Personal trainers are fitness professionals charged with providing people with the motivation, training and knowledge to help them achieve their fitness goals. A properly educated personal trainer can help individuals lose weight, build muscle or just become healthier. A personal trainer who has undergone formal training and certification can most effectively and safely help clients. Several paths can lead to a career in personal training.
Get Experience
Experience cannot replace a degree or certificate, but it gives you real-world knowledge that can only come from actually doing something. If you are not already employed in the fitness industry, get a job at a gym as a consultant, in sales or even at the front desk. This can put you in touch with industry professionals and give you a feel for how it will be once you have completed your certification.
Get a Degree
A college degree is one route toward personal trainer certification. Many colleges offer degrees in kinesiology, health and fitness, human kinetics and other degrees that relate to personal training. Not every school offers the programs needed to become certified, and every college has different requirements. Make an appointment with your academic adviser and discuss your options for becoming certified as a personal trainer.
Seek Certification
Formal certification is not mandatory but often required by employers. Organizations such as the American Council on Exercise and the American College of Sports Medicine offer certification after completion of required training and passage of an exam. Only those who have received certification are entitled to use Certified Personal Trainer, or CPT, after their name on business cards, resumes and correspondence.
Consider Specializations
While a certificate is needed to become a certified personal trainer, your educational path doesn't necessarily stop there. Select a specialty to set yourself apart from others in your field. Specializing can be an especially good idea for those who want to make more money or serve members of a specific population. Continuing education courses are offered for people who want to specialize in training for a specific sport, training the elderly, training after injury and teaching aquatic exercise. ACE Fitness and the National Council on Strength and Fitness, for example, offer specialization and continuing education courses for personal trainers. Pursue multiple specializations to make yourself marketable and to keep your job interesting.
Member Comments