Personal training career

Z

zach2920

0
Hey ladies and gents,

I am looking for advice from whoever has worked or is interested in the field of personel training.
I am 19 yrs old and just finishing my first year of university. Unfortunately I don't think the whole university thing is for me and im debating going back next year. I was looking for alternative careers which do not require a university degree. I happened to stumble upon the idea of personal training. I think this really fits me well as i have always been and active person, playing numerous sports, and i love working out and helping people.
I want to do more research though before i shell out the $500 to get certified. First i was wondering what are the best associations and schools to get certified by? As well I was wondering if you any personal trainers out there would be able to lend advice on whether starting my own little business would be a good idea or if its better to work for a gym or other association? Whether or not you would recommend this as a fulltime career? and Any other general advice anyone has would be much appreciated
Thanks Zach
 
I'll keep it short cause this could get very long winded....

Best certs: NASM & ACSM, don't waste your time with ACE, NETA, ISSA, etc...

Best place to start off as a personal trainer: Larger club. They get the people in front of you, they offer on-going education, might offer hourly floor pay, more/better equipment, don't have to worry about insurance, etc... Down side is may have to meet a monthly sales quota, not as much gross pay in personal training as your personal business, etc...

Best Schools: Whatever you do, DO NOT get a general degree such as "Exercise Science" and try to make a career out of it. It's designed as a 'spring board' to a graduate degree. Ideally look for a degree that offers a certification out of it and has classes that involve injuries, cause everyone has them and most certifications don't cover that topic. I took athletic training classes and it made me so much more valuable/sell-able over other trainers with the same certs. I basically didn't have to sell myself cause other trainers would bring clients to me cause they couldn't handle them.

Life as a personal trainer: This is a generalization, so take it for a grain of salt.
  • You need to be a sales person first, then a trainer. If you suck at selling, you can't train, if you suck at training, you have nothing to sell.
  • Pay for a personal trainer isn't steady, so you need to be good at budgeting money.
  • Your work time is other people's free time, typically 7-11am and then 3-9pm
  • Personal training to some people is a 'luxury' if the economy is hard like it is now, they are less likely to invest in personal training.
  • Majority of your clientele will be female. Cause guys are too stubborn to ask for help :p
  • Fat loss is probably 80% of why people hire you.
  • Advancement in personal training is typically into club operations. IE, how many 40+ yr old trainers do you see?
  • You need to be able to read people and deal with their emotions, excuses, whining, etc.. (aka need to be emotionally tough)
  • Etc..
  • Personal training is a 'lifestyle career' or a side job or a just a way to get into operations of a club. To this date I have not met a person that wanted to be a personal trainer all their life and retire as one.
  • Too many young people / health nuts say "Hey, I'm going to be a trainer cause I like fitness", take the online ACE/NETA/tests, use google and textbooks to help them pass the test, and then they go mess with people's lives. And that's why you see personal training positions open all the time is cause people don't realize how much more it is than just running people through exercises.

Okay I'll top for now, but could go on :p Bottom line, personal training only works for people of a certain lifestyle, if you don't want your lifestyle to be that way for a long time, don't get into personal training, unless you plan on using it like a part time gig like me.

Hope this helps and good luck!
 
Is it possible to do some type of online course to become a personal trainer instead of going into a physical classroom? If so what is the best type of course to take?
 
Online courses are not the best route as they do not get you hands on experience and you do not get the advice that comes from the course instructor. Their information and experience can be the most valuable information you receive in your education. Once you have a background than online education is a viable option for increasing your knowledge.

That being said, I see that you live in T&T and your in school options may be very limited. So, it you are going to take a online course - do so from a reputable institution - one that also offers offline education. This way you will usually get the exact same material as taught in the classes and you will deal with the instructor through online communication and not just come book and computer screen. NASM - the National Academy of Sports Medicine has some great schools that they recommend and they are one of the top certifying bodies in the industry. Check them out as I know some of their school recommendations do offer online training.
 
ACSM certification!

Hej Zack,
I would at least guarantee me that the course you take gives you an ACSM certification. Den you can actually use it all over the world and it vill guaranteed you a professional education.

I study to personal trainer at Fitness Intitute in Denmark and it is af very exciting education.

Read more here:


Sandra
 
My thoughts, the other certifications are not a waste of time like bobdawg has said. Not trying to argue, but they can get you started on a personal training career for a small investment. However, never stick with one of the lesser certifications. And ISSA is not all they crack up to be. Without getting into the politics of who accredits them and such, I've found them biased in their approach to fitness. Their text book is awful. I'm currently going through it and taking details notes and reporting different issues I find for explanation from the author.

I do not recommend quitting college and becoming a trainer. None of your certifications will prepare you for training like a college degree will. And a "general" exercise science degree is more than enough to suffice as long as you dedicate yourself to learning as much as possible from each class. However, the more education you have the better. Some exercise science programs have concentrations with them. I was recently browsing colleges in my state and found that Grand Valley State actually has a Fitness Instructor Concentration for their exercise science program.

If you do decide not to return to college, then I suggest you set aside money, buy the best certification (ASCM or NASM) and hire a personal trainer to train you for a couple of months. Make sure they're experienced. It's an expensive route to take, but if you're not willing to hire a trainer, can you really convince others to do so? Never try to "just get by", make a habit of going above and beyond in your studies and continue that habit when you get into personal training. You'll have to commit to a way of life that involves regular exercise, healthy eating, interacting with a lot of strangers, and always trying to learn and continue your education.

Good luck with your future.
 
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