NCAA-Accredited Certification

In another blog entry, we discussed the three major fitness certifications that a person can obtain if he wants to go into business for himself as a personal trainer. There is, however, a fourth certification that is particularly good for those who want to get into sports-related fitness training. It’s good because it’s the only NCAA-accredited program. We’re talking about ACSM certification–the American College of Sports Medicine.

To receive certification from ACSM, you’ll need to be 18 or older and have a high school diploma as well as your CPR certification.  The exam cost is $279, and then you must enroll in continuing education programs every three years to keep the certification current. There are four certifications available through ACSM:

ACSM Certified Personal Trainer Exam (CPT)
ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist Exam
ACSM  Certified Health Fitness Specialist Exam (HFS)
ACSM Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist Exam

GEI is the Group Exercise Instructor. By obtaining this certification, you’ll be qualified to teach a group about exercise activities and about the basics of fitness. To obtain ACSM certification, you’ll need to show that you can develop lesson plans for both individuals and groups, and that you can be flexible with different exercise techniques. Most important, you’ll need to show that you can supervise groups of participants.

CPT stands for Certified Personal Trainer.  This is offered because many college athletes decide that, to help them reach their peak potential, they must have an individualized exercise program.  By becoming an ACSM certified trainer, you’ll be able to make a difference in many people’s lives, but most commonly, young athletes’.

HFS stands for Health Fitness Specialist.  The Fitness Specialist does much of the same work as the personal trainer, except he adds to this anything pertaining to the client’s fitness. This means that as part of his training, he’ll learn about proper nutrition and proper life habits that contribute to overall fitness. There is also a large field in this category for workers who can work with populations who have medically controlled diseases.  Becoming a fitness specialist will require both an Associate’s Degree as well as your certification.

Your ACSM certification in any of these areas will open many doors for you! ACSM is the world’s largest sports medicine and training organization and is highly respected. That’s because it’s not easy to pass their certification programs. However, the training that you’ll undergo will be worth it, as you’ll have a credential that is well known, and career that you’ll love and which will bring you much fulfillment. You can find out more information about ACSM certification by visiting their website at www.acsm.org.