If you’re passionate about writing and fitness, why not pitch an article to a fitness magazine? Below are six paying magazines eager to hear from you! These magazines want material from professional and knowledgeable writers. Study these magazines to understand their voice, style and subjects before pitching. Some magazines normally prefer pitches from current athletes and coaches but some do not require this of writers. Check the guidelines for details.

Pitches over article submissions are preferred. Flesh out your article in your pitch, suggest titles and headings, and include names of sources if possible.

There are many other fitness magazines you can write fitness articles for but here are some to help you get started.

Adventure Cyclist

Here are the writer’s guidelines links for the print magazine as well as the online publication. For print, they publish features of 2000-3000 words, as well as shorter pieces for different departments and “final mile” essays. The online publication accepts inspiring articles related to adventure cycling, photo essays, and trip reports. Rates for print articles is 30 cents per word for first-time writers and 60 cents per word for regular contributors. For the online publication, they pay first-time writers a flat fee of $150 and regular contributors to the site are paid a flat fee of $250. No reprints.

Experience Life Magazine

Their targeted demographic is readers age 30-45 living active lifestyles. A majority of their readers are members of the health and fitness organization Life Time. They are a progressive health, fitness and quality-of-life magazine that is published both in print and online. Their editorial calendar is included in the guidelines. They want features of 2500-3500 words as well as Front- and Back-of-Book pieces. Pays $1/word. No reprints. Writer’s Guidelines.

Runner’s World

Welcomes new writers. “We speak to all runners: beginners, high school athletes, joggers, experienced competitors, casual runners, sprinters, trail runners, and those who run ultra distances.” The writer does not need to be a runner but should be knowledgeable of their topic. They want articles about training, human interest stories, and articles about running gear. Features are more in-depth and run from 32000-6000 words. Pays $350-$5000 for accepted articles, depending on length, research, turnaround time, etc. Writer’s Guidelines.

Self

“Our core verticals and areas of focus include: health (health conditions, mental well-being, sexual and reproductive health, and sleep); fitness (exercise tips and explainers, workouts, gear, and sports); food (nutrition, home cooking, and recipes); beauty (hair, skin, nails, sporty style, and aging); love (sex and relationships of all kinds); and life (travel, money, career, home, culture, and entertainment).” They want personal experience stories, opinion pieces, and articles about cultural criticism. They rarely accept pitches for feature articles but will consider ideas. Features are paid $800. Other rates are $450-$500. No reprints. Writer’s Guidelines.

Trail Runner

Welcomes pitches from new writers. They publish both print and online pieces. “The first step is to send us a pitch that describes why your story is a fit for Trail Runner, why you’re the writer to do it, how you’ll report it, and why the story is relevant now. If other publications have written about this topic before, tell us why your angle is unique.” Payment starts at $200 for digital pieces and .25/word for print, “with increases for experience, sourcing and thoroughness.” Writer’s Guidelines.

Triathlon Magazine Canada

They accept articles by both writers and athletes. Pay varies depending on the department. Rates range from $50-$200. Writers are encouraged to submit a short summary of their proposed article. Photos to go with your article are encouraged and rates for photos are also shared on the site. Writer’s Guidelines.

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Dawn Colclasure is a writer living in Oregon. She is a freelance writer, book reviewer, and columnist. She is the author and co-author of over five dozen books. Her poetry, articles, essays and short stories have appeared in magazines, websites and anthologies. She publishes the SPARREW Newsletter online each month. Her websites are  https://dawnsbooks.com/ and https://www.dmcwriter.com/. She’s on Bluesky @dmcwriter.bsky.social, TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@dawncolclasurewilson  and Instagram @dawn10325.