PT Certification

Hey y'all. I've been throwing around the idea that I should become a certified personal trainer. I'm currently studying Environmental Biology at UC Berkeley and had to recently leave my job. I love, love, love going to the gym and although my area of study isn't Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, etc., it is still a form of biology. In my resistance training classes, I sometimes get approached by other students for advice and by the teacher to illustrate proper form. In my gym I have even been pointed out by CPT's while they were training their clients for what good form looks like.

Is personal training something that can be done part time or is it a career you need to devote yourself full time to? I like the idea of having a job that will support me through college and graduate school and utilize biological principles that I have learned from the classroom.

Also, which are the best PT certification programs? There seem to be 50 different organizations.

ACE is well known and you do it on your own but the test is at a testing centre not just over the internet like these craphole PT courses.

And I know a lot of people who do it part time and make a ton of green, best of luck.

ACE is well known and you do it on your own but the test is at a testing centre not just over the internet like these craphole PT courses.

And I know a lot of people who do it part time and make a ton of green, best of luck.

Not all courses you do at home are "craphole"

There is the NSCA, ACSM, ACE, AFFA, ISSA, CSCS. Those are the top ones. Make sure its accredited and acknowledged.

Wow I just got the smackdown

Agreed. NSCA, ACSM, ACE, AFFA, ISSA, and NASM are the top picks.

I don't think you have to worry about majoring in any particular field--most of the top certifications don't even require a college degree. I'm a triple major in Physics, Math, and Finance (none of which are related to Sports Sciences) and I'm going to get my ACE certification in May. I'd personally speak to a few of the potential gyms' managers to see what they are looking for in a Personal Trainer (and which gyms are offering their PTs the best pay and most flexible schedules).

Good luck and let me know how you do.

Do any of you think it is worth going through a program which is designed as a series of courses rather than something like what the ACSM, ACE, NASM, etc. offer for your first set of certifications? Or should I just go directly into getting a certification from one of them? It seems like going through a series of courses in the form of a traditional education would be helpful, but it may just seem that way to me since I am probably brain washed by the college model from my bachelor's. If there is a good program of courses to go through, does anyone have suggestions on a good program to start with?

As an example of a more classroom oriented program: NPTI.

One of the trainers that I know took a course in anatomy after she got certified, and she said that helped her a lot.

i'd like to know why gyms or employers require certification? is it only the paper or is there real substance to it? hehe ... i mean, for me personally, i don't care if a trainer is certified. granted gyms may require them, but i'd feel quite comfortable with a trainer without one if they have experience and/or are knowledgeable in the field.

CANFITPRO is good, i think they're only in Canadian though.

In the UK PTs require certification to show that can train someone safely with correct form without causing them injury. They also require PT insurance incase an accident does occur.