Personal Trainers | What Training and Certification Should a Personal Trainer Have?

What Training and Certification Should Your Personal Trainer Have?

Obviously, the first step in ensuring that the trainer you choose is going to suit is to first make sure that they are qualified to do the job.

This includes both experience in the field (if you have chosen to work with one of the personal trainers in a club or private gym you may end up working with someone lacking a great deal of hands on experience, but someone will be available to back them up and provide you with a second opinion if you feel that a judgment was made in error due to a lack of knowledge on their part; on the other hand, if you are working with a private trainer it is essential that they have had some experience before launching their own business) but education in various related subjects as well.

A good personal trainer should have a great deal of knowledge in the areas of:

·         Anatomy

·         Sports Physiology

·         Sports Medicine

·         Kinesiology

·         Biomechanics

·         First Aid

and have at least some experience in:

·         Psychology

·         Nutrition

 Bear in mind that many personal trainers obtain a great deal of this knowledge on the job, and may not have studied it in any type of formal environment; however, most professional personal trainers have at least a bachelor’s degree in one of prior the fields listed above and have taken at least some classes in the latter.

There are also a number of organizations which serve to certify personal trainers in the same manner that the AMA does doctors. Almost every professional organization will require its trainers to certify through one of the agencies operating in the United States at some point in their early career, and a personal trainer operating independently should possess at least one, if not multiple certifications through these same agencies.