The Fitness Professional #2: Which certification should you get?

Which certification should a Trainer hold? The answer is like an ogre. Or an onion.

It has layers.

The first layer comes in the form of a question: where do you want to work?

Many gyms require certification from a particular company. I began my career 20+ years ago with a certification from AFAA. I selected AFAA because, at the time, it was the most widely held cert in the industry. I figured that ubiquity worked in my favor.

A year later I switched to NASM because the gym I wanted to work for (Sports Club LA) required all Trainers to hold a NASM cert.

Find a gym you want to work for/with. Ask them which certification they prefer, and go and get it. They’ll be impressed you asked.

Lets peel back A more complicated layer. Which one is best?

NASM for my money was the best cert; but I've only held 3. NASM provided the most valuable, job applicable information in their education and it wasn’t even close. I’m presently certed w ACE because I got sloppy and forgot to log my CEU’s with NASM. I was a few months late (personal issues). Instead of having me pay a fine, or doing me a solid they wanted me to re-take my initial cert, as well as all the continuing ed I’d done through them (which was a fair amount). I acknowledge my mistake, but when someone is 3 to 4 certs deep you can show them a little leniency.

I re-certed with ACE. Solid cert. They’re great about granting CEU’s on petition (I usually go out of pocket for my continuing ed courses). I’m proud to tell ya that I passed the ACE exam without studying! Straight up on the job knowledge baby!

In the end it doesn’t matter. They all pretty much cover the same bases. It’s rare that I call on any of the info I learned in my initial certifications. Most of this job is about knowing how to work out safely, how to regress complicated exercises, how to work with people, and how to work around client’s movement issues.

That said, if you’re a serious Fitness Professional some certs say more about you than others. If a person has a degree in field, or a CSCS that’s an indication of ambition, intelligence, and commitment. These are all good things. Your goal is to constantly get hired: by a gym, or by a client every 10-20 sessions. Advanced accreditation gives you more knowledge/tools to work with, and will give your client a better experience. A fitness professional stands on a solid, widely accepted certification; but more importantly adds to that through continuing education.

And now a final layer: I own a small fitness studio. If someone wants to work with us I make sure they are certed. It tells me they’re at least that professional (and it’s a legal requirement we have to meet for insurance purposes).

A more important question: Would I hire them as my own trainer. Are they kind? Do they look like they workout (you’d be surprised)? Do they seem friendly? Considerate? Speak well? These are all more important to me than the logo on their cert, which says something, but isn’t everything.