My gym is offering an ACSM Cpt 3-day seminar next month. I have always wanted to get certified, although I have no plans on making a career out of personal training. I start a PhD program in the fall and working as a part-time trainer has some appeal. Can anyone share thoughts about the certification?
ACSM is a great certificiation. One of only a handful that are good.
I haven’t done the ACSM CPT program, but have done other ACSM certifications and acted as an examiner for the practical portion of the HFI exam for years. Having also done other certifications, I’m confident that ACSM is by far the best of the nationally recognized certifications. The workshops are great (though they do vary from location to location) and the exam is thorough.
Enjoy.
JC
I would like to get than one myself. I have a NETA personal trainer certification and it sucks. I didn’t feel like I learned anything at the seminar. It actually convinced me to not train people part time. Instead I focused on other areas as a source of income. I didn’t feel I had the skills to be someones trainer.
Just curious, what kind of background would someone need before considering taking the ACSM seminar? Would a military background to include completing the US Army’s Master Fitness Trainer course of instruction, in addition to 20+ years road racing be helpful?
That would certaintly be useful. I believe there is a book for the course which you would purchase well ahead to study. Lots of physiology (muscle names, fitness formulas)
I’m thinking about getting my ACSM certification as well, but I want to make a career out of it. So, we are in the same boat and I’m looking at getting certified by the end of the year. I haven’t looked into it much, though.
Good luck.
definetly a good idea to get certified. i got mine thru ACE this past spring, and it seemed to be ok. however, i basically just went in and took the test (relatively easy) w/o really reading the book or taking a seminar. (note: i’m a year shy of a degree in exercise sci). in my opinion, i think the NSCA (nat’l strength and conditioning assoc) CSCS is the best, hands down. it requires a college degree in some type of exercise sci, and is supposedly the hardest out there. a lot of physical therapists i’ve worked w/ have that cert in addition to their degrees.
NSCA offers a personal training certification in which you do not need a degree. It is is one of the more difficult, indepth exams out there and a gym manager would be craazy not to hire you with that certification. That being said, it is a lot more sales then most people think. You are also typically working odd hours…early morning and late evening with not much in between. You have to be diligent when setting appointment so that you have people lined up back to back and are not having too many breaks. You also have to learn to turn people away. I was a trainer, still do it part time, and I had a hard time telling people no and sometimes I would line up 12 people in a day with no break. The money is great but I never wanted to workout because I spent so much time there already I never wanted to stay to train myself.
I believe that the NSCA personal trainer certification does not require a college degree, though you are correct that the CSCS does. While I agree that the NSCA exam is a challenging one, it should be noted that not all exercise scientists agree with the methods that NSCA advocates. I don’t mean to take the thread too far off topic or start a debate on the merits of various strength training methods, but simply to point out that while NSCA is good at promotion and does offer a challenging exam, not all folks in a hiring position will be impressed by the credential. I managed gyms (police department and commercial) for 15 years and required ACSM certifications from the staff. In my experience, those who also had NSCA did not work out any better than those who did.
Just my $.02
JC