Personal trainers help clients achieve their fitness goals.
If you like watching other people sweat, then a career as a personal trainer might be the right career option for you. Personal trainers design fitness and diet plans for people interested in losing weight, getting into shape or training for specific athletic competitions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of jobs for fitness workers should grow by 29 percent from 2008 to 2018. Becoming a personal trainer requires the proper education and certification. Would-be personal trainers in Kentucky have numerous options to obtain the necessary education and certification as well as a job.
Instructions
1. Complete your education. The minimum requirement to work as a personal trainer is the completion of a high school education, but some training beyond high school will be helpful. Take courses at a community college or even a four-year institution in an area like nutrition or exercise science. Many personal trainers obtain associate degrees, but others go on to obtain bachelor's degrees or even master's degrees. The University of Kentucky offers degree programs in kinesiology (movement science) and health promotion. Western Kentucky University also offers a program in physical education with an emphasis in exercise science through distance education.
2. Seek personal trainer certification from a national certification agency. In order to work as a personal trainer in Kentucky, you do not have to obtain a license, but you must be certified by an agency like the American Council on Exercise of the American College of Sports Medicine, which are two of the more common certification agencies that personal trainers obtain certification from. These programs offer self-study options for certification. The National Council on Strength and Fitness offers the opportunity to take its certification exam in Louisville and Lexington. Alternatively, the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America offers workshops for its certification program in various locations throughout the state such as Lexington, Bowling Green and Richmond.
3. Obtain CPR and first-aid training. Gyms will require that you have CPR certification and first-aid training before they will allow you to work with their clients. You can obtain this training through your local chapter of the American Red Cross. For example, the Louisville area chapter offers CPR and first-aid training in combined classes.
4. Seek employment with local area gyms or gyms throughout the state if you are willing to relocate. Personal trainers are essentially self-employed individuals who obtain their own clients and build their own business, but you can start off working with local gyms who will either hire you to train their clients or allow you to use their facilities for a cut of the earnings you make for training clients.
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