AFPA Health and Fitness Blog

Editor's Note: This post was originally published April 2017 and has recently been updated and revised for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

You check your watch. It’s almost 9 a.m. You have a prospective client coming to the gym or your personal training studio for an initial consultation. You check your watch again. You play out the initial consultation process in your head and wonder how it’s going to go. Sound familiar?

With more than one-third of adults in the United States battling obesity, it’s time to turn your passion for health and fitness into a career as a personal trainer. You have the drive to help others live a healthier lifestyle. Now, all you need is the training and certification. But how much will it cost?

Whether you’re a new personal trainer looking for the best ways to communicate with your clients or a seasoned veteran who needs help keeping up with clients, chances are you’ve researched different apps and software to help with your business.

And with the recent growth in the development of apps and software, it’s an absolute must to start using technology if you want to skyrocket your personal training business into new levels.

Want to fit functional training into the programs you design for clients as a certified personal trainer?

If you have a client who needs to develop balance, improve coordination, or increase strength and endurance, functional training can help. And it’s even more effective when you choose exercises and activities designed to help make your client’s daily life easier and reduce the risk for injuries.

If you love fitness and want to expand that passion into a career in personal training, your timing is excellent. The field shows considerable growth and competitive salaries, while providing opportunities for meaningful job satisfaction and long-term prospects.

Personal trainers bring a wealth of knowledge to every client interaction, from conveying proper form to emphasizing injury prevention to relaying the latest fitness techniques. One of the best skills they offer, though, is the ability to help clients set meaningful, realistic goals that help them see progress during every step of a fitness journey.

When you’re ready to take the next step in your nutrition or fitness career, most likely that will involve some advanced education through a certification program. But how can you discover which one might be right for you?

Fortunately, you’re not the first one to ask this question. That inquiry has prompted the creation of some robust certification review sites that can help you make some crucial program comparisons. Check these out:

When the calendar flips from December to January, it’s tough to resist the feeling of a fresh start. That’s why so many people make New Year’s resolutions and have high hopes of keeping them until the following year.

But, according to one research report, only 8 percent of those people will reach that goal. Ouch.

When you have a passion for health and fitness, there’s a good chance you’re the go-to person your social network reaches out to for advice and information about cardio workouts, strength training, healthy eating, injury prevention, and race-prep strategies. Sound familiar?

Earning a personal trainer certification has been on your mind, right? But you’re wondering if it’s worth the investment and commitment it takes to learn about things like biomechanics, nutrition, injury prevention, exercise programming, motivation and behavior change, and the business of being a personal trainer.