[tigeraj2]

are any of you guys certified personal trainers... if so what did you have to do to become one

[MikeNYY420]

Not much, I find that a lot of personal trainers aren't very well educated on the subject. No offense to anyone on here, but I've seen some that really have no idea what they're talking about.

I think it's 2 years in college, but I'm not sure.

[Zack]

You don't need to go to college. Basically getting affiliated with an organization that has a certification program, read their books (take their classes if you're required to), sit for the test (also if there's a practical part to it you'll have to do that), get CPR and AED certified and you're good to go. It's pretty simple. The thing about it is is that a lot of PT's aren't that smart and a great deal of the fitness community is starting to feel that there needs to be some sort of licensure, but hopefully that comes within the next few years. We'll see though.

[Kaboom]

Anybody can say they are a personal trainer.You dont even have to go through one of the organizations.At least here in NC anyway.

[MikeNYY420]

^ I think that's the difference between just working as a PT and being actually certified.

[Kaboom]

exactly thats why have of them dont know what they are talking about lol

[MikeNYY420]

Yeah the uncertified guys haha my friends always talk about what their PTs say. 9 out of 10 times it's something completely crazy that I've never heard of.

[TylerDurden389]

I would love to see there be more testing/licensing for personal trainers. I actually did it once for a month and a half but left when I realized that the gym was only concerned about making money. They even told me NOT to give people nutritional advice. Saying they should "talk to a nutritionist about that" and that my job is only to train them. Ridiculous.

[tigeraj2]

yea i am just kind of interested in training people one day... i think i could def help them without the certification but i think i would be more likely to get work with the certification

[B Scott]

I've been working on my certification for the past few months now, just preparing to take my final exam. A lot of the popular programs let you work at your own pace which is good if you're supplementing that with another formal type of education (or working a lot).

I know a lot of trainers get bad reputations and I can't say much about it because the typical "fitness club" know-it-all pisses me off just as much as the next guy. However, there are exceptions and I've seen first-hand the guys (and gals) out there that are the real deal.

I can assure you right now I'd never tell someone to press halfway or that squatting is bad for the knees. Haha. I hear stories like that and wonder how these idiots got certified in the first place. I guess it's kind of the same thing as the uneducated young trainee that doesn't know sh*t about his body and decides to try steroids when he's 16, completely bastardizes his nutrition and meanwhile gives all of bodybuilding a bad name. There's always two ends of the spectrum, but usually just one end making itself known.

[TDavis]

Im a licensed FITNESS INSTRUCTOR (level 2) I am NOT a licensed Personal Trainer...and it annoys the hell out of me when these j*****s advertise themselves as something there not! Whilst I do PT people I do explain that I can give my PERSONAL views on nutrition , but I'm NOT a nutritionist, and that I am only Level 2 not Level 3. Most people appreciate the honesty.

Didn't mean the outburst, I'm just fed up with some of us being given a bad name by the majority!

[mindstar]

certainly there are good and bad in any profession. I think that, unfortunately, PT tends to attract a lot of people who are in the line of work as a default because they like training, go to school part time, enjoy the fitness club etc rather than because they re passionate about helping people reach their fitness goals.

Also, the realtive ease of getting some certifications also atracts some of the 'why not just do this for a job' crowd.

At my gym, there was maybe one guy who I would consider passionate about fitness, the rest look bored and are constantly putting their clients at risk while failing to maximize their time in the gym (hello, if I see one more fat person doing 5 sets of calves followed by 1/2 hour of abs I'm going to lose it!)

Good personal trainers are worth more than the money you pay them, but they are rare. Unfortunatly, they often get painted with the same brush as all the other pt's out there and the general public rarely has the knowledge to differentiate the two.

[MikeNYY420]

^ I agree with the calves and abs statement. They should be focused on compounds and aerobic activities that require a large amount of energy to perform. People do abs non stop because they think the fat will melt off the abs and give them a 6 pack while the rest of them is still obese? Wtf, it doesn't work like that.

[HawaiianPride.]

Yeah you can tell these days it really isn't that hard to get certified.

When I was at Gold's a while ago they signed me up for a free session with a trainer just like most gyms do when you first get in. I turned it down obviously as I do with any offer like that at gyms but they told me this guy was a bodybuilder and does shows. So of course that caught my attention and I agreed to it.

The next day I roll up in there and this "bodybuilder" was completely out of shape, had no lean mass whatsoever, didn't even looked like he trained basically. His BF outweighed anything else on his body and I could tell this guy was a joke. My condition was far surpassed his. I basically told him I've got to go something came up and never went back lol. On top of that the Golds was the worst one I've ever been too but it goes to show how easy it is to get certified.

I'm not the one to judge a book by it's cover, this guy COULD have been knowledgeable in bodybuilding, but the staff made this guy out to be a monster and I was bigger than him. Obviously his training methods aren't very effective if even himself wasn't in decent shape.