Guide to Online Personal Trainer School

Personal Trainer Degree Overview

Personal trainers work with individuals and groups of a wide age range and skill level to improve their strength, conditioning, and aerobic activities. Typical responsibilities for personal trainers include showing clients the proper ways to do exercises, cardio, and strength training to maximize the effects and minimize potential injuries; planning different classes or routines for those with a lower (or higher) exercising IQ; changing and adapting programs when needed; and working to advise and encourage on issues related to weight control, nutrition, and lifestyle concerns.

The minimum required degree to become a personal trainer is a high school diploma. Most personal trainers enter the profession after having earned their associate degree in personal training; however, increasingly, more employers are demonstrating a preference for applicants with higher degrees, such as bachelor's or master's degrees. These high-level degrees are not required for a career in the field of personal training, but it's helpful to earn additional education or certifications for related subjects like exercise science and physical education. In addition, training in management skills is highly recommended, especially for those aspiring trainers who would like to move up the employment ladder.

Students who are working toward a career in personal training take courses that further develop their understanding of the body. Anatomy and other natural sciences, exercise physiology, and biomechanics are typical course subjects. Students can also begin to specialize their training even at this early stage. Those interested in working with the obese, for instance, would take classes in disease management as well as exercise technique. Youth fitness, senior fitness, and injury prevention are other potential class options.

Career Overview for Personal Trainers

Those who choose to take up the profession of personal training are typically passionate about helping one person, or a small group of people, to improve the quality of their bodies and their lives. Trainers work in such environments as gyms, health clubs, resort destinations, and even in the homes of their clients. Rarely does a personal training career involve full-time work; most trainers juggle a few resident hours at a health facility with giving personal sessions to individual clients. Trainers devise their own workout routines and customize them for each person with whom they work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the job outlook for personal trainers to be about as positive as other industries in the coming years. A 13 percent increase in fitness workers is predicted between 2012-2022.

Being a personal trainer can be extremely rewarding. You can expect to meet new people every day and, while the social aspect of the profession is a great perk, it is important to note that there are a number of daily activities that a personal trainer should anticipate. This includes utilizing the skills and knowledge of several key subfields and categories that every good personal trainer should be familiar with. Three of the most basic personal trainer knowledge areas are biomechanics, exercise physiology, and injury prevention. These topics should be at the core of a personal trainer’s knowledge base, as many day-to-day issues will involve at least one of these items.

Many scientific and medical studies show that personal training is a vital profession, as it facilitates good health and productivity through weight training, aerobic conditioning, proper nutrition, and generally increased activity. There are a wide variety of activities a personal trainer may teach or otherwise participate in. Below is an overview of just a few of those activities.

• Aerobics Instructor: An aerobics instructor should be knowledgeable on certain aspects of the workout. First, the proper usage of music and cues (both verbal and visual skills) should be facets that an instructor has down pat; these are two important aspects that students should be able to learn as well. Combination-building, choreography, and sequencing are three more facets that will be critical in teaching aerobics techniques. Finally, knowledge of aerobics lexicon and the latest developments in the field is important.
• Fitness Therapist: A fitness therapist is an important resource to those recovering from injuries. A therapist should be well-versed in post-rehabilitation orthopedic exercises, drug interaction with exercise, sports medicine, and industrial fitness. Knowledge of workers compensation laws will also make a fitness therapist more marketable. It is also important to learn how to work with people suffering from arthritis, asthma, hypertension, muscular dystrophy, cardiac problems, and osteoporosis. The more conditions a fitness therapist is familiar with, the more sought after they will be as a personal trainer.
• Kick-Boxing Instructor: Kick-boxing is an exciting subfield of personal training. This full-contact exercise makes for an exhilarating workout. Of critical note here is that safety measures will be of paramount importance for a kick-boxing instructor. Furthermore, a kick-boxing instructor should have a few select items in their knowledge base. Proper punching and kicking techniques are elemental to kick-boxing instruction. Combination-building is another facet of kick-boxing that an instructor should be knowledgeable about. Also, proper use of equipment will be important in order to ensure students get the most effective workout possible. Knowing how to avoid injuries, and deal with them should they occur, is very important for a kick-boxing instructor.

How to Become a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)

There is a wide range of CPT, or certified personal trainer, certifications available after students complete online personal training programs, and there are many organizations seeking to certify qualified candidates. While not necessarily required to practice as a personal trainer, more and more employers are looking for applicants who are CPTs from the top agencies. CPT exams cover topics such as program design, program progression, professional responsibilities, and science foundations. It's important to understand that all CPT examinations will consist of a written section and some practical portion, as well. Future fitness trainers will have their knowledge of human physiology, exercise techniques, and exercise programs measured by these examinations.

Before selecting or registering for a certification exam, you should verify that it’s accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). This will help you ensure that you receive a reputable and high-quality CPT certification that will be well regarded by employers. In order to take part in a CPT certification process, applicants don't necessarily need to have any formal academic or training background. The certifying companies will most likely provide the candidate with study materials like books, CDs, and workshops in order to help prepare them for the exam.

There are a number of NCCA- and DETC-accredited organizations in the United States that offer certification. Here are just a few examples:

• Aerobics and Fitness Association of America: AFAA is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). AFAA offers many different types of certifications, including personal training, primary group exercise, step dancing, practical yoga instructor training, aquatic fitness, metabolic connection to obesity, mechanics of injury prevention, group resistance training, and many more. The AFAA offers study materials on practice, theory, exercises, nutrition, youth and senior fitness, and stress management.
• American College of Sports Medicine: ACSM is NCCA-accredited and offers a CPT exam to applicants who are at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or the equivalent, and possess CPR/AED certification.
• American Council on Exercise: ACE is accredited by NCCA and offers a wide selection of study materials to help personal trainers prepare for the CPT exam.
• International Sports Science Association: ISSA is accredited by DETC, which means that they are also recognized by the US Department of Education.
• National Strength and Conditioning Association: The NSCA certification for the personal trainer does not require a postsecondary education but asks for candidates with a good working knowledge of biomechanical concepts, training adaptations, and anatomy, among other skills. To qualify for the NSCA-CPT exam, a person must be over 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and have CPR and AED certification before taking the test. NSCA is accredited by NCCA.