My wife Brenda is working to be a personal trainer.
Surprisingly, becoming a personal trainer is rather challenging.
I assumed she would need to be in good shape. I did not realize there were strict certifications. To become a certified fitness expert and get hired at a quality health and fitness center, she needs to complete a lot of training. The first step is to graduate from school. She needed to pass CPR and AED courses. Most fitness centers look for these qualifications in a trainer because she will work with older clients and possibly those suffering from health issues. Having that extra knowledge protects the clients. Next, the trainer needs to choose a specialty to focus on. There is so much opportunity in the personal training world. She needs to decide if she wants to teach group training classes or private fitness training. Branda could focus more on nutritional counseling or body wellness. After deciding her speciality, a university degree helps to qualify her. She can concentrate on exercise science, athletic medicine or a degree that pertains to personal fitness. After all that, the trainer must pass a certification exam. After passing all these criteria the trainer then needs to build a portfolio. Brenda will start with smaller gyms and earn some results. After she has built a following of clients, she might be able to get hired at a larger gym. That is what Brenda is hoping for. She has her sights set on a larger fitness center. She first needs more experience. She needs more years of training a wide range of ages. Then, she might get hired at a big gym and be able to work as a personal trainer full time.