Personal fitness trainers help clients set and reach personal fitness goals. Sometimes that means simply motivating a client to show up at the gym three days a week on a regular basis. Other times that means writing and monitoring intense training programs to help an athlete get stronger and faster at her sport. In any case, a personal fitness training career can provide you with the satisfaction of knowing you're helping others achieve their fitness goals and lead healthier lives.
General Population Trainer
For a trainer, the general population client makes up the group of relatively healthy individuals who aren't training for a particular activity or event. Maybe they need to start a new workout program, or maybe they want to drop some weight and learn how to use the machines at the gym. When you choose to focus on a fitness training career working with the general population, you can expect that your potential client base will be large and their needs will be fairly basic. Plan on providing motivation, a fun experience and an education for your clients.
To start a career in personal training for the general population, consider receiving a four-year degree from an accredited university in exercise science, kinesiology or physical education. After you receive your degree, study and sit for a certification exam from an NCCA accredited organization like the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Council on Exercise, the National Strength and Conditioning Association or the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Scope out gyms and fitness centers, and apply for positions at centers that fit well with your personality. A well-educated, well-certified trainer shouldn't have any problem finding a position quickly.
Personal Training Special Populations
Some personal trainers want to take their knowledge and education a step further, choosing a special population to work with. In some cases this means working with athletes, in other cases it's working with children, the elderly, pregnant women, the morbidly obese or individuals recovering from a severe illness. Keep in mind that when you specialize, you also limit your potential client base, so you may want to keep training clients in the general population as you add special populations to your resume.
After receiving an appropriate certification from a nationally accredited organization, pursue continuing education within the special population area of your choice. Organizations like the American Council on Exercise offer continuing education credits in subject areas like sports training, nutrition, cardiovascular disease and pre/post natal fitness.
Some additional certifications, like the American College of Sports Medicine's Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist or the Certified Cancer Exercise Trainer require a master's degree in the field or thousands of logged hours of experience in a clinical exercise setting.
Personal Training Management
Most large fitness centers like Life Time Fitness, Gold's Gym or 24-Hour Fitness, offer opportunities for advancement to promising personal trainers. If you build a strong business, are good with people and you enjoy teaching other trainers how to pick up clients, with continued success you may receive a promotion. Personal training managers usually continue training their developed client base, but also spend time hiring and developing other trainers, setting sales goals and tracking revenues and expenses for the department.
Generally you don't need any special certifications to become a manager or team leader, but your facility may want you to participate in management training courses or business development classes. If you want to pursue training on your own dime, most personal training certifying organizations also offer continuing education on management and business principles.
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