a Career in Personal Training.

DiGiTaL · 09-03-2009, 05:16 PM

How does one enrol into Personal Training? Do you need a certification or a degree or anything? I don't want to be like the trainers in my gym who sound like they learned everything they know from a highschool football coach, I actually want to learn about all this. I have a passion for bodybuilding and fitness and if I start studying this, I would even motivate myself more to target my goals!. Anywho, I'm not doing all this for personal desires, I'd like to go out and help out with my knowledge.

However, I have no idea on how to proceed with this plan and becoming a trainer. I've found a program in my college that is for a year and half and these are the courses the provide:
NAIT | Full-time Day Courses
If anyone else has any other suggestions or know a better place I can study here in Canada/Alberta.

Thanks guys

Double D · 09-03-2009, 06:28 PM

Are you wanting to go to school for it? Or are you looking for the best certification out there? Really just being around good people make you better than anything.

DiGiTaL · 09-03-2009, 06:39 PM

I dont know, whats the best to go at it?

Yea, most of what I've learned is from these forums. Some of my friends already consider me a trainer lol.

Double D · 09-03-2009, 07:23 PM

Most health clubs accept NASM, ACE, ISSA, etc....

Training studios are normally more strict. They normally want degrees. Maybe get your foot in the door with a cert and a health club and go and get your degree while training in a health club. Just an idea.

**Prince** · 09-03-2009, 09:17 PM

find a club near you where you would like to work, go talk to them and find out what certification they require, then get it and start working as a trainer there, see if you like it enough to do it for the rest of your life, if you end up liking it that much then look at furthering your education, ideally a BS in Exercise Science or something like that, or just acquire additional certifications and keep working as a trainer.

the reason I say this is because I was just like you when I first started college, I got a job as a trainer at Bally's and found out after a few months I was very bored and did not like being PT, so I quit and focused on college.

VILBAUGH · 09-03-2009, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiGiTaL

I dont know, whats the best to go at it?

Yea, most of what I've learned is from these forums. Some of my friends already consider me a trainer lol.

why not start your own gym? One with lots of space, raw essential equiptment, and you'd be the man!

Personal10 · 09-04-2009, 05:28 AM

Hi. I'm live in Brazil and here is necessary a degree in phisical education and have various courses about Personal Training and is crime to be a personal without this course.
ps. my english is not very good...

**CowPimp** · 09-04-2009, 11:25 AM

Depending on the gym, you may not need anything to be a personal trainer except big arms and low body fat. It is a highly unregulated industry, which is why there are so many ignorant personal trainers out there. However, any degree or certification you get certainly improves marketability of your services.

Most places, if they do require some kind of credentials, merely require a certification. Furthermore, the accepted certifications at gyms vary wildly. I can, however, recommend a few that are accepted virtually everywhere:

ACE
ACSM
NASM
NSCA
NSPA

Most everyone recognizes those as respectable organizations. I would say that ACSM, NASM, and NSCA are all certifications that I would recommend to people based on the study materials I have seen and people I have talked to. I don't want to say anything about the others as I am unfamiliar with their content. If you have a college degree, ACSM and NSCA both offer more "advanced" certifications that command greater respect and possibly more money too. The other organizations may offer similar certifications, but I am unaware if that is the case. It is certainly worth looking into.

There are certainly several college curricula that are suited to a job in personal training. I am a senior at the University of Maryland studying Kinesiology. Exercise science or exercise physiology are other common names for essentially the same degree.

I hope you become a trainer. We need more people like you out there. If more people actually cared, as opposed to those who found a decent paying job with an easy in, it would be a more highly respected profession!

Double D · 09-04-2009, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowPimp

I hope you become a trainer. We need more people like you out there. If more people actually cared, as opposed to those who found a decent paying job with an easy in, it would be a more highly respected profession!

I am a training director with Club Fitness (based out of the St.Louis area) and I will atest to what has been said by CP! I just recently let a trainer go who had been here for 2 years. I took a gym over and immediatly let him go. All he cared about was a quick paycheck then out the door. People like that make me sick and have no right to even call themselves personal trainers! This is the kind of things that good pt's recognize anywhere you go. I have seen trainers slouching with their hands in their pockets not caring what happens during the workout, just trying to punch that session served in to get paid for it. I could go on a very long rant and talk about how shitty some pt's are, but most people know it from going into a gym on a day to day basis.

DiGiTaL · 09-04-2009, 01:38 PM

I'm surprised Patrick hasn't written anything in this thread yet, probably because I forgot to update my journal and visit his OSP website for a long time lol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Depending on the gym, you may not need anything to be a personal trainer except big arms and low body fat. It is a highly unregulated industry, which is why there are so many ignorant personal trainers out there. However, any degree or certification you get certainly improves marketability of your services.

Most places, if they do require some kind of credentials, merely require a certification. Furthermore, the accepted certifications at gyms vary wildly. I can, however, recommend a few that are accepted virtually everywhere:

ACE
ACSM
NASM
NSCA
NSPA

Most everyone recognizes those as respectable organizations. I would say that ACSM, NASM, and NSCA are all certifications that I would recommend to people based on the study materials I have seen and people I have talked to. I don't want to say anything about the others as I am unfamiliar with their content. If you have a college degree, ACSM and NSCA both offer more "advanced" certifications that command greater respect and possibly more money too. The other organizations may offer similar certifications, but I am unaware if that is the case. It is certainly worth looking into.

There are certainly several college curricula that are suited to a job in personal training. I am a senior at the University of Maryland studying Kinesiology. Exercise science or exercise physiology are other common names for essentially the same degree.

I hope you become a trainer. We need more people like you out there. If more people actually cared, as opposed to those who found a decent paying job with an easy in, it would be a more highly respected profession!

The ACSM, NASM, and NSCA these are certifications I assume and are these each a one class subject or like a college program for each of these. I mean, about how long would it take me to get these certifications. I love fitness, nutrition and bodybuilding but I'm going to be honest Im not sure if I can pull it off as a living as I am targeting on getting my degree in sciences.

Quote:

I am a training director with Club Fitness (based out of the St.Louis area) and I will atest to what has been said by CP! I just recently let a trainer go who had been here for 2 years. I took a gym over and immediatly let him go. All he cared about was a quick paycheck then out the door. People like that make me sick and have no right to even call themselves personal trainers! This is the kind of things that good pt's recognize anywhere you go. I have seen trainers slouching with their hands in their pockets not caring what happens during the workout, just trying to punch that session served in to get paid for it. I could go on a very long rant and talk about how shitty some pt's are, but most people know it from going into a gym on a day to day basis.

I know what you mean man, we got some good trainers in our gym but we also got some really shitty trainers. I was talking with this guy who trains with one of the PTs here and this guy told me "My trainer says what I eat doesn't matter, as long as I eat enough for the day and follow this routine" I looked at his routine and just for Chests,Shoulders,Biceps he had 12 exercises which each had 4-5 sets of 10-12 reps. I told him he's over training and that he needs to set a diet plan...but you know..why should he listen to me Im not an official trainer.

**P-funk** · 09-05-2009, 06:18 PM

Read tons of books....then read some more....then read some articles....then read some more....then start reading research...then read some more.

In between all that reading, find people to work with and hone your chops at instructing exercises and coaching lifts. I don't give a shit what certification you have.

patrick

**Merkaba** · 09-10-2009, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VILBAUGH

why not start your own gym? One with lots of space, raw essential equiptment, and you'd be the man!

Because gyms generally suck as far as cash flows go.

**CowPimp** · 09-11-2009, 11:20 AM

All I did was buy the NSCA textbook, go through it a little myself, and take the test. You don't have to use their study guides or classes or whatever unless you want to. I already knew a lot of the information from my own research prior to studying specifically for their test.

DiGiTaL · 09-11-2009, 01:28 PM

Yea, I've started doing as Patrick said, reading books.
Im reading Tom Venuto's BurnFatFeedMuscle book right now, taking as much information as possible. Also started reading about workouts and routines from Arnold's modern Encyclopedia.

And ofcourse, been reading a lot of articles on t-nation and here.

I'm going to get the NSCA book when I get some cash, unless I can find it somewhere lol.

I asked my gym about what kind of certification they require for a job position and they said it doesn't matter as long as you have one and know what your doing.

pumpfootwear · 10-05-2009, 02:22 AM

ya having sound knowledge is what every one needs who want to built a carrer in this filed or any filed.. so online books are the best way to gain knowledge and yes as far as i know we need some certification for this job........

09-03-2009, 05:16 PM	#1
DiGiTaL .::.:: Legend ::.::. Elite Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ca Posts: 1,466 Photos: 2	a Career in Personal Training. How does one enrol into Personal Training? Do you need a certification or a degree or anything? I don't want to be like the trainers in my gym who sound like they learned everything they know from a highschool football coach, I actually want to learn about all this. I have a passion for bodybuilding and fitness and if I start studying this, I would even motivate myself more to target my goals!. Anywho, I'm not doing all this for personal desires, I'd like to go out and help out with my knowledge. However, I have no idea on how to proceed with this plan and becoming a trainer. I've found a program in my college that is for a year and half and these are the courses the provide: NAIT \| Full-time Day Courses If anyone else has any other suggestions or know a better place I can study here in Canada/Alberta. Thanks guys Stats: Weight: 183lbs \| BF: 13% My Cutting Journal come motivate me.

09-03-2009, 06:39 PM	#3
DiGiTaL .::.:: Legend ::.::. Elite Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ca Posts: 1,466 Photos: 2	I dont know, whats the best to go at it? Yea, most of what I've learned is from these forums. Some of my friends already consider me a trainer lol. Stats: Weight: 183lbs \| BF: 13% My Cutting Journal come motivate me.

09-03-2009, 09:17 PM	#5
Prince IronMagLabs Owner Administrator Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Colorado Posts: 37,413 Photos: 356	find a club near you where you would like to work, go talk to them and find out what certification they require, then get it and start working as a trainer there, see if you like it enough to do it for the rest of your life, if you end up liking it that much then look at furthering your education, ideally a BS in Exercise Science or something like that, or just acquire additional certifications and keep working as a trainer. the reason I say this is because I was just like you when I first started college, I got a job as a trainer at Bally's and found out after a few months I was very bored and did not like being PT, so I quit and focused on college. BOARD SPONSORS: MassNutrition.com - Discount Supplement Superstore IronMagLabs.com - Bodybuilding Nutrition AlltheWhey.com - Bulk Protein Powders & Supplements CEMProducts.com - Research Chemicals & Supplements MusclesProd.com - Steroids, Bodybuilding & Training Blog Maximizer.com - Maximum Strength for Maximum Performance MikeGetsRipped.com - The Original 'Get Ripped' Blog ProteinRoutine.com - Experiments in Healthy Living Follow on Twitter Join Facebook Group Befriend on Myspace

09-04-2009, 11:25 AM	#8
CowPimp Fueled by Testosterone Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 15,615	Depending on the gym, you may not need anything to be a personal trainer except big arms and low body fat. It is a highly unregulated industry, which is why there are so many ignorant personal trainers out there. However, any degree or certification you get certainly improves marketability of your services. Most places, if they do require some kind of credentials, merely require a certification. Furthermore, the accepted certifications at gyms vary wildly. I can, however, recommend a few that are accepted virtually everywhere: ACE ACSM NASM NSCA NSPA Most everyone recognizes those as respectable organizations. I would say that ACSM, NASM, and NSCA are all certifications that I would recommend to people based on the study materials I have seen and people I have talked to. I don't want to say anything about the others as I am unfamiliar with their content. If you have a college degree, ACSM and NSCA both offer more "advanced" certifications that command greater respect and possibly more money too. The other organizations may offer similar certifications, but I am unaware if that is the case. It is certainly worth looking into. There are certainly several college curricula that are suited to a job in personal training. I am a senior at the University of Maryland studying Kinesiology. Exercise science or exercise physiology are other common names for essentially the same degree. I hope you become a trainer. We need more people like you out there. If more people actually cared, as opposed to those who found a decent paying job with an easy in, it would be a more highly respected profession! The only time it's bad to feel the burn is when you're peeing... Belligerent Bovine badass YouTube Videos

09-05-2009, 06:18 PM	#11
P-funk Patrick Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AZ Posts: 31,701	Read tons of books....then read some more....then read some articles....then read some more....then start reading research...then read some more. In between all that reading, find people to work with and hone your chops at instructing exercises and coaching lifts. I don't give a shit what certification you have. patrick E-Book: Take Charge! Everything You Need To Know To Write Your Own Training Programs Online Consulting/Program Design Reality Based Fitness Podcast Check me out on Twitter! Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter! "In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts there are few." -Buddha's Little Instruction Book

09-03-2009, 06:28 PM	#2
Double D Senior Member Elite Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 10,459 Photos: 1	Are you wanting to go to school for it? Or are you looking for the best certification out there? Really just being around good people make you better than anything.

09-03-2009, 07:23 PM	#4
Double D Senior Member Elite Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 10,459 Photos: 1	Most health clubs accept NASM, ACE, ISSA, etc.... Training studios are normally more strict. They normally want degrees. Maybe get your foot in the door with a cert and a health club and go and get your degree while training in a health club. Just an idea.

09-04-2009, 05:28 AM	#7
Personal10 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Brazil Posts: 4	Hi. I'm live in Brazil and here is necessary a degree in phisical education and have various courses about Personal Training and is crime to be a personal without this course. ps. my english is not very good...

09-11-2009, 11:20 AM	#13
CowPimp Fueled by Testosterone Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 15,615	All I did was buy the NSCA textbook, go through it a little myself, and take the test. You don't have to use their study guides or classes or whatever unless you want to. I already knew a lot of the information from my own research prior to studying specifically for their test. The only time it's bad to feel the burn is when you're peeing... Belligerent Bovine badass YouTube Videos

09-11-2009, 01:28 PM	#14
DiGiTaL .::.:: Legend ::.::. Elite Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ca Posts: 1,466 Photos: 2	Yea, I've started doing as Patrick said, reading books. Im reading Tom Venuto's BurnFatFeedMuscle book right now, taking as much information as possible. Also started reading about workouts and routines from Arnold's modern Encyclopedia. And ofcourse, been reading a lot of articles on t-nation and here. I'm going to get the NSCA book when I get some cash, unless I can find it somewhere lol. I asked my gym about what kind of certification they require for a job position and they said it doesn't matter as long as you have one and know what your doing. Stats: Weight: 183lbs \| BF: 13% My Cutting Journal come motivate me.

10-05-2009, 02:22 AM	#15
pumpfootwear Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: india Posts: 15	ya having sound knowledge is what every one needs who want to built a carrer in this filed or any filed.. so online books are the best way to gain knowledge and yes as far as i know we need some certification for this job........

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