A medical fitness professional designs and implements exercise programs for special populations and individuals with chronic disease. Few credible certifications are available to graduates with accredited online degrees or graduate programs that fulfill the learning outcomes necessary for medical fitness. This quantitative, descriptive study evaluated and compared the perception of the practical application of advanced fitness certifications to graduate-level online education in certified fitness professionals with an online graduate degree. The study also evaluated perceived need for graduate- or doctorate-level education in medical fitness. 86 fitness professionals completed the Fitness Professionals Perception of Education and Certification (FitPECs) survey. Practical experience was perceived to be important for professional practice (88.4%) and practical knowledge (70.9%), while as a fitness professional, education was perceived to be important (54.7%), and had helped most with careers (46.5%). Education and certification were both perceived as very valuable when working with special populations (72.1%, 52.3%, respectively), and the greatest anticipated need was for fitness professionals to work with special populations (62.8%). To establish credibility, certifying organizations should consider implementing educational requirements and accept accredited online degrees, and colleges and universities should fill the gap in training by developing graduate level education in medical fitness.