Nasm personal trainer certification how to#

Nasm personal trainer certification how to#

Specific areas of focus include how to train an athlete, the best ways to correct muscle or performance imbalances, and recommendations for sports recovery. The general population is covered, but there is a heavy focus on sports, performance enhancement, and athletics. The NSCA certification is best described as a cross between the NASM certification and the ACSM certification with a distinct focus on athletic performance. Personally, I think this certification is better for long-term goals within the clinical industry such as a physical therapist, chiropractor, and corrective specialist trainer. Who is the ACSM Certification Best Suited For? Since ACSM is recognized more within a clinical and university setting, this certification would be ideal for those people interested in pursuing a realm beyond the commercial gym setting. Safety and legal issues are also extensively covered, but sales techniques are not. Compared to the NASM content, the ACSM textbook provides an in-depth review of proper health screening, medical and fitness assessment, exercise prescription, and program design based on illness and correcting distortions and imbalances.Įverything from the breakdown of physical anatomy to the chemical processes during exercise has an importance to it. ACSMĪfter extensively reviewing the study materials for the ACSM certification, I noticed an immediate and lengthy focus on corrective exercise. Also ideal for those who want to work their way up in a commercial gym setting. Who is the NASM Certification Best Suited For? Commercial trainers who want to get their feet wet and see what the fitness industry is like before pursuing higher degrees or specializations. It wasn’t until I started a private personal training business that I had to step up my game to accommodate special populations such as older, obese, and chronically ill adults. I dealt primarily with the general population with a few exceptions. When I received my personal trainer certification from NASM and began working in big business gyms, everything I had learned was applicable. When I was studying for the NASM certification, I noticed a heavy focus on perfecting the assessment, program design, and exercise prescription for the general population.įrom this experience, I felt that NASM could turn more attention towards special populations such as those with chronic illnesses, but overall the content was very focused on achieving the basics of providing personal training. NASM has a focus on developing a personal trainer who will thrive in a commercial gym setting.

I outline below where I believe each certification makes the most sense by skill focus and general interest. The best way to choose a certification program is to take into consideration your long-term career goals. While NASM focuses on program design, the ACSM has a distinct focus on the scientific process and improving movement through kinesiology. In fact, most CPT courses, including NASM, reference ACSM’s research in their own textbooks. They are also a leading producer of studies and scholarly articles. The ACSM is highly focused on the clinical side of training, offering certifications such as the Clinical Exercise Physiologist program. ACSMįounded in 1954, the American College of Sports Medicine is the oldest and most established program for personal training certifications. Similar to the ACSM, the NASM is tailored towards corrective exercises and teaching function training, but the NASM has a distinct focus on program design due to its optimum performance training (OPT) model. Each also allows for continuing education credits in lieu of retesting for recertification. The NASM certification requires a recertification every three years while both the ACSM and NSCA are every two years. On the other hand, the abundance of information and options can be overwhelming. On one hand, this is great because sales reps will explain the variety of the specialization workshops and courses they offer. The NASM-CPT certification is by far the most popular choice for studying personal trainers.Īs a for-profit organization with trainers primarily found in a commercial gym setting, NASM is incredibly sales driven. Founded in 1987, NASM is a for-profit organization while ACSM and NSCA are both non-profit. The National Academy of Sports Medicine is relatively new compared to the other two. However, there are some key differences: NASM

NSCA: Program History & OfferingsĪrguably, the top three certified personal trainer programs are the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).Īll three programs are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), require continuing education credits or units every two or three years, and are respected throughout the industry.