nearly 40 percent of adults in the United States are clinically obese—becoming a certified personal trainer is a noble thing.
The fitness world is a thriving one and no matter what physical condition a person is in, we all want to improve our fitness level.
The difficulty comes in choosing the best personal training certification program possible. The amount of options for personal training certification can be overwhelming.
If you are truly interested in joining the health and fitness industry, consider these personal training programs below.
American College of Sports Medicine
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is one of the largest sports medicine and exercise science organizations. Many fitness centers, hospitals, and gyms prefer having personal trainers that are ACSM certified.
All their trainers are well schooled in fitness and body composition guidelines, so everyone knows they will be well prepared and ready to share their knowledge once certification has been completed.
American Council on Exercise
Using their patented Integrated Fitness Training model, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) provides a solid education to their aspiring trainers so in the future they will be able to develop personalized training programs for every individual.
No matter what the fitness level, trainers with ACE certification should be able to help their clients achieve their health and fitness goals.
National Strength and Conditioning Association
The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NCSA) is one of the very top human performance research organizations around the globe.
If you have attained the NCSA certification, have finished a bachelor’s degree, and successfully pass the NCSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam, this places you in good shape for a career in health and fitness.
With these requirements accomplished, it allows the person to be able to train athletes and even become a strength coach for a professional sports team.
In fact, most strength coaches are NCSA certified.
National Academy of Sports Medicine
The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) educates future trainers with their Optimum Performance Training model. The NASM uses the most current information possible in the field of human performance and injury prevention.
They prepare their students very well in the certification programs.
Many NASM certified trainers become athletic trainers because of the knowledge they gained on injury prevention.
In either case, the NASM certification is well recognized in both the sports medicine field and the fitness industry.
How Much does it cost?
Of course, personal training certification programs are not free.
You will have to pay the personal trainer certification costs to initially be certified, and then depending on the certification, you will need to get re-certified every two to three years.
The ACSM and the NCSA are generally a bit less expensive.
Although, those two also have the lowest percentage of people passing their certification test. But don’t let that deter you from selecting any program. If you put in the time studying and have a passion for the health and fitness industry, you are bound to achieve success in the fielcosts