Fitness Industry Questions Anwered Within

[HugeRipped]

In light of my recent personal trainers only thread, I recieved a large amount of private messages asking a variety of questions relating to becoming a fitness industry professional. Most of these questions were very similar, so I thought it would be more beneficial for the general public if I created a concise "Q and A."

Do I need to get certified to work as a Personal Trainer?
Yes. It is mandatory to possess a nationally recognized and accredited personal training certification, not only as a credit to your competency but for insurance purposes.

What certifications are the best?
The best certification, hands down, is the CSCS. You need to possess a B.S. to get your exam results so not everyone is elligible for this certification. The next best certification is the NCSF. While it is not as much as a household name as ACE, for example, the knowledge tested in the NCSF exam is far superior to any other certification besides the CSCS.

What certifications are scams?
Any certification that allows you to earn your credential online or after a simple weekend seminar is a scam. Some scam certifications that have somehow become nationally recognized and increasingly popular are ISSA, CFP and ASFA.

Where can I expect to work with an NCSF or CSCS certification?
With these top level certifications almost any personal trainer job is open to you. Commercial gyms tend to turn personal trainers into salesmen rather than fitness professionals, so if your passion is not in sales avoid those jobs. A good first time job for any trainer, especially one in college who does not have time to start their own training business, is to work at a personal training studio. At most studios, you will be paid between 2 and 4 times as much per session as a commercial gym, you will not have to meet sales quotas and you will only have to come in to work to train, no walking the floor.

Is a personal training certification, or numerous certifications, a valid replacement for a B.S. or an M.S.?
No, not even close. A personal training certification is a credit to your competency in the field, and a means of remaining insured. A college education and/or a post-graduate degree in Exercise Science will always trump any amount of certifications. The knowledge tested and the difficulty level of a B.S. and/or an M.S. in the field is exponentially more than any certification and is a sign that you are extremely qualified.

- HR

[The Showstoppa]

i guess the one that I printed up on my home PC to use to get a job at a gym doesn't qualify....

[Mr Nobody]

i guess the one that I printed up on my home PC to use to get a job at a gym doesn't qualify....

X2 Show this shit isnt rocket science.

[The Showstoppa]

X2 Show this shit isnt rocket science.

Maybe this guy is qualified to tell us what all the letters after Vince G's name actually mean?

[Hulkotron]

Why in the hell does a personal trainer need a M.S. degree?  Nobody goes to grad school to be a PT.  Maybe an athletic trainer I could see.

[lovemonkey]

I love this gimmick. Playing getbig like a trombone.

[Mr Nobody]

Why in the hell does a personal trainer need a M.S. degree?  Nobody goes to grad school to be a PT.  Maybe an athletic trainer I could see.

X2

[Hulkotron]

HugeRipped what do you know of scaling?  For example the maximum muscle force scales with area (i.e. some characteristic length squared) but muscle size scales with volume (length cubed).  What do you make of this

[noworries]

I have a good friend who just moved here who has been competing in BB since the early 80's.  He has numerous NPC titles and is unreal.  He is 49 years old and looks as good as he did 20 years ago.  he won his last contest about 4 years ago.  In high school and college he was a champion wrestler.  The lives and breathes health and fitness.  He got me up at 8am to go to the gym.  He is very smart.  He has told me over the years he has easily trained over 100 clients.  most of them privately in their homes or at a PT facility.  He is not certified or has any certifications.  He moved here to get more clients and was going to work for the LVAC.  He needed to get certified.  he took the test and didn't pass.  Here is a guy who has 30+ years of training and competitive BB with numerous NPC titles yet he can't train people at a gym cause he can't pass a stupid written test.  I personally think it is bullshit.  You got idiots like Goodrum who don't train or diet properly but can pass an online test to get certified and he would qualify to train people at this club.  Of course as soon as they saw him in person he wouldn't get hired, but still..............

[Hulkotron]

I have a good friend who just moved here who has been competing in BB since the early 80's.  He has numerous NPC titles and is unreal.  He is 49 years old and looks as good as he did 20 years ago.  he won his last contest about 4 years ago.  In high school and college he was a champion wrestler.  The lives and breathes health and fitness.  He got me up at 8am to go to the gym.  He is very smart.  He has told me over the years he has easily trained over 100 clients.  most of them privately in their homes or at a PT facility.  He is not certified or has any certifications.  He moved here to get more clients and was going to work for the LVAC.  He needed to get certified.  he took the test and didn't pass.  Here is a guy who has 30+ years of training and competitive BB with numerous NPC titles yet he can't train people at a gym cause he can't pass a stupid written test.  I personally think it is bullshit.  You got idiots like Goodrum who don't train or diet properly but can pass an online test to get certified and he would qualify to train people at this club.  Of course as soon as they saw him in person he wouldn't get hired, but still..............

Personally I don't think a good PT needs any credentials other than an honest desire to help people improve their fitness (as opposed to just making money).

[noworries]

Personally I don't think a good PT needs any credentials other than an honest desire to help people improve their fitness (as opposed to just making money).

Either do I.  PT is just another way for the gym and others to make money.  Which I guess is okay, but it has gotten out of hand.  Gyms were so much easier back in the day.  hell membership info was all on an index card kept in a shoe box.  A chalk board behind the desk told you when your dues were due that month.  You paid in full.  Done!  You some advice, walk up to someone in the gym and ask them.  You find yourself all of a sudden training with Lou Ferrigno or Arnold or whoever you ask.  I don't think I ever heard a "No don't bother me".

[Natural Man]

knowing the full anatomy isnt required to teach someone how to lose weight and/or build muscle. People could do it themselves, just give em some books and internet links.

This is why being a personnal trainer is a bullshit job. It's pure charlatanism.

People only need a trainer to motivate em and count the reps, which is completely lame.

Lifting weights or losing weight doesnt require any skill at all.

[pellius]

I have a good friend who just moved here who has been competing in BB since the early 80's.  He has numerous NPC titles and is unreal.  He is 49 years old and looks as good as he did 20 years ago.  he won his last contest about 4 years ago.  In high school and college he was a champion wrestler.  The lives and breathes health and fitness.  He got me up at 8am to go to the gym.  He is very smart.  He has told me over the years he has easily trained over 100 clients.  most of them privately in their homes or at a PT facility.  He is not certified or has any certifications.  He moved here to get more clients and was going to work for the LVAC.  He needed to get certified.  he took the test and didn't pass.  Here is a guy who has 30+ years of training and competitive BB with numerous NPC titles yet he can't train people at a gym cause he can't pass a stupid written test.  I personally think it is bullshit.  You got idiots like Goodrum who don't train or diet properly but can pass an online test to get certified and he would qualify to train people at this club.  Of course as soon as they saw him in person he wouldn't get hired, but still..............

Probably failed the Swiss Ball and "Core" training portion. That's always the tough part.

[Hulkotron]

The gym in my department's building is used to teach the undergrad exercise science classes (I'm a grad student in a kines department) and they roll them through there yammering on about how you have to do all these exercises in very specific ways with a bunch of hog manure about pennation angles and motor unit firing rates.  It's ridiculous.  No wonder our country is a bunch of lardos when we make working out this hard.

[danielson]

I have a good friend who just moved here who has been competing in BB since the early 80's.  He has numerous NPC titles and is unreal.  He is 49 years old and looks as good as he did 20 years ago.  he won his last contest about 4 years ago.  In high school and college he was a champion wrestler.  The lives and breathes health and fitness.  He got me up at 8am to go to the gym.  He is very smart.  He has told me over the years he has easily trained over 100 clients.  most of them privately in their homes or at a PT facility.  He is not certified or has any certifications.  He moved here to get more clients and was going to work for the LVAC.  He needed to get certified.  he took the test and didn't pass.  Here is a guy who has 30+ years of training and competitive BB with numerous NPC titles yet he can't train people at a gym cause he can't pass a stupid written test.  I personally think it is bullshit.  You got idiots like Goodrum who don't train or diet properly but can pass an online test to get certified and he would qualify to train people at this club.  Of course as soon as they saw him in person he wouldn't get hired, but still..............

The same could be said for any type of education though. There are millions of jobs out there that are only available to college graduates and we all know full well that there are people who could easily do these jobs with only a third grade education. Your buddy got off easily imo, he can study online for an hour or two or maybe glance over Vince G's website, retake the test and pass easily.

[~UN_$ung~]

knowing the full anatomy isnt required to teach someone how to lose weight and/or build muscle. People could do it themselves, just give em some books and internet links.

This is why being a personnal trainer is a bullshit job. It's pure charlatanism.

People only need a trainer to motivate em and count the reps, which is completely lame.

Lifting weights or losing weight doesnt require any skill at all.

exactly, you can read flex magazine for three months and learn pretty much everything you need to know to be a personal trainer.......about working out and dieting.  

personal trainers dont really need to know all that much about organic chemistry, physiology, biomechanics..........wh at makes a successful trainer is that he/she is a good motivator

[Vince B]

Yes, it is obvious that all Getbiggers are true experts, even Goodrum! 

I agree with HR. Anyone with a masters degree in exercise science from an accredited university is light years ahead of the flotsam on Getbig.

There is also the insurance issue. In Australia personal trainers cannot get insurance unless they have qualifications and update those regularly.

It partly depends on where someone got his masters degree from. However, those graduates surely know more about exercise that the typical meathead who goes to a gym. This person may not know that much about bodybuilding but it wouldn't take him long to figure out what is effective, etc. Compare that to all the self-styled personal trainers who feel entitled to take money from others.

There are some people who are not actually qualified but who are knowledgeable. Standards have arisen in the industry and today things are vastly different from even 20 years ago. There is a heck of a lot to learn about exercise, muscles, equipment and the human body. I always keep an open mind when training. Others can have good ideas and sometimes more effective ways to train. There is no one out there who knows everything!

You need a vast amount of experience to be an authority on exercise. Most bodybuilders think they are experts after couple of years in the gym.

[Coach is Back!]

Personally I don't think a good PT needs any credentials other than an honest desire to help people improve their fitness (as opposed to just making money).

Unfortunately because of today's sue happy society you do need credentials along with insurance.

[Rhino]

Either do I.  PT is just another way for the gym and others to make money.  Which I guess is okay, but it has gotten out of hand.  Gyms were so much easier back in the day.  hell membership info was all on an index card kept in a shoe box.  A chalk board behind the desk told you when your dues were due that month.  You paid in full.  Done!  You some advice, walk up to someone in the gym and ask them.  You find yourself all of a sudden training with Lou Ferrigno or Arnold or whoever you ask.  I don't think I ever heard a "No don't bother me".

Those were the days.