With a U. S. certification, you may find it more difficult to find coverage or pay hundreds or thousands more for it, says Lucinda Jensen, co-founder of the Certified Professional Trainers Network (CPTN), one of Canada's leading certification bodies. The PTDC Online Coaching Academy is an approved continuing education course for CPTN and Canadian fitness professionals, or Canfitpro.
For example, under insurance rules, Canadian coaches must administer the Fitness Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) to clients every year, Jensen says. This is not the case in the United States. When it comes to personal training certifications in Canada, there are a few options to choose from. However, it's important to understand that there are no laws that regulate personal training standards in the country.
Your 90-year-old grandmother could call herself a personal trainer if she wanted to! So, what you need to ask yourself is which certification is right for you. Let's take a closer look at each. The fitness industry employs more than 70,000 people, according to IBIS World. Personal trainer certifications with an NCCA accreditation option are the most respected in the industry. NCCA is the gold standard for third party personal training certifications and some of these certificates include NASM, ACE, Fitness Mentors and ISSA. Aspiring fitness instructors can earn certification through the YMCA of Quebec, ICS Canada and other organizations.
Founded in 1993, Canadian Fitness Professionals (Canfitpro) is the country's largest certifying body in this field. As of today, it has more than 24,000 members and offers several certification programs. Fitness Mentors CPT and Online Trainer certifications are taken online and at home with a time limit of 120 minutes to complete the 100-question exam. The CPT has one of the highest approval rates in the industry, with a success rate of around 85% for first-time users. If you don't pass the exam on your first attempt, a new free trial is available if you choose their Pro package.
You can learn more about their test at the bottom of this page here. Thanks to that extraordinary pedigree, they have earned more than 190,000 personal training certifications in the past 10 years, making them one of the most popular programs in the industry. To sit for the NSCA CPT exam, candidates must be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or equivalent. Candidates must also have a current CPR and AED certification. The exam consists of 140 graded questions and 15 non-scored multiple-choice questions, covering the material described in the NSCA Certification Manual. Fitness Mentors leads the industry in preparing coaches for the future and next-generation fitness landscape.
It is 100% online, has more study materials than many of the other certifications, offers personal tutoring and provides access to instructors. For more than thirty years, they have been providing training and resources for those involved in physical training with the goal of offering an elite science-based approach to personal training. What seems most unique about Fitness Mentors is their emphasis on the best business, marketing and sales techniques that show you how to start and manage a personal training business and an online personal training business from scratch. While there is no fitness test to become a personal trainer, being fit would certainly help you attract clients.
ACE offers separate certification programs for personal trainers, group fitness instructors, health coaches and medical exercise specialists. You'll learn how to conduct fitness assessments, create personalized exercise programs, demonstrate training techniques and help your clients achieve their health goals. Exercise professionals can specialize in personal training, strength conditioning & as well as sports nutrition and fitness. If you are interested in two personal training certifications for the cost of one, NFPT and Fitness Mentors have partnered to provide the best educational experience in the industry with the power to earn two CPT certifications at a time.
The purpose of this certification is to set the minimum standard in the Canadian Personal Fitness training industry. With course materials backed by research, this certification is a good choice for anyone looking for a future in physical training. The personal trainer program uses self-guided (online) or guided instruction (workshops, training schools and universities) to teach this curriculum that includes physical assessments and tests, results-based training methodologies, programming models for various segments of the population, nutrition and weight advanced management and instruction in resistance training, corrective exercise flexibility and aerobic conditioning. Similarly, if you plan to work in a smaller store with other personal trainers first check with them if they will accept the personal training certification you lean towards.
Certificate holders can also continue their education by pursuing the organization's advanced specializations including courses in physical nutrition group training weight loss training senior fitness women's fitness and more...
