A personal trainer is a person who has earned either a Master’s or a Bachelor’s degree in exercise science, sports management, or exercise physiology and who has successfully passed a physical assessment to verify their competencies as a personal trainer. They will also need to complete specialized courses such as anatomy, kinesiology (study of muscles), physiology, safety, and biomechanics. Some personal trainers are also certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. A personal trainer can specialize in one of several areas of health and fitness such as cardiovascular training, pediatric exercise training, or weight training and bodybuilding.
Personal training is a fast-growing field and offers you the opportunity to find a rewarding career path at both the graduate and post-graduate levels. A personal trainer can either work independently or be employed by a gym, team, or other organization that hires and recruits its own athletes, including professional and college teams.
In either case, the personal trainer will work closely with their clients to design a workout program that will get the most benefit from their unique fitness talents and skills, while still meeting the needs of the client’s desired fitness goals. Personal training is considered to be an exciting and stimulating career path, but it must be kept in mind that there is a lot of responsibility associated with being a personal trainer.
To become a certified personal trainer in the United States you must meet some minimal educational requirement, have a high school diploma or GED, pass a test administered by the National Board for Certifying Agencies (NBAC) to prove your competency as a personal trainer, and pass a comprehensive written proficiency exam. For the personal trainer certification exam, taking the written section is optional. The test for becoming a certified personal trainer in the United States is conducted by passing three different tests administered by the National Board for Certifying Agencies (NBAC). Once certified, personal trainers are required to take continuing education courses to maintain their certificate.