TONYA: Re: OT: To our personal trainer members-- Advice for a wannabe?

[Guest guest]

Hi Tonya,

Please, I apologize for not replying to this much sooner. One of

these days I'll learn to reply right away, before mails get lost in

the inbox " avalanche. "

> My first recommendation is to find out what certifications are accepted in

> your area. You can spend thousands on a certification, but if the gym you

> want to work for doesn't accept it, its just a waste of money.

This is an excellent recommendation, and I'll be doing just this,

tomorrow. There's only a couple of gyms in reasonable driving

distance of where I live, so it'll be really important to get a

certification they'll accept.

>For

> instance, I'm in a bunch of groups online where all they talk about is ISSA

> certification and I've yet to find a gym that accepts it as a valid

> certification for employment.

Wow, this is really good to know. I've only heard good opinions of

ISSA, but if they're not accepted at the gyms I'd be possibly working

in, then it wouldn't be wise to be my first choice.

I also have 10 FiTour certifications, but

> they are only accepted as secondary certifications. In order to get a job

> at most reputible gyms you have to have a certification from one of the top

> 5 agencies. ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) is the number one

> that all of the others are based on, so it is the top dog in my opinion.

I'm in the process of choosing between ACSM and ACE, right now. I'll

have to figure out how much per month I can set aside towards the fees

and materials. I intend to make studying for this an unpaid job, and

thankfully, I should have the time to do so. I love this kind of

material, but it's been a looong time since I had to formally study,

so we shall see!

It's rather frightening that only 60% pass the ACE-- and it's the in

the #2 slot! Good to know, though-- motivation for those times I just

don't want to sit down with my books and notes.

>

> As for a gym, the only jobs available at a reputable gym without

> certification are in child care or sales, which won't give you any idea of

> training pratices that you wouldn't get from just being a member of the gym

> and watching. Any gym that would put you to work on the exercise floor

> without certification, isn't where you want to work because they aren't

> going to pay for certified trainers and will probably not have a good

> reputation with clients because of lack of results from former " trainers " .

Good point. And I certainly wouldn't want to get myself damned by

association. Childcare-- just the thought of that makes a shiver go

up my spine. Been there, done that, ready to move on, thankyew! ;-)

A friend gave me the contact info of a personal trainer in the next

town over. I may give him a call and try to buy a couple of sessions,

just to see the species in action.

Thank you again so very much for your thoughtful, helpful reply.

There's nothing better than getting advice from those who've achieved

what you're just dreaming about!

Tess