Personal training isn't the easy job in the world, but it's certainly one of the most rewarding. It's not just about tortur...er...teaching people about exercise, although that is fun. It's also about being a coach, trainer, friend, confidant and therapist all rolled into one. One of the hardest parts of training is, first, making the decision to become a trainer in the first place, especially if you have a whole other as-far-from-fitness-as-you-can-get career (like I did). Then there's the certification business to figure out and, of course finding a job. All of that can be confusing, something many readers confess when they ask me about becoming a personal trainer.
I try to help people out as much as I can, but who better to help others than experienced, seasoned personal trainers themselves? If you're a trainer, how did you brave the wild world of personal training and find success? Share your story in our new interactive form and tell us how and why you became a personal trainer. What advice do you have for others out there who are thinking of taking the plunge?
More About Becoming a Trainer
Well, I have to admit I’m not a personal trainer…yet. I have made the plunge though, I found a college online personal trainer course that is very informative, alot more challenging than I thought, & so far, still has my undivided attention. I started exercising & trying to get in shape about 3 1/2 yrs ago & I absolutely love it! I’ve never joined a gym, just work out at home. I think I would love to go to a gym to workout, but never felt like I could afford it. I sometimes wonder if I’ve waited too late in life to try to do something like this ’cause my body doesn’t seem to want to cooperate some days. Things don’t bounce back like they used to (I’m 38). I wanted to do this because I felt so great after I started working out & getting healthier & I wanted to give others that same feeling.
Gwen, you are definitely not too old. I’m 50 and working out. I feel great. At first I found my body was not quite cooperating, but now I feel strong, fast and energetic, younger and healthier than I’ve felt in years. Age is a state of mind.
The truth is personal trainers are more than just that. Thats why people often look for gym buddies. When you are doing exercise with some one its almost like social proof. Plus when you pay for something you bet you will work out harder.
Its nice to have some one to motivate you and mentor you to keep you on track for your fitness goals!
There really isn’t anything better than a client telling you that they feel so much better about themselves and that their health has improved. I have been in the industry a while and know that many people my age (39) or older respond to a trainer who has been “around”. If you are interested in being a trainer but feel age is a problem then think again!
Those of us with a regular workout regimen, who manage our diets at some level, and monitor our weight, blood pressure, and heart rate during exercise, are proactively acting as, albeit in a very simplistic, primitive manner, our own personal trainer.
I have shared my lightweight upper body exercises with my wife, thereby extending and externalizing my admittedly limited knowledge to someone else. This is not a podium-pounding lecture on the theoretically proper way to do upper body exercises, just sharing on a mutually supportive level what I’ve learned from personal experience.
I know this is vastly different from the knowledge and responsibilities of an actual personal trainer, but it does help me understand myself better, trying to walk in someone else’s shoes.
I have been in the personal training business for over 25 years and have seen a lot of these so called certification programs that certify personal trainers. The best certification
programs are the ones that include actual practical examinations not just read a book take a test get your personal trainers cert. In addition, you also want to look for programs that make you take continuing education seminars every year to keep your certification. One of the best personal training companies around currently is
PROPTA- Personal Trainers Association
http://www.propta.com/index.php
The Navy got me certified through the Cooper institute so I could attempt to get the sailors at my command in shape. Once Cooper went to a “no recertification” mode, I took it upon myself to get NASM CPT certified. I have never worked as personal trainer full-time, only part-time. I did manage to get near 20 hours part-time work in Oklahoma, it was a very rewarding experience in my life and I still keep in contact with many of my clients from those days, and that was 4 years ago.