Question for fitness trainers - I want to be one too!

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Improvised
Improvised Posts: 925 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi!
What program did you go through to get your certification? I love working out, eating healthy (mostly), and would love to motivate and inspire other people to get fit. Being a fitness trainer totally sounds like the thing for me, but I don't know what company I should go through?
The two that sound the most interesting to me are afpa fitness and ace, but I'd probably be interested in other programs.

Thank you!

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  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
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    I'm not a fitness trainer, but have a friend that just got her group fitness certification. She first inquired at the places she wanted to get work to see which traning programs they required. You might want to start by doing this as well.
  • FaithandFitness
    FaithandFitness Posts: 653 Member
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    Becoming personal trainer certified is a long term goal of mine as well. My trainer recommended ACE certification. She said it is widely accepted and can be done online. I just have to scrape up the money and scrape off some more body fat first!
  • Grabercj
    Grabercj Posts: 9
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    I went through ISSA. However its not accepted everywhere. You should check with your local gyms and see what training certs they accept, as "Golds gym" is different than an "Any time fitness" gym. They may even pay for it, if you work for them.
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
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    Cool. Thanks for the advice. Any other comments would be appreciated.
  • lisakchurch
    lisakchurch Posts: 5
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    I have been a personal trainer for 5 years and a group fitness instructor for 7. The most prestigious PT cert is through ACSM but it is a really tough test! The second is ACE which also requires a lot of study (months) There are others that aren't as tedious, NASM is one...plus there are many weekend courses that give a certificate but not a National Certification. The one thing that no one told me about being a personal trainer is that it is a SALES job. When you work for a club you have a quota and so sometimes it is like being a car salesman. I left the industry because of that (even though I was a top seller) because I never wanted to feel like I was are trying to "sell" to my clients that put so much trust in me. Many gyms have PT courses available that they hire their trainers from. It would be a good idea to check one of the smaller courses out at a weekend event or a gym course like I mentioned to be a prepper for one of the National Certs. Good Luck! Lisa
  • lisakchurch
    lisakchurch Posts: 5
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    BTW...I now own my own studio...so didn't really "leave" the industry!
  • bmontgomery87
    bmontgomery87 Posts: 1,260 Member
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    It would help if you have an idea of what gym you'd like to work at.
    Or if you're working on your own.

    If you want to work for a gym, contact some local ones and see which certifications they require. Different people prefer different certifications.
  • TaneeisFitforLife
    TaneeisFitforLife Posts: 433
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    I would really ask the place you are interested working with to see which certification they accept. I have a PT cert with NCSF and a group X with AFAA (I have others for more specific training classes too)

    Good luck! :D
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
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    So, you don't HAVE to work at a gym, you could just get your own studio, then? Not sure how this works.
  • lipglossjunky73
    lipglossjunky73 Posts: 497 Member
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    I am AFAA certified www.afaa.com and I highly recommend it for certifications. It is reputable, they focus immensely on safety, proper form, etc. it is a hard certification as you have to pass a written and a practical, but I think that it's good it's so difficult!!!
  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
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    ACSM...then ACE..
  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
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    ACSM...then ACE..

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