For those wanting to become a personal trainer, a high school diploma or a college degree is not enough. Yet sadly the only requirement to become a personal trainer is to be 18 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and be First Aid & CPR with AED certified.
Over 16 years ago, I began a career in the fitness industry with a high school diploma and First Aid/CPR certifications. As with many personal trainers just starting out of high school or even college, I was clueless about what I was doing. Sure, I knew how to add muscle to someone – I would simply recommend that they double their protein intake. Making someone loss weight was easier. They just needed to reduce their calorie count to 1000-1200 kcal a day. ‘No sweat, I got this!’ I was wrong, all wrong!
I trained blind for two years before I realized that I needed to learn so much more about my scope of practice. So, I enrolled as a Kinesiology major at Tarleton State University and minored in Communication. Both fields helped me immensely as a personal trainer. During my undergraduate days, I was asked by a former instructor to teach step aerobics, but it was under the condition that I get certified.
Undergraduates and graduate students should know that most gyms, private and cooperate, require employees to get certified as a Personal Trainer, Group Exercise Instructor, or Specialty Instructor. In my upcoming posts I will discuss the differences in fitness and personal training certifications and the companies that provide them. I also will discuss some of the common misconception personal trainers deal with.
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