PolePixi started this discussion ·
Hi Veeners, I have been pole fitness certified for about 6 years and teaching off and on for about that time. I have been consistently teaching for about year now and I would like to get either get group fitness certified or personal trainer certified. Question for all you instructors, which certification do you have or recommend?
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WebJunk ·
Depends if you want to do personal training (1 on 1) or group fitness training. I had (expired) a Personal training certification with NASM. Have the study books for Group fitness but never took tests. I only wanted the information and not for a job.
PolePixi ·
Thanks @webjunk. I would rather do group but also want to understand the mechanics of the body how all the muscles work. Is that taught in group fitness certification or do I have to do a personal training certification to learn that?
WebJunk ·
Each company that provides certifications are a bit different. Ace Fitness covers that. I am not a big fan of AFAA for information purposes. The less expensive certs are not really worth much. NASM & ACSM are pretty good but more expensive. If you are looking to do classes at a particular fitness center you might want to ask which certs they recognize. Ace, NASM & ACSM are very widely recognized. AFAA if fairly well recognized but some chains do not. I've got the current (or last version) study materials for ACE personal cert. It includes as does the group cert the "Essentials of Exercise science for Fitness Professionals". That is quite helpful for what you are asking I think. If you only want the info you could just buy the book. Want to know specifics from the study materials just ask.
Thanks @webjunk that was great information. Helped me allot.
Hi ladies, I am refreshing this post since I have the same question, and most of the other posts on the topic are 4+ years old. My situation is that I am currently teaching beginner pole with certifications through Angel Discoveries and I am most of the way done with KT Coats program. I have always enjoyed teaching anything ( I was previously, and still am on occasion a firearms instructor). I am very seriously considering getting a more general fitness certification, for a couple of reasons. 1)More knowledge to teach pole, 2) Because I think I might enjoy being a personal trainer in the future, 3)Because I want to learn more about the body and nutrition for my own sake. That being said, I am currently learning towards a personal training cert through NASM. They seem to be widely recognized, and they offer live training, something I am really interested in. Can all of you, and hopefully Veena, chime in on your feelings about Group vs Personal Certs, what programs you like and why? Thanks in advance!
WebJunk ·
Actually the posts are less than a year and everything is still valid so no need to retype the same thing. I renewed my NASM Personal Trainer Cert last year. I have study materials for several other certs. NASM focuses more on understand body mechanics which is what I wanted since its not a vocation for myself. One thing to be aware of if you are certified in Group, you can be a Group class Instructor but a gym will not hire you for Personal Training. If you have a Personal Training Cert, they normally will not hire you for Group Classes.
Interesting, maybe I searched the wrong terms. Most of the posts I saw were from 2009-10. As to your last comment, if you have both personal and group, will a gym not hire you for both potentially?
WebJunk ·
If you have both, yes they will. Few people do because of the amount of work & time in studying for each test. Not to mention cost as they are another set of study materials and a separate test fee. There is not a lot of money to be made in fitness these days in most areas. There are some independent gyms that if you have a Personal Training cert will allow you to instruct classes. (not the other way though) Most franchise agreements for the chains specifically do not allow them.
Veena ·
It all depends on the gym. Some even offer their own certifications. Some also allow you to work as an independent contractor, so you would just use their facility, and they may or may not require a certain cert. It really varies. If you think personal training is something you will be interesting in then certify in that, if you want something to help you teach classes, then go with group fitness. Keep in mind the certifications get you in the door, but the best thing to do is learn everything you can on your own and get as much experience as possible, this is what make a good instructor, not certs. Being qualified is far more important than being certified. :)
I agree Veena! I constantly have to tell people that about firearms training certifications. For someone with little background in the fitness industry, I thought it would be a good place to start at least. Thanks!
I am NASM CPT and CES certified. I use neither. What was most useful to me was STOTT pilates certification. I use it every day with private and group clientele as well as in every pole and aerial class I teach. It's intense, but well worth it, and has been lucrative for me! Best of luck!!!!!!
litlbit ·
I don't hold any of those certs, though I do have all the materials from several from personal training to group fitness. I have a degree that includes Anatomy & Physiology, Diet & Nutrition therapy, Pharmacology etc. I have also worked in sports medicine rehab, PT/OT, ortho/nuero surgical, and Cardiac to name a few. I'm a retired nurse. My problem with the certs is I don't need all the numbers involved, ie: BMI, etc. Also the reason I got into pole was because I can't jump, run, or do any of the Cardio type classes like Zumba etc. So for me to try to obtain a cert and the requirements in particular for group fitness of teaching a regular cardio class, with my knee, just isn't going to happen. I also agree Veena, that there are good instructors out there that are not certified, but are very knowledgeable, and are awesome. I own my studio and teach pole, and don't have any certs other than an Elite Calisthenics Specialist since allot of what we do involves that, and I didn't have to hurt my knee to do it! We also have gyms here that don't require certs for group fitness. They test you to make sure you know what your doing and have you intern for a brief period to make sure you are safe before hiring to teach. Having said that, I'm certainly not against them, but they don't always mean a person is safe because a paper says they passed. :) Good luck with whichever way you decide! :)
Thanks for the input Litbit & Lustyzins!
