Need Advice/Opinion. Thanks. - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[RL]

I'm 25, male. Love working out and lifting weights. I get a real good sense of satisfaction when people ask me how to do this or that. And I decided I want to become a personal trainer to help others (hopefully). And I understand being a CPT is not just simply lifting weights, etc. Another boat-load of stuff to consider. But I need some opinions.

I want to focus on teaching clients lifting weights, strength training, cardio, etc.

What certification is the ENTRY route for this focus? ACE, NASM, NSCA, etc? And why?

I have a bachelor degree in a total unrelated field - math.

[retrobeast]

For some reason NASM has become the chosen one. It is a costly cert but most gyms and clubs want it.
I got lucky and started my career of training in Houston where there is a very good cert (pfit.org).
It was recognized by the club I got hired in at as a very good cert. Unfortunately it is not nationally recognized as NASM.
My club was nice enough to open a site in San Diego to get me out of Houston.
To see a good breakdown of certs and costs go to
http://www.starting-a-personal-train...edidation.html
Hope this helps

[kaiserS]

Hey RL - you're getting into the business for the right reasons and glad to see you're taking it one step at a time -

For entry level, ACE is the best, easiest and cheapest - you'll be able to get some experience at major gyms and pick up private clients with it - but when you're ready to step things up, you may want to step your cert up as well -