Personal Trainer Test Material

[Steve123]

This is a long shot of a post but I'll toss it out there anyway.

Does anyone have, or know of a resource to obtain, the ACE training study material used? I would like to get my certification but really don't want to dish out the $500 to get the material. If anyone has the material and it's just collecting dust, there is mutual benefit to responding.


Thanks

 

[Aaron Osaka]

For that kind of money, you might as well shoot for a more respected cert.

 

[pumpkinhead]

ACE sucks anyhow, the part most people fail is the on the medical certification part, yes thats part of the test. you have to know all your first aid Ems type crap.

why would you wanna be a personal trainer anyhow? Unless your going private you will make NO MONEY training people thru a corp gym. Well at least NO MONEY I would consider money. better off working at wendys if your going to train thru a corporate gym.

Your best bet is to train privately and find a gym that will charge you rent and allow you to train your clients their.

 

[Steve123]

Well, I was just trying to get my foot in the door. I've been training people off and on anyway. Not bodybuilders but just people who are overweight and trying to get in some semblance of shape. Until now, it's been Pro-Bono but I would like to go Pro if that makes sense.

My ultimate goal is the National Strength and Conditioning certification but that's going to take a while. I just wanted somthing for now.

As far as corporate gyms go, I do have an "in" there too. I worked for a large Mutual fund company out here for many years and know quite a few people who have, in the past, told me that they would like to see me train in their gym rather do the Corporate jobs I've done. I guess I can take that as an insult and/or a compliment.

For now, my buddy manages a (gulp..) Planet Fitness and wanted to get me in there to train people. I figured it would at least provide some experience, if not a potential client list. Maybe I could get some of those cows to take their commitement to fitness seriously.

 

[pumpkinhead]

Well, I was just trying to get my foot in the door. I've been training people off and on anyway. Not bodybuilders but just people who are overweight and trying to get in some semblance of shape. Until now, it's been Pro-Bono but I would like to go Pro if that makes sense.

My ultimate goal is the National Strength and Conditioning certification but that's going to take a while. I just wanted somthing for now.

As far as corporate gyms go, I do have an "in" there too. I worked for a large Mutual fund company out here for many years and know quite a few people who have, in the past, told me that they would like to see me train in their gym rather do the Corporate jobs I've done. I guess I can take that as an insult and/or a compliment.

For now, my buddy manages a (gulp..) Planet Fitness and wanted to get me in there to train people. I figured it would at least provide some experience, if not a potential client list. Maybe I could get some of those cows to take their commitement to fitness seriously.

not sure of planet fitness..but I can tell you two large corporate franchises around here pay their trainers on average 7-9 dollars per 30min session...but you dont get paid when your "in between" sessions... so if you have a 4pm and a 5:30... you will make 14-18 dollars for 2 hours in the gym. IF YOU CAN LIVE OFF THAT, and enjoy it....then by all means go for it. Trust me, I would love to train people and actually be a trainer that can make a difference in someones life... but I can't support my house payment and 2 cars on that kind of money. Its sad, but "the bottom line" has ruined truly "good" trainers in gyms. now you have 18 year old kids, who read a book, trying to train people.

 

[Ivanko]

1. You don't need a certification... most gyms dont care.
2. ACE test is easy if you just buy the practice tests they have on their website and study the types of questions and types of answers (very subjective)
3. Personal training is a SALES job, but you don't sell "fitness".. You're gonna be selling yourself and your personality to fat girls. That means telling them what they wanna hear and talking to them about their boring lives while they half ass reps. That sound fun?

And your gym will probably want you to teach classes too, getting ready for the gayest 45 mins of your life!

It's not worth it, trust me..

 

[bigboy05]

Christ almighty...nothing like slammin' a guys dream. I agree trainers don't, for the most part, make any money. My step father has been in the industry for years as an Olympic coach, gym owner, trainer, etc. He used to train at the local Gold's and got paid very, very poorly, (thanks Blair McHaney). He finally opened his own strength and conditioning gym. Anyway, long story short, If you want to make any money training you need to specialize in something, i.e. strength and conditioning, the elderly, rehab, obese people, etc. This way you become an expert with a certain clientele and get specific referals rather than being just a trainer like everyone else. Might not be as glamorous as training bodybuilders, but I think making a living doing that is a long shot...just a fact. Good luck and much success.

BTW...I don't know where to get any ACE material, sorry.

 

[Viking55]

Aloha,

The four most distinguished organizations for certifications are:
-NSCA-
-NASM-
-ACSM-
-USAW-

Having been in the field of Personal Training, Sports Performance and Rehabilitation for over 35 years and currently in charge of educating 25 trainers, as well as interviewing and hiring, the above organizations are the industry's best.

Each one offers some different components and focus. . NSCA originally was only concerned with (CSCS) Strength and Conditioning programs, with the focus on college, professional, some olympic, and now high school athletes. In 1996 the NSCA entered into the field of personal training with the CPT- Certified Personal Trainer and recently added the CPT*D (Distinction). Having been involved with the NSCA for the last 15 years, I find their focus on science, form and correct progressions to be spot on. However their are limited in their vision of how to identify 'true muscle imbalances, compensation patterns and utilizing a comprehensive protocol to resolve the issues'.

NASM has a more 'comprehensive' set of certifications one can take. One can really evaluate, address and remedy structural imbalances and weknesses.

The ACSM is very clinical, in many ways too clinical unles you are in a clinical setting.

USAW offers the Sports Performance Coach program and Olympic Weightlifting certifications. I find their porgrams very beneficial for a number of settings I work in.

I have duel certs and degrees and it definitely makes a big difference in the work I am capable of doing and the areas I can work with. In todays changing markets it is a very good idea to 'expand your horizons' once you get certified.

BTW, one can make very good money. I've found that personal training revenue can be substantial. Coaching is another whole different story unless you are at a Division I school.

Best of luck on your journey.....

V55

 

[pumpkinhead]

Aloha,

The four most distinguished organizations for certifications are:
-NSCA-
-NASM-
-ACSM-
-USAW-

Having been in the field of Personal Training, Sports Performance and Rehabilitation for over 35 years and currently in charge of educating 25 trainers, as well as interviewing and hiring, the above organizations are the industry's best.

Each one offers some different components and focus. . NSCA originally was only concerned with (CSCS) Strength and Conditioning programs, with the focus on college, professional, some olympic, and now high school athletes. In 1996 the NSCA entered into the field of personal training with the CPT- Certified Personal Trainer and recently added the CPT*D (Distinction). Having been involved with the NSCA for the last 15 years, I find their focus on science, form and correct progressions to be spot on. However their are limited in their vision of how to identify 'true muscle imbalances, compensation patterns and utilizing a comprehensive protocol to resolve the issues'.

NASM has a more 'comprehensive' set of certifications one can take. One can really evaluate, address and remedy structural imbalances and weknesses.

The ACSM is very clinical, in many ways too clinical unles you are in a clinical setting.

USAW offers the Sports Performance Coach program and Olympic Weightlifting certifications. I find their porgrams very beneficial for a number of settings I work in.

I have duel certs and degrees and it definitely makes a big difference in the work I am capable of doing and the areas I can work with. In todays changing markets it is a very good idea to 'expand your horizons' once you get certified.

BTW, one can make very good money. I've found that personal training revenue can be substantial. Coaching is another whole different story unless you are at a Division I school.

Best of luck on your journey.....

V55

I agree one can make some money if not training out of a corp franchise gym... as far as "very good money" .. that is all relative to what you consider good money.

 

[southern2316]

I have both NSCA and NASM CPT certifications. Take my advice and do not get the ACE certification. No gym owner respects that certification excpet maybe gyms like L.A fitness or 24 Hour fitness but hell they only pay like 15 dollars an hour. If your ulitmate goal is to get NSCA CSCS, you might as well get their CPT first. I think they even require you to get it now anways. I graduate this year so I will start studying for the CSCS exam soon. If you got any questions let me know. Whatever you do work for yourself because that the only way to make money

 

[Steve123]

1. You don't need a certification... most gyms dont care.
2. ACE test is easy if you just buy the practice tests they have on their website and study the types of questions and types of answers (very subjective)
3. Personal training is a SALES job, but you don't sell "fitness".. You're gonna be selling yourself and your personality to fat girls. That means telling them what they wanna hear and talking to them about their boring lives while they half ass reps. That sound fun?

And your gym will probably want you to teach classes too, getting ready for the gayest 45 mins of your life!

It's not worth it, trust me..

This is beyond Classic!!!

".....selling yourself and personality to Fat Girls"!!! This should be bookmarked!

 

[Steve123]

Aloha,

The four most distinguished organizations for certifications are:
-NSCA-
-NASM-
-ACSM-
-USAW-

Having been in the field of Personal Training, Sports Performance and Rehabilitation for over 35 years and currently in charge of educating 25 trainers, as well as interviewing and hiring, the above organizations are the industry's best.

Each one offers some different components and focus. . NSCA originally was only concerned with (CSCS) Strength and Conditioning programs, with the focus on college, professional, some olympic, and now high school athletes. In 1996 the NSCA entered into the field of personal training with the CPT- Certified Personal Trainer and recently added the CPT*D (Distinction). Having been involved with the NSCA for the last 15 years, I find their focus on science, form and correct progressions to be spot on. However their are limited in their vision of how to identify 'true muscle imbalances, compensation patterns and utilizing a comprehensive protocol to resolve the issues'.

NASM has a more 'comprehensive' set of certifications one can take. One can really evaluate, address and remedy structural imbalances and weknesses.

The ACSM is very clinical, in many ways too clinical unles you are in a clinical setting.

USAW offers the Sports Performance Coach program and Olympic Weightlifting certifications. I find their porgrams very beneficial for a number of settings I work in.

I have duel certs and degrees and it definitely makes a big difference in the work I am capable of doing and the areas I can work with. In todays changing markets it is a very good idea to 'expand your horizons' once you get certified.

BTW, one can make very good money. I've found that personal training revenue can be substantial. Coaching is another whole different story unless you are at a Division I school.

Best of luck on your journey.....

V55

This is great information. Thanks.

 

[southern2316]

1. You don't need a certification... most gyms dont care.
2. ACE test is easy if you just buy the practice tests they have on their website and study the types of questions and types of answers (very subjective)
3. Personal training is a SALES job, but you don't sell "fitness".. You're gonna be selling yourself and your personality to fat girls. That means telling them what they wanna hear and talking to them about their boring lives while they half ass reps. That sound fun?

And your gym will probably want you to teach classes too, getting ready for the gayest 45 mins of your life!

It's not worth it, trust me..

He has no idea what the hell he is talking about!

 

[pumpkinhead]

He has no idea what the hell he is talking about!

Actually he does know what he is talking about, I was Director of training for 7 gyms in my region and all the trainers were under me. They promised me I would make..at least 70k (with my commisions and base)..wich was close enough to what I used to make and would be doing something I enjoyed right?

They pushed EXACTLY what he was talking about, plus they paid MORE ($2 dollars per session for thoose that had certification, but did not need one)... they also wanted me to force my trainers in a sense to lie by using the bio impedence device to test bodyfat (wich we all know is crap)...then if that number didnt help, use their BMI wichever makes the situation looks worse.... After I saw all the crap that was going On, after 1 week, I could tell everything they told me about this position was utter bullshit. I asked them to show me the books...I said, "you promised me I would at least make this (compared to my old suit and tie job) if I took this job, I wanna see the books from the past 2 years, you show me 1 month the old training director was even on track to make that, how about even close to that?" he refused and just kept saying, TRUST ME.... I said see ya.

Theese corporate franchise gym's hire the worst of the worst, or old retired guys that don't need the money to be trainers, but want to fill up their time with a hobby. They don't care about the client, bottom line. (I know, I was in charge)..
like a previous poster said, you need a specialized field to make any real money at all.... or like I said, if your a private trainer, and you can find a gym that will let you pay them rent to train your clients their...that is your best bet for making money in the personal training field. Then you can build a name for YOURSELF, not the gym.

now if you just wanna train, and you dont care about money...just go to a franchise gym, dont worry about your certification..if one doesn't hire you, the others will. they will also tell you about how you can make more money by selling or upselling your clients and you getting commision (trust me again, I was trained on all this when they had me take the director job)... your commision check, besides your 7-9 dollar salary per 30min session...will be about 50 bucks a month, if your really pushing it. As they will pay you about 5% of total "upsale" not total package price.

by no means am I "trying to destroy your dream"...I am just trying to help you. If it was my friends dream to jump off a cliff...I think I would want to explain to him how his brain would look on the rocks below first.

**I would say if your dream is to live in a 400 dollar apartment a month and drive a 10 year old honda civic...working for a franchise gym will fit the bill.

 

[southern2316]

Most of the good trainers don't work in big corparate gyms. That leaves the inexperienced to work at places like L.A Fitness and make nothing. Most of the trainers I know that make good money, work in private training studios or hardcore gyms. Walking up to people in a gym and suckering them into buying training sessions is not real personal trainer

 

[walker11]

Go with NSCA for a certification. I took an NSCA class last year at school then took the test and it wasn't too bad imo. The only book you really need to study for the test is Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning 3rd Edition and it's not that expensive. Because i'm still in school i haven't recieved my certification yet, but i passed the test and just by having that i was able to walk into every gym in my area and have something none of there trainers had. Most trainers have ACE, so try to get something not many other trainers have and will make you more marketable to possible clients.
Hope that helps you out some,
Walker

 

[bigblue2010]

Ok guy.

I understand what your wanting to do. I have the whole set here but Im also going to get mine first. I only paid 300 for it 2 years ago. Did it go up that high in two years.

Anyways I was working part time in a Corp Gym, and like they say if you train someone for an hour, the gym gets 40 and you get half of it.

Only good enough for part time, but good enough to get some experience and start your own in home or lease out at a gym.

I had just got the set and rolled my truck 6 times resulting in a broken leg.
So I had to put it on hold.

Big money in Va with one on one self employed personal trainers.

Don't let anyone crush your ideas.

 

[Steve123]

Guys,

I do understand the pitfalls of the large gyms. I'm really just looking for two things out of this:

1) a way to gain some experience training people professionally, and
2) something to do PART TIME that I enjoy.

This is as much to keep me on track as it is my prospective clients. I'm trying to disassociate myself from the people, places and things that have kept me on a self detroying trajectory over the years.

I have coached/trained people who were Obese to getting in good shape. I think that's what my specialty would be. It's life changing for the client and rewarding for me. The last guy I coached told me had has all but given up on himself. He was amazed at what was possible with the right motivation and guidance.

Secondarily, I would like to become qualified to do Strength and Conditioning for Football teams. If I can get there quick enough, maybe I could be an S&C coach for my Son's high school Varsity team - he's on the Freshman Squad this year. The coaches over there try to work with the kids in the weight room but most have no idea what they're doing.

So, that is really where my head's at. It's not so much to make money, at least not yet. However, I would like to make as much as I would at any other shitty part time job in the begining. I figure it like this: I enjoy this so if I must work part time, I may as well do something I like vs. pumping gas somewhere.

If it means I have to at least appear to be interested in some Fat Chicks boring life, so be it.

 

[pumpkinhead]

Guys,

I do understand the pitfalls of the large gyms. I'm really just looking for two things out of this:

1) a way to gain some experience training people professionally, and
2) something to do PART TIME that I enjoy.

This is as much to keep me on track as it is my prospective clients. I'm trying to disassociate myself from the people, places and things that have kept me on a self detroying trajectory over the years.

I have coached/trained people who were Obese to getting in good shape. I think that's what my specialty would be. It's life changing for the client and rewarding for me. The last guy I coached told me had has all but given up on himself. He was amazed at what was possible with the right motivation and guidance.

Secondarily, I would like to become qualified to do Strength and Conditioning for Football teams. If I can get there quick enough, maybe I could be an S&C coach for my Son's high school Varsity team - he's on the Freshman Squad this year. The coaches over there try to work with the kids in the weight room but most have no idea what they're doing.

So, that is really where my head's at. It's not so much to make money, at least not yet. However, I would like to make as much as I would at any other shitty part time job in the begining. I figure it like this: I enjoy this so if I must work part time, I may as well do something I like vs. pumping gas somewhere.

If it means I have to at least appear to be interested in some Fat Chicks boring life, so be it.

if your only two goals are too train people for the first time and something part time... a corp gym is fine for you. you will fit in perfectly. most of them are first time trainers and still live with mom/dad or retired. If its part time your looking for, you obviously dont need the money....so a franchise gym will be just fine to gain some experience.

by no means trying to crush your dreams...but I see the TV ads trying to sell people into getting their training certificate and the huge amounts of money you can make, and it just downright angers me. I hate when people are taken advantage of, was just trying to help you bro. thats all.

 

[bighurt]

i am not a BB and i am not in shape, but i do know about business. At the end of this month I am actually going to contract Shelby to help get my fat ass in shape, this is essential what you are wanting to do.

As others have said, get your "cert" then find a place that will let you train client.

Next, get a webpage, these are cheap and cookie cutter. You said you have trained lard asses into shape? Put before and after pics on your web page in a client transformation section, have them say some word about you in their own little section.

"Steve123 changed my life blahblah Jager Bombs, Jager Bombs"
"Steve123 helped me lose 100lbs and feel better than ever"

Then have plans, so people of different income can pick what they want. Not all people can afford year round diet and training coaching.
Also, are you a nutritionist? That would help as far as a degree would go.

Then make a name, some type of brand, your name or ANYTHING you can put on a card or tshirt, so you arent just some dude who has visable abs.

You wont make any money in that industry working for someone else.