Is it important to get certified as a personal trainer? | Exercise.com Learn: Your Fitness Business Resource

Is it important to get certified as a personal trainer?

Tyler Spraul is the director of UX and the head trainer for Exercise.com. He has his Bachelor of Science degree in pre-medicine and is an NSCA-certified strength and conditioning specialist. He is a former All-American soccer player and still coaches soccer today. In his free time, he enjoys reading, learning, and living the dad life. He has been featured in Shape, Healthline, HuffPost, Women's...

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UPDATED: Jun 30, 2021

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  • It is important to get certified as a personal trainer.
  • While there are no laws in place that will force you to become a certified personal trainer, with this certification, you are increasing your likelihood of getting a job.
  • Most insurance companies will not provide liability insurance to someone who does not have the proper training to be a personal trainer.

It is important to get certified as a personal trainer.

If you want to have any success in the field of personal training, you need to demonstrate that you have passed a test to show that you know how to train others to get physically fit!

While there are no laws in place that will force you to become a certified personal trainer, with this certification, you are increasing your likelihood of getting a job. In addition, you are protecting yourself from certain amounts of liability in the process.

Some people will say that the only reason you need a certification is that you need that piece of paper to get a job. However, the truth is that if you take the education courses necessary to pass the certification, then other people can feel confident that you know what you are doing when it comes to offering your training services.

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Will I Be Able to Get Liability Insurance If I Don’t Become a Certified Personal Trainer?

Most insurance companies will not provide liability insurance to someone who does not have the proper training to be a personal trainer. Liability insurance is a must for personal trainers because this insurance protects your assets should someone get injured while under your care.

If you aren’t certified, then your liability increases. If you can’t get liability insurance and a client gets hurt, you are personally responsible for their medical costs. What’s worse, you could be sued for negligence because you don’t have the right training or certification to be a personal trainer.

If this type of suit moves forward and you make the decision to become certified, an insurance company may decide that you are too high of a risk to insure because of your past court cases.

You really need to obtain a certification before ever becoming a personal trainer.

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Will I Be Able to Get a Job Without a Personal Trainer Certification?

There are some gyms that will hire a personal trainer without a certification. In some cases, they simply want a trainer that goes through their own training system before they become certified. In other cases, it’s a smaller gym that doesn’t have the money to pay for a certified trainer.

With that being said, you will find that without certification, your ability to make great money is going to be limited. As you gain more experience, you can charge more, but you won’t be able to make up for the kind of knowledge you need to be a certified personal trainer.

When you take the certification exam, you will not only be tested on your knowledge of personal fitness but on other important knowledge-points as well. Depending on the testing organization, you will also be tested on:

These are not all of the things that you will be tested on, but some of the categories. The questions in each category get more specific based on the category. Having this comprehensive knowledge will not only make you more knowledgeable, but it will also help you to be a more responsible personal trainer.

Do I Have to Take a Course to Learn This Information?

In truth, you don’t have to take a course to pass the certification test. However, this is the fastest and easiest way to accomplish this goal. The reason for this is what you are learning will be designed to ensure that you have all of the knowledge you need to pass the test; if you do it on your own, you may miss something in the process.

Additionally, many people who attempt to learn everything on their own find that it takes twice as long as it would to simply take a course in the same field.

Another thing to think about it is whether or not you want to grow your client base. The more certifications you have, the larger your client base can be. However, more certifications require even more in-depth knowledge.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which personal training certification is the best one?

All of the various personal training certifications have different requirements, costs, study materials, exam details, recertification requirements, and continuing education credits (CECs) or units (CEUs). It’s important to do your homework and review all of the details before deciding on which one is best for you. The certifications that have been NCCA-accredited are more reputable than others that are not accredited because they have met a certain level of standards for the certification.

How long should I study for a personal training certification exam?

It varies among individuals. If you recently finished a degree with courses covering most of the content in the exam, you might be able to take it more quickly than someone who does not have that background. With NESTA, once you register for the exam, you have 90 days to complete the exam. Other organizations will vary on their timelines.

How much money do personal trainers make?

This varies depending on location, experience, and how many clients you are training.

Where can I train my personal training clients?

There are a number of places where you could train your clients like a gym, a park, your home, their home, or your own studio.

We’ve built an online personal training platform from the ground up to help trainers scale their business needs with ease and to help them reach more clients. Request a demo of our All-in-One Fitness Business Management Software to get started today!

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