Personal Fitness Trainer Requirements

Personal Fitness Trainer Requirements

A career in personal training can be personally and professionally rewarding. This career can combine your passion for fitness with a passion for helping others reach their health and fitness goals. Once you start meeting the personal fitness trainer requirements, you'll never regret choosing this career.

The popularity of personal training careers is growing. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 27 percent increase in employment for personal trainers over the 2006 to 2016 time period. Because of this growth, efforts to enforce more stringent personal fitness trainer requirements are under way. Even government legislation is now being introduced, in an effort to regulate some of those requirements.

Personal Fitness Trainer Legislation

Currently, no government legislation exists that would regulate the requirements to become a personal fitness trainer. Personal fitness training and certification is obtained through organizations that work together to establish fitness training guidelines. Personal fitness training candidates must decide which of the many training certification options to pursue. If personal trainers were hired without adequate relevant education or experience,, that could damage the credibility of the entire profession.

Both Washington, D.C., and New Jersey legislators have recently drafted legislation that would require personal trainers to meet higher educational standards and operate within an established scope of practice. If this legislation passes, other states may follow their lead. Maryland and Georgia are already considering similar legislation.

Building Solid Personal Trainer Credentials

To protect your future credibility in a personal training career, you should plan early to go above and beyond the current requirements to become a personal fitness trainer. The minimum requirement for many personal training certification programs is to be 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or equivalent. However, earning an associate's or bachelor's degree will provide you with more knowledge and skill, while also giving you a competitive edge for meeting new stricter standards for certification if—and when—new legislation passes.

Depending on your interests and personal training career goals, you can earn your 2-year associate's or 4-year bachelor's degree in health and fitness, exercise science, physical education, or a related field. In addition to helping you meet proposed personal fitness trainer requirements, a bachelor's degree increases your chances of advancing to a higher-paying management position.

After earning your degree, you can obtain personal training certification through one of the following reputable organizations:

• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
• American Council on Exercise (ACE)
• American Fitness Training of Athletics (AFTA)
• American Fitness Professionals and Associates (AFPA)
• International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)

Be sure to choose the personal training certification program that best fits your strengths, interests, and career goals.

Taking Control of Your Personal Training Career

There's no way of knowing when or if your state government will start regulating personal fitness trainer requirements. In the end, you need to choose the degree and certification program that's right for you. Just recognize that the more you prepare yourself now, the more control you'll have over your future as a personal trainer.

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Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009 IDEA Health & Fitness Association, 2008 MSN: Health & Fitness, 2009