Personal Trainer Certification – How to Proceed ?

People frequently ask "how do I get certified as a personal trainer?" Are there classes for those wanting to become a personal trainer? Well, it is one thing to know which certification you might want. It's entirely another thing to know how to get you from "no" certification; to holding one in your hand!


Most people get the 3-4 texts recommended by a certifying organization and then get stopped in their "tracks." The person is usually suffering from a big case of overwhelm or paralysis because there is a lot of content to consider studying in these resources that the person doesn't know where or how to begin.


Here's a plan...


1. Find a workshop that is sponsored by the organization you want to get certified by. Remember when you were in school, it really did help to go to class and listen to the teacher. It's likely that the teacher emphasized content that you really needed to know for the exam. So, it helped, right? The same idea holds true for attending a workshop for this exam preparation.


2. Can't find a workshop? Get online and see if someone has written a study guide or notes to help direct you in studying for this exam rather than "wading" through the volume of the 3-4 texts that the certifying organization suggests.


3. Okay, so 1 & 2 are not options, what next? Take one of the textbooks you have received and go to the table of contents and "chunk" down the material to be covered. Most certification exams have a percentage of emphasis in one area and a different percentage in another. The exam specifics like this should be on the web site of the certifying organization.


Take the largest focus of questions on the exam, go to the content in the text and begin to read this content. For example, a PT should know basic concepts of exercise science. Chances are this would be a major focus of any exam you would take for certification. Read this material in the text, answer the questions in the back of the chapter(s), make flash cards, quiz yourself, etc. Give yourself a deadline to read and study this material and then go to the next major percentage of content you need to know about. Chances are this might be exercise recommendations and programming. Follow the same plan as previously followed with exercise science.


4. Each certifying exam worth its weight will have about 8-10 areas of content emphasis. You can "chunk" down each of these areas into 5-10 days of study time and, in about three months, be prepared for the exam.


5. Discipline, discipline, discipline! Write down your deadline for taking this exam. Set up time each day/week to study a "chunk" of material to move you toward your goal of certification. Get a study buddy or a group to support you in this effort.



Research supports that people who don't write goals and review them frequently, don't accomplish things. You know that you must help your training clients to become more disciplined, so you must do the same for yourself. As Nike advertises, "Just do it!"


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