Whether you’re in need of someone to help you get into the gym, boost your cardio or just learn how to use exercise equipment, a certified personal trainer can make all the difference. These health experts assess a client’s fitness goals, create an individualized workout program and instruct in proper form for exercises. Some trainers work for a fitness company, while others freelance and charge by the hour for one-on-one sessions at a gym or clients’ homes.
Before getting started, a good personal trainer will ask you to provide some basic information, including your current weight, body measurements and how much strength you can lift, as well as your fitness goals and any relevant medical history. They may also have you complete a fitness assessment, including taking your blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature to see how fit you are now and what changes might be necessary if your goal is to increase strength or improve cardiovascular endurance.
After this initial assessment, the trainer will usually develop a personalized exercise routine that aligns with your fitness goals and abilities, and a few weeks into your journey together, meet with you to adjust the plan accordingly. Research suggests that when people have a personalized fitness program, they’re more likely to reach their goals than those with a standardized regimen.
A good trainer will also understand that a client’s exercise motivation fluctuates over time, so they should check in often and motivate you to keep up with your plan. They should remind you of your “why” for following the plan—whether it’s a stronger, more confident body, improving your mood or feeling better throughout the day, or the pride you will feel when you accomplish your goals. They will also encourage you to find a workout buddy, either by joining a group run before work or finding a friend who wants to take a online barre class with you.
Most of the top-rated personal training certifications have a rigorous, yet affordable curriculum that includes courses in exercise physiology and kinesiology, biomechanics, nutrition, injury prevention, client assessment, specialized training and exercise programming, and professional responsibilities and ethics. For example, the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT) has a reputation as being one of the most comprehensive programs and also offers fee-based continuing education for certified trainers long after they’ve taken their exams.
Other notable options are ACE, which offers multiple different types of personal training certifications and has the added benefit of offering an in-person course to teach you the basics, and Action CPT, which is relatively new and affordable. The latter has a solid curriculum and an innovative way to shepherd new trainers into the industry with unique technological know-how, but it’s not quite as polished as some of the other more tried-and-true certifications on this list.