Personal training isn’t just for people who are looking to get perfectly toned bodies. A lot of people (no matter what shape they're in) can benefit from working with a personal trainer to set exercise goals and accomplish them (in good health and injury-free).
Personal trainers are fitness professionals who work with individuals to teach exercise form and technique, keep clients accountable to their exercise goals, and create customized workout plans based on the individual’s specific health and fitness needs.
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Many exercise institutions, such as the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) certify personal trainers. Once certified, many of these groups require the completion of continuing education credits, holding special insurance, and taking regular CPR-AED classes in order for trainers to maintain their certification and licenses. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the gold standard of accrediting bodies, currently backs more than a dozen fitness professional certifications, including those from these institutions.
Personal-training certifications include “certified personal trainer” (CPT), which readies someone for general exercise instruction; “certified strength and conditioning specialist” (CSCS), which focuses on resistance training for everyday and professional athletes; “corrective exercise specialist” (CES), which focuses on exercises to help improve movement dysfunctions and imbalances; and “certified exercise physiologist” (CEP), which focuses on training someone on how to analyze people’s fitness to help them improve their health or maintain good health.
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Physical therapists (PT) can also play the role of personal trainer in some situations, as they help people prevent and recover from injuries that might otherwise limit movement and physical activity. (Practicing physical therapists in the United States, however, must have an advanced physical therapy degree from an accredited program, according to the American Physical Therapy Association.)
Some personal trainers have various certifications, depending on their area of education and expertise, explains Julie Khan, a physical therapist, doctor of physical therapy, and advanced clinician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.