How to become a personal trainer? plz help

yeah i deffinatly have the passion id love to be able to know it all and have some one look up to me :) and i could like mold them and see how good them become :p
 
bipennate said:
True: being an unqualified, uneducated and ineffective trainer is a fairly easy thing to do.
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oohhh burn :D

its true though, its like anything, you could go through many courses, go to college and spend years perfecting it

or, you could just go here
 
gymcoch said:
While an education is important in any field, it does not neccessarily make you a good trainer.

I know some HORRIBLE trainers who have Bachelors and even Masters degrees but are poor trainers. Why? Because they dont know how to work with people. Either they have no inter-personal skills or they think that they are "holier than thou". This attitude usually comes with a closed-mindedness that keeps them from continuing to educate themselves on the up to date information in an ever-changing field. They become stuck in their ways and dont retain clients.

On the other hand, I know some fantastic trainers who have gotten their certifications without having a college degree. Why are they so good? Because they have a true passion for fitness and for helping others. They are constantly educating themselves by reading, researching and attending seminars.

Don't get me wrong; a formal education puts the material right there in front of you, and if you take full advantage of it, there's no beating it!

But if one doesnt have the finances to persue a degree, you can still become a great trainer or even just a well-informed fitness enthusiast by taking the time to read, research and grow.

I spend more time now, reading, researching, studying, and learning about fitness and exercise, than I did during all of my years in college.
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Yes, but this is really more about the individual rather than the path that they chose. We are talking about the variables that can be controlled for, not the ones (personality traits) that can't be. After all, going to med school doesn't guarantee that you'll be a great medical doctor with a wonderful bedside manner either, but it's still "standard practice." Why is it that our field doesn't have such strict standards either? After all, consult with a poor, unqualified trainer, and it's very possible that individual will be consulting a medical doctor afterwards. Trainers are responsible for and act as the "front lines" in addressing musculoskeletal relationships and postural issues, joint health, proprioception and balance, neuromuscular coordination and activation deficits, along with proper nutritional habits and weight control. The are capable of improving the function and lives of their clients and prevent serious injury or illness. Personally, I'd prefer that a trainer has a thorough education that qualifies them to do this, and not just having read a single book and passed a 200 question test. Being a trainer should require more than just having a good personality and knowing surface anatomy.

Trainers should know more than just how to "biceptz curl" and get some "ript abz." And while it's obviously the case that a B.S. (and even a M.S.) doesn't teach you everything, it gives you the foundation to understand and integrate that further education through reading, researching and attending seminars. The theoretical framework will already have been put into place.

I also know some highly educated trainers that are awful, as well as some trainers without formal degrees or impressive certifications that are quite outstanding...but again, should we just assume that a formal education, therefore, isn't something valuable or something worthy of pursuing? Formal education demonstrates a commitment to the field and the individual's career, as well as a "standardized" entry-level knowledge.

This field is in desperate need of quality control...a university education is one step towards that control.
 
Bipennate,
Well said. I agree that there needs to be some standardization of the Personal Training Field, and I know that steps are being taken in that direction. Yes, nothing can beat the value of a college education, providing that it is a good school and that the student actually works hard and comes out understanding what was taught.

I was merely stating that there are some valid certification out there that do NOT require a college degree, but are respectible enough so that my Mom would not be able to order a book online, take an at home exam, pass because she read the book, and call herself a Nationally Certified Personal Trainer.

There have been many articles over the last few years, urging potential clients to make sure that they do their research before hiring a trainer. With over 30o certs out there, I would hope that someone serious about becoming an outstanding fitness professional would also do their homework and persure one that educates them, and not just one that will get them certified the fastest.

ACE, for example, is becoming a highly respectable cert, and I dont believe that you need a degree for that. Same with NASM. Even the NSCA-CPT doesn't require a BS (I dont believe).

You're right about the personality traits though.

I hope that we end up having some kind of standardized testing/qualifications for becoming and calling oneself a trainer. It would weed out the fly-by-the seat of your pants-trainers and gain back the respect the profession deserves.

Wes
 
Hey there SmithMachine. I have graduated as a PT out of the NZ College of Fitness. This college started out in Australia and I can highly recommend it. Contact them on
 
Starting training soon

Although I still have a few pounds to lose I am about to start a diploma course as an advanced personal trainer here in the UK. I have no college or university education within health and fitness so I have found a course that offers all the main and highest qualifications.
This is a course which I get to do a lot of home study using textbooks, online help etc... I'm estimating it will take me about a year to complete but its an ideal course as I can carry on doing my IT work to bring in some money while I learn.
the first 3 months is based on anatomy and physiology and long weekends of practical lessons followed by a practical assessment when I am ready then once I have my CPR certificate I will then be a licensed gym instructor. which is when the workload goes up. other course content includes:
Personal trainer module
Nutrition and Weight management module
Torso training and core stability module
Circuit training module
Applied nutrition
The psychology of behaviour change module
Gp referral module
Pilates fundamental module
Which is then followed by the National Vocational Qualification(NVQ) level 3 which is the UK's highest national qualification.
I dont know how it works where you are but the government here provides Career development loans which are like student loans, interest free and you only start paying back when you earn enough and even then the repayments are very low.
The total cost of my course is around £4500. but I only have to front £125 and the loan takes care of the rest.
Plus doing the course this way means I get to shift the last of my weight which I built up in the army before I get started.
Good luck with following your ambitions. I know that I cant wait to get started
 
Great Option to Become a Personal Trainer - NPTI

Hey there

Just saw the discussion about becoming a personal trainer. A great option that does not require a college degree is to go to the National Personal Training Institute. They have an incredible program consisting of around 500 or 600 hours of training. When you graduate, not only are you in the best shape of your life, but you've got credentials far and above what 95% of other personal trainers have. So your are super-prepared to be a very successful trainer with a great career who is constantly in demand.

I recommend that you at least check it out and get some info. You can make the choice from there.

I wish you all the best
Jasper C
 
I don't know about those short courses for becoming a trainer. I think you'd have to read a lot more than what you learn there. How can you learn for example anatomy (mostly of the movement apparatus) in 8 weeks? I don't think I could do it.. and IMO, anatomy is very important to trainers, specially the muscles (duuh) then you should probably have an idea on some biomechanics, some neurophysiology (specially with regards to motor recruitment, etc)

another thing these days is that trainers have to handle people with injuries, muscle imbalances and other dysfunctions. Sure, for the most serious ones you'd ask them to see a doc or a physio.. but if someone has a muscle somewhere that has been injured before and has been permanently damaged you need to know how to make a program that won't aggrivate it. You should also know how to make a program that won't aggrivate the specific muscle imbalances of the client but instead improve them (everyone has muscle imbalances)

But by all means, take a course to get certified, you have to get certified, but read! Never stop reading.
 
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