becoming a personal trainer

[jestdoit86]

what are the steps one needs to go through to become a personal trainer? How effective is it for making money in this economy?

[askthetrainer]

what are the steps one needs to go through to become a personal trainer? How effective is it for making money in this economy?

There are dozens of threads about this, including one "sticky" at the top of this forum.. you can also use the search forum function ...

Here's my 2 cents: How to Become a Personal Trainer

As far as your 2nd question, there are a handful of variables which only you will be able to figure out to answer your own questions...

[Burial]

step 1: buy the NASM book off ebay for 40$

step 2: read book

step 3: go pay 500$ and take the exam

You're now a personal trainer. At least that's how it went for me.

As far as making money, I think its a good side job.. personally I wouldn't make a career out of it, because it is a luxury service it can be very tough to get clients depending where you live/work/who you know.

[jestdoit86]

thanks guys, I looked at several of the most popular organizations that offer certifications and so far my favorite is issa. Mostly because they are offering a 100 dollar discount right now and thus are the cheapest, but also because after looking at the course guide it seems to be very thorough and all inclusive. Plus, it seems to be more oriented on getting you a job rather than getting you a piece of paper. All the same, i've ordered brochures from a bunch of different organizations so I can compare further. and thanks for the link ' askthetrainer'. It was helpful. The only other question is, how long should i expect it to take for me to be ready to take the exam. I'm hoping I can complete it in a summer ( 3-4 months)

[jestdoit86]

Update, ended up enrolling with ISSA. Got the course packet in the mail about a week and a half ago and I'm already on chapter four. I've done two of the online quizzes, and the workbook helps a lot. Gotta hand it to ISSA, very effective program they've put together. Would recommend it to others looking to get a certificate so far.

[jules_d1]

its one of those careers where you truly get out as much as you put in. It is an aboslute rarity to make a super easy career out of PT without much effort.

The fitness industry churns through trainers as people are purely lazy and dont want to invest time (and money) into themselves.

On the otherhand, if you do work hard there truly is BIG money to be made.

All i can strongly suggest is to invest just as much (if not more) time and money into educating yourself on the marketing side of things.

[askthetrainer]

Update, ended up enrolling with ISSA. Got the course packet in the mail about a week and a half ago and I'm already on chapter four. I've done two of the online quizzes, and the workbook helps a lot. Gotta hand it to ISSA, very effective program they've put together. Would recommend it to others looking to get a certificate so far.

LOL,

I'm glad you're happy but you shouldn't recommend cert. when you're on Chapter 4 after just getting the study materials 15 days ago... That's like 10x worse than recommending a book based on the back cover, recommending the latest "fat burner" on your first day taking it... recommending a car after a test drive... etc. etc.

"Very effective program" ... based on what?

"workbook helps a lot" ... helps what?

[jestdoit86]

LOL,

I'm glad you're happy but you shouldn't recommend cert. when you're on Chapter 4 after just getting the study materials 15 days ago... That's like 10x worse than recommending a book based on the back cover, recommending the latest "fat burner" on your first day taking it... recommending a car after a test drive... etc. etc.

"Very effective program" ... based on what?

"workbook helps a lot" ... helps what?

well all I was essentially saying was I enjoy the program SO FAR and based on that if a friend asked me if they should try it I would say yes. But i get what you're saying, I can't really recommend it over other programs. Especially after only completing part of it.

I'll modify that to simply say I like what I've seen so far. Your post makes it seem like I'm bashing other programs in preference of this one. That's not it at all, is it really that bad to enjoy something?

And to answer your other questions I'll elaborate on specifically what I like about it. Again, I'm not saying I like it because it does something other programs don't. I have no basis of comparison here so I can't say that.

What the packet includes is a 750 ( approximately) page book that seems to cover a wide range of topics from nutrition, muscle anatomy, development of programs for the client etc. Again....I'm only on the 4th chapter so I'll update more later.

With the book you get a workbook which has questions, diagrams and other learning tools to complete as you read the chapter or afterwards. I prefer to do it afterwards. The same workbook is also available online at the issa site. I like it because it highlights the major points in the chapter so I can go back through and retain more info. Instead of just writing an outline or notes I'm answering in depth questions that sometimes extend beyond what's on the pages.

You recieve a business guide as well to help you think about the marketing aspect of it like someone said above. It really is half the battle, and although I haven't used it much yet I definitely plan to and appreciate that issa wants me to be thinking about how I'm actually going to make money doing this. I also noticed that a lot of the continued education credits on their site have to do with the business side of it. And there seem to be regional seminars to help you connect with clients and other trainers. We'll see how useful these things prove to be.

There are quizzes on the site that you complete after reading each chapter. They are true/false and multiple choice. After you submit each one you can review the ones you got wrong and look for the answers in the book or on the answer sheet that follows the quiz. My only complaint is that I actually wish there were more than just 10 questions so I could test myself a little further. But I suppose that's what the...

Practice exam is for. Haven't gotten there yet obviously but I'm assuming it's just as comprehensive as the final exam.

Also Included is an exercise dvd showing you different clips of different exercises. This is admittedly pretty unimpressive. The variety shown pales in comparison to the resources available for free right here at bb.com and the video seems to be shot in the 70's. I did get a chuckle watching the mpeg of donkey calf raises with partner though: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/imag...calfraise2.jpg

Theoretically there's a plethora of resources available on their site, I haven't actually used it a ton because there's not a whole lot I can't get right here but I might do some browsing eventually. I will definitely be using the live chat feature at some point if I have questions about the material or how to start making money.

That's it for now. Will update more later.

[karlosrockerok]

You must have the right attitude. Be passionate about what you're doing, and practice what you preach. Do some research and try out new routines, diets, supplements etc.. I agree with being able to cope with a variety of different clients.. I have had lazy clients, sloppy clients, talkative, you name it. Im starting to make a new site to tell my clients to go to for information and will soon begin to post info on their each individual needs, I barely put it up, but it also has some links to other helpful info you might wanna check it out and message me for questions. htp://bigbiceps.weebly.com

[jestdoit86]

thought i'd add another update here: I just finished reading the book and doing the workbook that accompanies it. Up to this point I understood that the exam was either online or in a seminar but i hadn't been able to find specifics about the process of taking the exam. I had figured it would just be like most online exams in college, timed and restricted to prohibit one from cheating..... apparently i was being naieve. After spending around a half hour on the site i was finally able to locate some specifics on the exam: here's what Issa says

There is no timer! You do not have to complete this exam in one sitting. It can be stretched out over many logins and logoffs. You can return to the exam as often as required, anytime, anywhere, on any PC or Mac connected to the internet. You can change any answer at any time before you submit your exam.

I'm not sure how to feel, relieved that it is obviously so easy or pissed off that after creating what seems to be such a complete and well thought out educational process, ISSA would make their final exam virtually nothing more than a formality. There are 100 different ways to cheat on this thing and even if you don't cheat, you can still look through your notes and spend up to two years taking this ****ing exam!! So right now, obviously, i'm leaning more towards pissed off. How could this hold any weight in the mind of a potential employer or client?

For lack of a better word... this exam seems like a joke. I'm very dissapointed. People with issa certifications... how do you justify this ****? I told a few friends and they just laughed, i really don't think anyone who knows about this will take my certification seriously. And I paid 500 dollars for it

Edit: obviously i feel like an idiot for not looking further into the examination process before. You don't need to remind me of this

[KyleAaron]

Well, if during the exam you take the time to look up the information and write or type it, you are going to absorb a fair bit of it. Ideally that'd be how you study - look things up, write them down in your own words. Since it's an online course they can't make you study, so... they have to make the exam like study.

The truth is that any qualification in itself is worthless in your career. That's because a cert is just a pass to help you get a job interview. After they photocopy it and put it in their records nobody will ever ask for it again. Not the manager, not clients, nobody will care.

School is only the beginning of your education, and you only get out of an education what you put in. Yes, a lazy and stupid person could pass the course. However, a lazy and stupid person probably won't even apply for jobs in the industry, and if they do apply they won't get them.

Out of 42 people who were at my two PT courses, only about half of them passed, and only 4 of us are working in the industry at all six months later. Only 2-4 of us out of 42 had a real interest in the fitness industry. The others were just doing it for their personal knowledge (martial artists, people who'd worked through orthopaedic surgery, etc) or were aimless (18-25 and not sure what to do, older and long-term unemployed, etc). The personal interest people passed but won't work in the industry, the aimless mostly didn't pass.

Of we 4 employed, one of those won't last, she's just doing some Les Mills stuff part-time until university finishes, and in any case she only passed her gym instructor section, not her personal training section (she had to go back to do a test, she had 20 of 160 questions to answer correctly... she couldn't be bothered). A second will probably focus more on her myotherapy. That leaves 2 of us as actual PTs. Less than 5%. Only 5% had a genuine passion for it.

Employers know all this stuff, so they don't care much about where you got your certification. I mean there are some truly atrocious places and some truly great ones, but most are just ordinary-crap. The passionate people will get their knowledge from somewhere no matter what cert they did, the unpassionate will not remember anything five minutes after the exam. For example, exercise technique was poorly-covered in my courses, so I went and worked with a strength and conditioning coach. But some people in my course passed, and yet when I talked to them they simply had no clue about anything.

The other day I went for a job interview at a gym. They went through a list of questions.
"Some of these," he said, "are a bit technical, I don't expect you to know the answers to them all, this is just to get an idea where you are."
"Rightyo."
"What are the major muscles involved in the squat? I don't mean the stabilisers and that, just the major movers."
"Gluteus maximus, hamstrings, quadriceps. And in sumo squats, gluteus medius."
"And what are the muscles of the hamstrings?"
"Biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus."

Etc, like that. I was expecting something truly technical and obscure (by PT standards), like "okay we know the gracilis attaches to the tibia, but where on the tibia?" and having to scratch my head and hopefully remember that it's the anterior medial suface below the condyle or "when does the gastrocnemius enter passive insufficiency?" But this was basic stuff.

That they ask such questions tells me that some people can't answer correctly. They wouldn't bother asking questions everyone gets right.

I mentioned this conversation to a friend who works at management level in the industry. He said, "With the questions they asked, even HM qualified [Bachelor of Human Movement] people rarely get them correct. Of the 300-400 people we've interviewed over the past 5 years I would say that less than a dozen would have know the hamstring answer. Most don't know what excessive kyphosis or lordosis are."

"WTF?! But this is all stuff covered in the courses... I mean fair enough if you did it ten years ago and haven't worked in the industry since, but if you are recently qualified and/or had worked recently.... I should feel smart, but I just feel scared! What happens if I'm the smartest guy in the room?!"

"You would be surprised to see what qualifies as a PT."

But people that ignorant don't get jobs, or only jobs at large commercial chain gyms where they have to pay enormous rents, and anyway they don't last in the industry.

[jestdoit86]

good information. I'll add what the issa membership department sent me:

Hi Benjamin,

Thank you for your message. I am about to give you an extremely long response, so be prepared!

The exam is indeed online (or home-study), open book, and untimed. This is so that the course can be completed entirely by distance education, without requiring students to make travel and accommodation arrangements to attend a proctored test (although we do have that as an option as well, if preferred). As you have noted, the multiple choice and true/false section of the examination does not necessarily require memorization, and a student could go back and look at notes and spend more time to determine the correct answer to a question. In this case, the student is taking the time to reread and process important information, which increases actual retention of the information. Retention is one of the reasons that we provide a workbook as part of the course - rereading and writing down information increases the likelihood of a person remembering it in the long-term.

Going back to the textbook if one is unsure of an answer also means that the student is building his/her research skills, which will be essential in their future as a trainer. No trainer always knows the answer to every possible client question off the top of their head, there is always new information being uncovered in the field, and a trainer must be able to find this information in order to be a successful trainer.

There is also a difference between memorization and learning. Memorization enables a person to regurgitate information, and this is usually for a limited period of time (e.g. "cramming" before an exam). It tends to lend itself to learning mechanically, repeating material many times over, and giving little attention to understanding or meaning. Oftentimes, this information flies out of the person's head a short time after they take an examination. True learning, on the other hand, is being able to understand, process, analyze, and retain information. This essential for a person to be a capable trainer who is able to adapt to individual clients' needs and constraints.

The case study and essay section of our exam requires a student to show that they understand the training principles and information covered in the course to the extent that they are able to provide cogent, detailed, analytical answers, and to apply that information in designing personalized, periodized exercise programs for individual clients. The ability to design safe and effective exercise programs on an individual basis, depending on a client's medical and exercise history, current physical and fitness condition and limitations, and fitness goals, is the mark of a professional trainer.

ISSA's personal trainer certification, as well as any other certification from a reputable company, is intended to provide a student with the fundamental knowledge needed to be a trainer and the ability to apply it intelligently. Continuing education is required for renewal of certification because it is an absolute must for a professional trainer to constantly expand their fitness and nutrition knowledge, as well as to stay current in the field. A trainer who is not continually learning is a trainer who is limited in his/her ability to help their clients.

While we understand that it is possible to cheat on our exam, it is also possible to cheat on a standardized, closed-book, timed exam, if someone really wants too. Anyone who resorts to this method to passing an examination will not actually have any of the knowledge that was tested on the exam. In the fitness industry, this means that a person who cheats on a personal trainer certification exam will not possess the basic knowledge required to be a trainer -- this will be obvious in any initial interview with a potential employer and that person will likely not find employment. The same goes for an initial consultation or session with a client if the person operates their own personal training business -- and the word will quickly get out and operate as a negative referral in their community. A personal trainer should always be able to explain why they are having a client do a particular exercise, workout, program, etc.

The potential for cheating basically boils down to a trust issue. If you want the knowledge, we have designed the course so that all of the fundamentals are laid out for you, and we provide study recommendations that are intended to help you learn, understand, and retain the material as well as to determine what material you are not understanding or retaining and need to revisit again. We provide you with support the whole way, even after you are certified, if you ever have any questions about the material, training in general, or how to best train a particular client. The examination is meant to be as much a learning process for you as it is a method for us to test your knowledge and a way for clients and employers to be assured that you know what you are doing. As with all education, a student who wants to learn, will learn. A student who simply wants to pass, will do what is necessary simply to pass or will fail.

About a third of our students take the course for their own personal edification. About a third take the course in order to obtain a certification and work as a trainer for a gym. And about a third take the course because they want to start their own personal training business. The first and the latter types of students usually are taking the course because they want to learn, either to help themselves or to help others effectively. The second type of student is mostly of this caliber as well -- like yourself -- and wants to be an educated and capable trainer who trains clients safely and gets them results. There are always, however, a few people who simply want a certification, and there probably always will be -- these people can usually be recognized by employers right off the bat, and they do not last long in the industry.

As far as your concern regarding potential employers, please keep this in mind:

Any gym that says that they require their personal trainers to have a "nationally accepted/recognized certification" for employment should accept the ISSA certification. ISSA is a nationally accredited provider of distance education that has received third-party accreditation by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized agency, and is a recognized member of Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

For a link to the DETC site, click here:
http://www.detc.org/school_details.php?id=293

To view the CHEA site, click here:
http://chea.org/search/actionInst.asp?CheaID=173856

The DETC is also recognized by the International Health, Racquet & Sports Club Association (IHRSA) as an approved third-party accrediting organization for the accreditation of personal training certification programs:

http://cms.ihrsa.org/index.cfm?fusea...5914&nodeID=15

If you run into any gyms that do not accept your certification, please contact me with their information and I will get in touch with them to ascertain why ISSA is not accepted and to educate them regarding the ISSA CFT certification program and our accreditation status. I can be reached at ssadiq@issaonline.edu or 800-892-4772.

Equinox Fitness definitely accepts the ISSA certification. They are located in several large cities nationwide.

Gold's Gym also accepts the ISSA certification, and we are on their preferred certification list.

Other national gyms that accept the ISSA certification include:

* Bally Total Fitness
* Work Out World
* Town Sports International
* Powerhouse Gym
* Urban Active
* Crunch Gym
* Worlds Gym
* Fitness 19
* Anytime Fitness (hire trainers as independent contractors)
* Snap Fitness (hire trainers as independent contractors)
* Fitness Together (personal training studios)
* Planet Fitness
* LA Fitness
* XSports Gyms
* Spectrum Clubs
* LifeTime Fitness

24 Hour Fitness unfortunately no longer accepts our certification as of last February. They will be pretty much the only large nationwide gym that you will encounter this problem with. There is the occasional instance of personal training managers for individual locations hiring an applicant anyway because it is obvious to them that the particular applicant is a quality trainer, but this it is definitely not across the board.

For most gym employers, it usually comes down to whether they want to hire you, rather than the particular certification that you hold. It become about your personality, your own fitness level, whether you can answer their training questions correctly and intelligently, whether you know how to conduct an initial client assessment, and (for many gyms) whether you have interpersonal and sales skills. The certification is a requirement, but hiring depends on what you put out there in terms of confidence, knowledge, and approachability.

I hope this helps put your mind at ease. Please remember that we are always here to support you, even after you obtain your certification. If you ever encounter a situation where you need to explain the nature of the ISSA certification process or need us to speak to someone on behalf of yourself or ISSA, contact me right away and I will be more than happy to assist you.

[carl.c]

Well if 24hr dosn't take it then find another cert "by god" .
Just having fun can't comment on the ISSA cert, last time I looked 5 years ago they where just a pay and pass cert, my understanding is they are far better now and are gaining more respect in the fitness world. Good Luck and i hope you enjoy this industry as mucha s we all do.

[jestdoit86]

Well if 24hr dosn't take it then find another cert "by god" .
Just having fun can't comment on the ISSA cert, last time I looked 5 years ago they where just a pay and pass cert, my understanding is they are far better now and are gaining more respect in the fitness world. Good Luck and i hope you enjoy this industry as mucha s we all do.

Thank you! I hope so too

[KyleAaron]

Either you're not the first person to ask those questions, or that guy was really bored that day

He said basically what I said. To "cheat" you have to look things up and will actually learn something by accident anyway, and certificates just get you an interview, certificates or not, if you're obviously clueless you won't be employed.

He just didn't mention that of all those doing a course, few graduate; of all those graduating, few pursue a career in it; of all those pursuing a career, few are any good and thus successful. Since he wants to sell his course I don't blame him

"A personal trainer should always be able to explain why they are having a client do a particular exercise, workout, program, etc."

This is what I always say! There should be a reason for every exercise, every set and every rep, every minute pounding the pavement or every muscle stretched or whatever else you're doing. Sadly many can't give the reasons... What was it we saw here the other day? "I saw this cool workout on youtube." Oy vey.

Edit: why is c e r t s asterisked out?! WTF?