For people who are passionate about staying fit and active and enthusiastic about helping others to do the same, personal training is an exciting--and potentially lucrative--career. Jobs for fitness workers are growing at a much faster than average rate, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with fitness worker jobs expected to grow by 29 percent from 2008 to 2018. Online personal fitness trainer certification is a convenient option for many aspiring fitness trainers.
-
Benefits
- If you already have a full-time job and are hoping to make a career switch to personal fitness training, an online personal trainer certification might best fit your schedule. If you live in a more rural area, it might not be easy or feasible for you to commute to a distant major city to fulfill the class or workshop requirements of a more traditional personal fitness trainer certification program.
Organizations
- There are a number of respected personal fitness trainer certification organizations offering the option of online study.
The National Federation of Professional Trainers offers a home-study option through which students can download all study materials to their computer and then prepare for the NFPT certification exam at their own pace. Educational modules are "unlocked" as the student successfully completes the preceding module. Candidates will have to travel to one of the NFPT's locations just once to take the certification exam. Testing centers are available in over 300 locations.
The American Fitness Training of Athletics personal trainer certification program can be completed entirely online. Students have a full year to complete the program starting from the time of enrollment. Students can choose to take a proctored exam at one of AFTA's many testing sites, or they may choose to take an online exam at home.
Students can choose to take the International Sports Sciences Association's personal trainer certification through online distance learning. The study materials, practice tests and quizzes as well as the final certifying exam can all be completed online.
Features
- Online personal fitness trainer certification programs typically cover both practical, applied knowledge areas--fitness assessment, exercise program design, nutrition and safety--as well as the more clinical scientific principles behind exercise science--physiology, biomechanics and kinesiology. Some courses will also touch on the business aspects of personal fitness training to help prepare trainers who plan to work independently rather than for a gym. Exams are generally in the multiple-choice and true/false format. Some may also have written components and include questions that correlate to a video demonstration.
Considerations
- Success in an online personal fitness trainer certification program requires an aspiring trainer to keep himself on track. Careful and realistic planning and scheduling will help ensure that the future trainer completes his program in a timely manner. Since trainers don't have face-to-face access to instructors the way they would in a class or workshop setting, it's important to seek help if a concept isn't making sense. Trainers should not assume that an online certification will be "easier." In many cases distance learning is actually harder work.
Warning
- There are hundreds if not thousands of online personal fitness trainer certifications, but not all of them are well-regarded in the industry or even legitimate. Certification programs that guarantee success on the exam or that allow candidates to take their exam online immediately--without taking any time to study or having to show proof of certain qualifications-- are best avoided. Some health clubs have their preferences in terms of certifications, so a personal fitness trainer who doesn't intend to start her own business might consider calling local gyms to inquire what certifications will open up the most job opportunities.
-
Print this page