Looking to turn your passion for fitness into a possible career? Side hustle? Or just to help people? When speaking with our students, many state their motivation for wanting to pursue fitness as a career is to help others.
Fitness can teach us many things as well as improving out health outcomes; we learn discipline, willpower, confidence and more. If we are looking to hire a personal trainer, what would indicate someone is qualified? Certified? Let’s discuss below.
Benefits of Certification
Having a personal training certification is necessary for several reasons. Firstly, it demonstrates that a personal trainer has met certain standards and qualifications, and has completed the necessary training and education to provide safe and effective training programs to their clients. This can help to build trust and confidence between the trainer and their clients, as clients can be assured that their trainer has the knowledge and skills needed to help them achieve their fitness goals safely and effectively.
Secondly, a personal training certification provides a level of professionalism to the fitness industry, helping to set standards and establish a benchmark for quality in the industry. It also helps to distinguish qualified trainers from those who may lack the necessary knowledge and skills to provide effective training programs, thus protecting the public from potential harm.
Thirdly, many employers in the fitness industry require their trainers to have a personal training certification, as it provides assurance that their trainers have the necessary qualifications to work with clients safely and effectively. This can help trainers to secure employment opportunities, as it demonstrates that they meet industry standards and are qualified to provide the necessary services.
Why NASM?
Here at BCPTI, we utilize the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Training (CPT) curriculum. One of the main reasons is that NASM is accredited through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies is aimed at ensuring the NASM program is legitimate.
Another reason for using the NASM CPT program is their emphasis on teaching prospective trainers to use an evidence-based practice. An evidence-based practice relies on scientific evidence as a guideline for decision making alongside individual professional expertise and client values and expectations.
Getting certified as a personal training is only the first step. It is akin to laying the foundation of your house. It provides you with the knowledge to understand the fitness field but isn’t enough as ongoing continuing education is a cornerstone of the NASM CPT. In order to retain your certification for example, you are required to renew your certification every 2 years by taking additional courses and education. This ensures NASM certified personal trainers are always staying on top of the constant changes in fitness and providing the best service.
As you continue to take additional certifications, we are now building the walls of our structure with the CPT as the foundation. These walls help us to provide a better service to our clients and over time, as we learn more, it helps us to better understand the science of personal training to rebuild the walls, to strengthen them and keep getting better. These other certifications and courses will open up more client populations or situations that you will feel confident about working with as well as clients seeking you out to be their personal trainer.
Having a personal training certification can help trainers to continue their professional development and stay up-to-date with the latest research and trends in the industry. This can help trainers to improve their skills and knowledge, and provide their clients with the most effective and up-to-date training programs possible.
Experience and the ability to coach clients is one of those skills that can’t be taught through textbooks alone. This is a skill that is honed through practice and working with clients that can’t be substituted.
In summary, having a personal training certification is necessary to ensure that personal trainers have the necessary qualifications and skills to provide safe and effective training programs, to set standards and establish a benchmark for quality in the industry, to meet employer requirements, and to continue professional development and stay up-to-date with the latest research and trends in the industry.
Benefits of Practical Application
This is where BCPTI comes into the mix and we help to put the roof on top of your house by not only teaching you the CPT curriculum but also how to use those skills with people. Even though you may understand the science of personal training, without being able to acquire clients, those skills won’t be as helpful.
We emphasize hands on practical learning, application and coaching so that upon completion of the program, you’ll be ready to transition immediately and smoothly into working with clients. Not only that, you will have hours and hours of experience on how to prospect, build rapport and how to coach.
You will learn within a community of people who have a passion for fitness and leads to connecting each other through fitness. The cohort your study and learn with to become a certified personal trainer is the one that you can constantly learn and grow with each other.
Interested in learning more about our program? Reach out to us and we can assist you on taking that next step.
Want to learn about study tips on helping you pass your NASM CPT? Check out our article on 7 tips for passing your CPT exam here
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