Is home study the best way to get certified as fitness professional? Are there other options?
Hi Shannon. If you (or the person getting certified) has no hands-on gym training experience (training yourself and/or designing programs and training friends/family), then I would say ‘no.’ The one major missing piece with a strictly home study certification is the hands-on, in-the-gym experience.
Yes, there are other options for getting certified. Many certifying organizations hole certification ‘events’ where you go to a site for a learning and certification experience with a live instructor. Others offer a combination of both online and in-person. And yet others will allow for home-study for the written testing portion, and may require a ‘practical,’ in-person training testing.
As you can see, there are several options. Good luck!
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
Hi Shannon,
I agree with LaRue. If you are an experienced trainer then getting another certification shouldn’t make much of a difference of how you do it. Plus, each organization offers a variety of options and other perks when get certified by them. Also, in order to pass their exams you will need to do some home studying and other reading if you are going to pass their exams. I hope this helps.
Best,
Harris
Hi Shannon,
there are certification organizations that hold 2 or 3 days events at the end of which you take a test and – voila – are a personal trainer. Even though they usually provide you with a book in advance, the set up is such that you will pass the test.
While that is a way to get certified, it probably won’t make you a stellar personal trainer. There is no way getting around studying, and while book learning without practical experience is not the answer either it is an important part of the picture.
Much depends on your own personal starting point. Probably one of the greatest challenges is not to use our own personal experience with exercise to extrapolate on others, but to look at another exerciser from THEIR starting point.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com
For some things, home study is an option. Having some practical experience can be very helpful. In the instance of becoming a fitnesss instructor, actually taking fitness classes or some personal training sessions would be very helpful. You may even be able to connect with a fitness instructor and set up a mentoring situation.
For many courses, home study is the only option. The courses do not have a live presentation option.
I teach certification prep courses and CECs only as a live presentation. Some people come to the Big Island of Hawaii (where I am based) for my classes as a Continuing Education vacation. Sometimes groups bring me to their facility. Check out my website if you are interested, www.hawaiifitnessacademy.com .