How to Become a Personal Trainer

There are many websites and organizations that offer certifications to become a personal trainer. Some are reputable, but many are just scams to help you part with your money. How do you decide which organization to choose? Should you take the effort to specialize? Do you need a degree or a certification? These are just a few of the questions you may have as you explore how to become a personal trainer. This article will help clarifying some of the misleading information and hopefully answer all your other questions as well.

Do I need a degree or a certification?
You can pay thousands of dollars to an online college to get a "bachelors degree" just to find out that you have to take the same certification class as everyone else. So unless you are going to a local college for a degree in Kinesiology or Physical Education save your time and money and just get a certification from a reputable organization.

It is important to realize that there are no national standards for personal training certifications. However, that does not give you an open door to just choose the cheapest organization you can find to get certified. You will be working with all types and ages of people and some where along the way someone is bound to be injured. If you are not properly certified you have left yourself open to a world of hurt. Plus many insurance companies won't even provide you with insurance unless you are properly certified.

Which organization should I choose?
There are approximately ten reputable organizations that cab help you become a personal trainer, Each organization has its pro and cons and only a few claim any type of accreditations. Any reputable organization will require you to be CPR certified before allowing you to take the personal training certification test. Below I have listed the top recognized organizations and some pros and cons for each.

ACE - American Council on Exercise:
Pros:
*You do not have to buy any materials to be able to purchase and take their test. However, only 60% of individuals pass on their first try.
*ACE recognizes and accepts many different organizations CEU (continuing education units) so re-certification is easy and can be free.
*Many workshops throughout the nation to help you prepare for the certification test.
*Recognized by almost every gym as a reputable certification.
Cons:
*Test re-take fee is high.

NASM - National Academy of Sports Medicine
Pros:
*Well recognized in most gyms.
Cons:
*Certification test is expensive.
*Every 2 years you have to pay an additional $99 to stay certified on top of the required CEU's.

IFPA - International Fitness Professionals Association
Pros:
*Boasts NCCA and ACET accreditations
*Widely recognized
*Low re-exam fee
Cons:
*One of the higher priced certifications
*Can only take their classes for recertification
*Must pay a $20 recertification fee on top of expensive CEU classes every two years.

Check out this link for a great chart that compare the top certifications.

Should I spend the time and money to get specialized training beyond certification?
Absolutely! Any additional certifications or classes that you take will not only help set you above other personal trainers in your area. The continuing education will help you become a personal trainer who is knowledgeable and thus able to help a maximum range of clients.

Each organization has its own specialty certifications or CEU's. However, most of the specialized training is focused on select styles of exercises or groups of people. For instance, senior citizens or obese children would require some specialized knowledge and different styles of training than the average adult.

I got my certification. Now what?
Now that you are certified you can take your newly revised resume to local gyms and apply for any open positions or you can start your own business.

Each state will have different requirements for setting up a new business. Check out Legal Zoom for the least expensive way to get your business started.

Here are a few basic steps:
1) Set up your business as either sole proprietor, LLC, etc.
2) Purchase liability insurance.
3) Create your brand. Just like Coca-cola or Apple you want your business to be recognized by its logo. Choose two colors (not including black) in your logo and use those colors on everything you can. For instance my logo uses the colors orange and teal. So every outfit I wear while training clients incorporates my logo and my signature colors.
4) Advertise - I started with craigslist. I posted free personal training ads stated that I was newly certified and needed the experience. The response was overwhelming and I was able to convert many of the free clients into contracted clients.