ACSM vs. ACE recent college graduate - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[paulkirkpatrick3]

Hello, I recently graduated from college with a major in Sports Medicine and also participated in athletics for four years. I feel I am pretty familiar with anatomy, exercise physiology, some training methods and sports med but I know that the training exams can be very thorough. I need to hurry and take the test AND PASS IT to gain employment. I was reseaching the cost of study materials and different opinions on each test and I was just wondering if the ACSM or ACE certification would be better for me ???

[Dinah]

I would say it would have to depend on where you are looking to be employed. If you're just looking at run-of-the-mill gym jobs, then ACE is fine. Since you already have the background, you'd probably pass the ACSM test pretty easily and then you've got the "gold standard" in certifications. And I know that ACE takes a lot of it's baseline information from ACSM (a lot of them do). ACSM is harder and more clinical -- not as user-friendly with it's Web site and lack of pre-testing options. ACE is extremely reputable and seems to do a better job of teaching you actually how to be a PT.

Of course, the bottom line is -- it's what you do with your certifications is what's important. It's really only the beginning of your education. You already have a good foundation with a degree in Sports Medicine, so I think you're good with either one.

[M_Volk]

I agree with Dinah. It really depends on the gym. I know in the Wisconsin/Minnesota/Illinois area, they look at ACSM and NASM as the top 2 leading organizations in terms of credibility as a personal trainer.

Life Time Fitness (the company I want to work at) requires you to have a NASM certification within 30 days of being hired there. And the Gold's Gym I work at currently requires you to either have a NASM certification or a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology or exercise related field before being hired as a trainer.

Also, its cool to check out other miscellaneous certifications you can get through each organization. For example, the NASM has a PES certifcation (Performance Enhancement Specialist) that would compliment your trainer's certification in the field of sports performance. ACSM has similar things too.

Food for thought

[paulkirkpatrick3]

Thank you for you guys input. My plans are to gain employment in a gym for now but I also plan attend graduate school and study exercise physiology/kinesiology/exersise science/nutrition etc something in the health & fitness field. I think the ACSM will better suit me in the long run.