Personal trainers work with clients, individually or in small groups, to help them reach fitness and wellness goals. They can go to the client's home or work at gyms. Personal trainers show their clients the correct and safe way to perform exercises, help them put together fitness routines, and instruct them on nutrition and wellness behaviors. Becoming a certified personal trainer takes work, but it is worth it to build a satisfying and flexible career.
Step 1
Find the study program that meets your needs. Many different fitness and exercise organizations offer personal training certifications, including the American College of Sports Medicine, or ACSM, the American Fitness Professionals and Associates, or AFPA, the International Sports Sciences Association, or ISSA, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine, or NASM. The programs can vary in difficulty and breadth of knowledge; choose the one that best fits with your goals.
Step 2
Study the materials you are given or that are required for the test and take all the necessary tests and quizzes involved in the program you choose. If you have gone to school for exercise science, physical education or a related field, this may not be necessary. Talk with your academic adviser to find out the necessary steps to take.
Step 3
Ask the owners or managers at your local gyms if they are hiring. If they are not, look online at employment search engines for personal training jobs in your area; you are not limited to gyms. Corporate settings may hire trainers to promote health and wellness among their employees, which can lead to multiple private clients. Hospitals also hire trainers and tend to pay more than other organizations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Step 4
Talk to trainers you may know or ask the organization through which you were certified what steps to take to become insured and what the most appropriate insurance coverage is for you. Once insured, print up business cards and fliers advertising your services and post them on community bulletin boards at local coffee shops or community centers.
Tips and Warnings
- Go to your local gym and talk with personal trainers there to see which programs they have used. Ask the managers at fitness facilities near you whether they prefer certain certifications over others. Established trainers may also have suggestions for building your personal client base and becoming affiliated with different workout facilities. Once you have experience with personal training, you may want to earn extra certifications to do personal training with specific populations, like cancer survivors or older adults.
- Do not advertise personal training services if you are not certified as a personal trainer. Supervising others in exercise routines without the proper knowledge and experience can lead to injury. Once certified, do not start training without the proper insurance coverage.
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