or, About Becoming a Personal Trainer
On another forum a while back I started a thread about becoming a personal trainer. With two years passing since then, I can give you a summary version. This way, anyone who's thinking about entering the industry will have a good idea what it's like, and other people will have a better idea of why mainstream community and commercial gyms are the way they are.
Okay, enough intro. This stuff is relevant to Australia, other countries do things differently, usually even worse.
Anyone can call themselves a personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, counsellor, and so on. This is different to being a hairdresser or plumber, which are more tightly regulated. However, if you want to get employed by someone else and have any clients, you will have to have some combination of education and experience. But first, let's look at some different jobs in the fitness industry.
A personal trainer works producing and supervising exercise routines for low risk clients with general health and fitness goals. A PT will usually be TAFE certificate-level educated. PTs may be employed by community gyms, work as franchisees for gym and bootcamp chains, or be self-employed.
The PT doesn't give detailed nutritional advice, diagnose injuries or conditions, or work with moderate or high-risk clients; though they may supervise the routines of moderate-risk clients, routines written by an EP (see below).
A fitness specialist works as a PT, or assists a sports team with conditioning, or in tandem with a physiotherapist in a hospital setting, and may work with moderate risk clients with general health and fitness goals. An FI will often be diploma-level educated. In practice the Diploma of Fitness person works as a PT, or uses the Diploma as a stepping stone to a degree, since most FS jobs go to those with degrees.
An exercise physiologist works with moderate and high risk clients for general health and fitness goals, often with physiotherapists, orthopaedic surgeons and so on. Some EPs simply work as PTs. The EP often has a degree-level education. You'll find EPs working with someone who has arthritis and emphysema, that sort of thing.
A strength and conditioning coach works with athletes to improve their sports performance with strength and conditioning. The S&C coach often has a certificate-level education.
I'll just talk about being a PT.
Certificates
There exist five relevant certificates
- Certificate III (gym instructor)
- Certificate IV (personal trainer)
- Certificate III (group fitness instructor)
- Certificate IV (older adults trainer)
- Certificate IV (childrens trainer)
As well, Level 2 First Aid is required by all gyms and insurance companies.
Not many places offer the last three certificates, most commonly people do the first and then the second, later on in their career if they want to specialise they may add one or two of the others.
Technically, only Cert III (GI) is required to work in most gyms; you're supposed to be able to conduct assessments, prescribe and supervise basic exercise routines, and so on. In practice, so many people have done Cert III (GI) that the next course Cert IV (PT) is the minimum to be employed. There are a few Cert III-only people employed at various gyms, you'll usually find they've been there for 10 years or more; these courses have only existed for 7-15 years.
Cert III & IV (GI/PT)
Minimum course content is mandated by the various state governments. The course provider can put more in, but not less. The modules cover,
- Communication - how to talk to people
- Anatomy & Physiology - how the body's laid out, how it works
- Assessment of Fitness & Posture - knowing where the person's starting from, how they move
- Exercises - the actual movements you'll be teaching people
- Program Design - putting these exercises together into a program that makes sense
- Nutrition - you are what you eat, they say
- Legal Stuff - occupational health and safety, risk assessment, etc.
In most courses, Anatomy and Legal Stuff get most of the focus of the instructors. The Exercises section is glossed over. In this, fitness is like any other industry - what you do in the course has very little relation to what you do day-to-day in the job. The job is all about teaching correct movement in exercises, plus a heap of communication and motivation.
To be a competent PT, you'll want to have a background in sports, martial arts, and/or gym work - or be willing to go and get it during and after PT school. You should have a large library of exercises to choose from.
Cost & time of courses
Education is like any other service, you can have it good, fast or cheap - but not all 3 at once. Most courses have the same total contact hours, TAFEs have more on paper but you get sent home early, etc.
State TAFEs take a year part-time and cost you $1,400 or so. They are usually not very good, but the simple fact of having days between classes lets you digest the information and do your own research.
Private institutions vary a lot, but most are quick (6-12 weeks) since they combine Certs II and IV into one course, and cost $3,000-$6,000. Some are good, most not. For example AIF (Australian Institute of Fitness) has a poor reputation, when employers see it on your resume they usually chuck it away unless there's some years of experience after it. CAE in Melbourne under Aaron Whear has a good reputation, they teach you more than the minimum.
In the end, whatever you choose, school is only the beginning of your education. In any profession, if you stop learning the day you walk out of school, you won't go far.
In the next I'll write about employment.
