and get fit since 2012 🎙️Stronger By Design™️ Get the Book ⬇️
306K
followers
Engagement
0.5%
Median likes
1,529
Comments
98
Reels
58%
Posts
3,053
Last posted
yesterday
14
Damien Patrick
Entrepreneur
@damienpatrick
IFBB Pro 🏆 3x ⭕️lympian I Build Unreal Physiques Fat Loss • Muscle Growth • Hormone Optimization 1:1 Online Coaching 👇Free guides & Coaching
291K
followers
Engagement
0.8%
Median likes
2,284
Comments
67
Reels
83%
Posts
963
Last posted
today
How to brief them
Commission reels — 83% of recent posts are reels — built around training and physique work in the areas he names: fat loss, muscle growth, hormone optimization. He runs 1:1 online coaching and free guides, so the placement that fits is an in-video product mention inside instructional content, worked around an existing coaching offer. Plan against the 2,284 median likes rather than the 291,161 followers; at that scale 0.8% engagement is the realistic ceiling, so treat this as a credentialed-demonstration buy, not a reach buy.
15
Joelle Raheb 🇱🇧 Fitness | Fashion
Verified
@joelle_raheb
for the girls who want to grow & glow✨ @onesol athlete code “Joelle” LA/ MIAMI 🌴 💌Collabs: Train with me— 1:1 Coaching👇🏼
Provides personal coaching and promotes athlete partnership products.
287K
followers
Engagement
0.9%
Median likes
2,447
Comments
72
Reels
67%
Posts
551
Last posted
3 weeks ago
16
Hayden Greene | Fitness + Lifestyle
VerifiedFitness Model
@haydengreenefit
🩵 Here to spread love and positivity 💪🏼 Fitness • Fashion • Self Improvement 🏆 Mister Earth USA 🤪 Cooler on YouTube
284K
followers
Engagement
3.2%
Median likes
8,919
Comments
212
Reels
33%
Posts
1,646
Last posted
yesterday
17
Alyssa Olenick, Ph.D. | Women’s Fitness, Strength & Running
VerifiedCoach
@doclyssfitness
PhD Women's Fitness, Metabolism & Performance Helping you get strong, run far, crush cardio @thelyssmethod • Scientist • Ultra runner • Hybrid
Shares women's fitness, metabolism, and performance advice as an ultrarunner and hybrid athlete.
253K
followers
Engagement
0.4%
Median likes
1,067
Comments
47
Reels
50%
Posts
3,241
Last posted
today
18
Zeek Andrews | IFBB PRO OLYMPIAN
VerifiedAthlete
@phzeekfitness
✝️ Psalms 23 🏆 IFBB Classic Physique OLYMPIAN 🔱 Contest Prep • Lifestyle Coaching 🔥 Ready to Transform Your Phzeek? 👇🏼TAP IN
105K
followers
Engagement
0.3%
Median likes
273
Comments
14
Reels
33%
Posts
904
Last posted
yesterday
How to brief them
Competition-physique content from an IFBB Classic Physique Olympian who also runs contest prep and lifestyle coaching, so brief supplements, training gear or apparel as in-feed placements around his own training and prep posting. Only 33% of recent posts are reels, so the grid is still mostly stills and carousels — commission a static or carousel slot rather than assuming a video-first deliverable, and note he posted 1 day ago against 904 lifetime posts, meaning a high-frequency feed where a single placement scrolls past quickly. He sells his own coaching, so expect an existing commercial calendar to schedule around. Plan against 273 median likes and 0.3% engagement on 105,199 followers: this is a low-interaction feed, so buy multiple placements rather than pricing one post as a spike.
19
Camille Herron
VerifiedAthlete
@runcamille
Hi I’m Camille 😄👋! I’m an Ultrarunner, World Record holder, scientist, & coach propelled by tacos & joy 🌮💃! 🌈 Autistic/ADHD. runwithcamille.com🏃‍♀️💪
88K
followers
Engagement
0.5%
Median likes
438
Comments
18
Reels
50%
Posts
916
Last posted
2 days ago
How to brief them
Commission ultrarunning content from Camille as an in-feed mix rather than a reels-only buy: 50% of recent posts are reels, so stills and carousels carry equal weight in her grid and gear or fuel can be shown in training and race context. Her stated background as a World Record holder, scientist and coach supports a first-person account of long-distance training over a scripted read. She last posted 2 days ago against 916 lifetime posts, so an ongoing series fits her cadence better than a one-off. Plan against 438 median likes across the 12 posts sampled, not the 87,772 follower count — at 0.5% engagement, reach per post is the constraint, so buy multiple placements rather than a single hero.
20
CHELSEA SODARO
Verified
@chelseasodaro
Skye’s Mom #yesyesyes 🌈 @on @ventumracing @dtswiss @we_are_sungod @therabody @rokamultisport Fueled by @thefeed
77K
followers
Engagement
0.8%
Median likes
586
Comments
14
Reels
58%
Posts
1,995
Last posted
today

Engagement is (median likes + median comments) ÷ followers, taken over each creator's 12 most recent posts and their follower count on the same day. Instagram lets accounts hide their like counts; 2 of these 20 do, and those show a dash rather than a rate we cannot compute.

One limit worth knowing, because it decides how to read the highest numbers here. Dividing by followers assumes a post is seen by followers. On a reels-led account that is not true — the reels feed serves people who do not follow the account, so engagement can run to a large fraction of the follower count, or past it. A rate far above the others on this page is evidence of reach beyond the audience, not of a better audience, and it makes follower count a poor proxy for that account in either direction. We publish the measured figure and say so rather than capping it to something that looks tidier.

What to check before you brief a fitness creator

Match the discipline, not the tag

The bios here name a sport before they name an audience: IFBB Classic Physique and contest prep, Ironman and marathon racing, ultrarunning, natural bodybuilding, functional strength for women, hybrid training. An endurance audience and a stage-physique audience want different products and accept different proof. Work out which of those rooms your product belongs in before you shortlist, because reach inside this vertical does not carry across it.

Read the brand ties already in the bio

Athlete affiliations are declared openly in this category. Apparel and supplement names appear directly in the bios on this page, among them Gymshark, AYBL, Teveo, Ryse, Gorilla Mind and GAT, alongside endurance kit such as On, Ventum, DT Swiss, SunGod, Roka and Therabody. Check for a category clash before you write, since an account already presenting itself as an apparel athlete is not open ground for a competing apparel brief. Contact routes are stated unevenly too: certain bios give a collaborations address, and a bio here names a management company rather than a direct inbox.

The creator is often also the product

A large part of this list sells its own coaching: individual programmes, training apps, gym challenges and communities, a book, a podcast, and an apparel line of hand-painted designs. Those bios already send followers to a destination of the creator's own, so your placement is competing for the same profile link. Agree early which destination the post points to, and whether the creator's own product will appear in frame.

Cadence and format split the list

Median reels share across the listed creators is 58%, but the spread inside that is wide: part of this page leans hard on video, while other accounts here have recent grids built on still frames. Recency splits the same way, with a run of creators posting on the day of measurement and the latest post on another profile dating back weeks. Where a profile hides its like counts, engagement cannot be read from outside, so the median engagement figure above covers only the accounts where likes are visible.

Questions this page can answer with numbers

What is a good engagement rate for fitness influencers on Instagram?

The median across the 18 creators on this page with public like counts is 0.75%, measured on August 31, 2026 over each account's 12 most recent posts and their follower count that same day. The range runs from 0.1% to 8.1%, so 0.75% is the middle of a wide spread rather than a benchmark to clear.

How many fitness influencers are there, and how big are they?

Our index carries 199 fitness influencers above 10,000 followers, out of 153,443 public Instagram profiles. Of those, 128 sit between 10K and 100K followers, 61 between 100K and 1M, and 10 above 1M. The median is 55,897 followers, which is the number to plan against — the vertical is mostly mid-sized accounts, not the megas that lead every list.

Are these fitness influencers still posting?

18 of the 20 posted within seven days of August 31, 2026; each row carries its own last-posted date, and 0 carry a flag saying the follower count overstates what the account now delivers. A dormant account still displays its followers, which is why the date is published beside them.

Why do some of these fitness influencers show no engagement rate?

2 of the 20 hide their Instagram like counts. The API reports a placeholder for those accounts — a few likes against thousands of comments — and dividing that by followers produces a rate near zero that is an artifact, not a measurement. Those rows publish "hidden" instead. No figure on this page is estimated or borrowed from another creator.

How do I find fitness influencers who are not on this page?

This page is 20 accounts and the index behind it is far larger. Cheerful's creator search runs the whole index with filters on follower band, engagement, posting recency and format mix, then drafts the outreach — which is the part this list cannot do for you, since a name is only useful once someone replies. The smallest account here has 77,235 followers, so the long tail below that is where most unclaimed partnerships sit.

Other verticals, measured the same way

20 parenting influencers

Median engagement 0.6% across 123 indexed accounts.

See the list →

15 food influencers

Median engagement 0.55% across 75 indexed accounts.

See the list →

How this page was made

Candidates came from Cheerful's creator index — 153,443 public Instagram profiles, categorised automatically. Selection was automated and is disclosed as such: pattern filters removed business, agency and repost accounts, a classifier judged each remaining profile against the vertical, and a second pass whose only instruction was to argue for exclusion re-examined every survivor. Nothing reaches this page that all three agreed to keep. A person reads the result and decides whether to publish it, but does not choose who appears — that is the honest description, and the automatic categorisation it corrects for is why the filters exist at all: left alone it puts brands, clinics, restaurants and aggregator accounts alongside individual creators.

The distribution figures come from that index. Every per-creator number — followers, engagement, median likes and comments, reels share, last posted — was measured directly on August 31, 2026 by reading each account and its 12 most recent posts. Nothing is estimated, and no figure is borrowed from a creator other than the one it sits beside.

Where a number cannot be measured we leave it out rather than fill it in. 2 of these 20 accounts hide their Instagram like counts, so their engagement rate shows a dash — the API reports a near-zero figure for them and publishing that would be wrong.

These are public profiles and we have no commercial relationship with the creators listed. If you are on this page and would rather not be, contact us and we will remove you — no reason required.

Looking for fitness influencers for a campaign?

This page is 20 accounts. Cheerful's search runs the whole index of 153,443 profiles, filters on the things that actually decide a partnership — engagement, recency, format mix, follower band — and writes the outreach.

How creator search works Browse the directory

20 fitness influencers worth knowing

How this vertical is distributed

Where to look first

The list

𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐅 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐘

Hicham Masrar

MADISON DE JESUS-WALKER

Kaisa Keranen

Strength Training by Shaina Fata

Michellepxt 🇩🇴| Online Coach

Silvia Merenciano Perez| ONLINE COACH 🤎

Emmalee Prindle

John | Online Fitness Coach

killjoy

Karim Hawash

Josh Taubes - Fitness Coach -

Michelle MacDonald, CSCS | Transformation + Prep Coach

Damien Patrick

Joelle Raheb 🇱🇧 Fitness | Fashion

Hayden Greene | Fitness + Lifestyle

Alyssa Olenick, Ph.D. | Women’s Fitness, Strength & Running

Zeek Andrews | IFBB PRO OLYMPIAN

Camille Herron

CHELSEA SODARO