What Type of Training Do I Need to Become a Fitness Trainer?

Becoming a personal trainer can give you the opportunity to make a good living while positively influencing the lives and health of your clients. Unlike many other jobs, there is no concrete barrier to entry that prevents you from becoming a personal trainer--in theory, you could set out tomorrow and start recruiting clients with no certification whatsoever. However, obtaining certification before becoming a fitness trainer will lend credibility to your instructional methods and open doors for additional employment opportunities with gyms and spas.

Fitness Trainer Education

• Note that there is no real educational requirement to becoming a personal trainer. If your goal is to set up shop in your own personal gym or fitness studio, you can begin recruiting clients right now without any legal repercussions. However, although there is no formal requirement that you have educational credentials before becoming a fitness trainer, private sector employers will often look for a college degree, a fitness certification or both before they consider you for a position.

College Training

• Pursue an undergraduate program in fitness training or an equivalent degree such as sports medicine, kinesiology (the study of how the human body moves) or exercise science at a local university to enhance your credibility as a fitness trainer. If you truly have a love for training, these types of programs can teach you enough about biology, human physiology and the like to prepare you to deal with the gamut of real-world situations you will encounter on the job, such as pre-existing injuries, mobility impairments, and other types of client issues. Furthermore, a college degree can make you appear more capable, landing you more interviews and helping to distinguish you from the other potential trainers who are applying for the same positions with a lack of university training.

Certifications

• Consider certifications, either with or without an accompanying college degree, to lend additional credibility to your work. You can attend any of a number of potential fitness certification programs, including ones sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, the National Academy of Sports Medicine, the National Federation of Personal Trainers, and independent certifications from individual strength coaches. Any of all of these can help to bolster your credibility in the field along with increasing your working body of knowledge. Generally speaking, your prospective employer will be looking for one or more specific certifications, so attempt to ascertain where you want to work and tailor your certification requirements to meet the demands of that particular employer.