According to Wikipedia.com, a personal trainer is a fitness professional who is hired for private instruction. Generally thought to be a commodity afforded only to the rich and famous, personal trainers are now widely available for a variety of people with a variety of goals (and with a variety of budgets). A trainer will help his or her employer maintain exquisite physical condition by designing a specialized exercise regiment for said client. There are many trainers who offer their clients a range of service from nutrition advice, to postural exercises, to behavior change.

So, if you enjoy staying in shape and eating healthy, you may enjoy teaching others how to exercise by becoming a personal trainer. It can be very rewarding helping someone in need of instruction and support during exercise, whether the client wants to lose weight, get toned, or just change their routine and make sure they are doing everything correctly. Most often, people under the instruction of a personal trainer have much better results rather than depending on themselves to get to the gym or exercise at home.

5 Steps to Get Started:

1. Have What It Takes?
Personal trainers need to have a variety of skills. You should be systematic, enduring, supportive, persistent, organized, a successful motivator and a great listener. You should be self-disciplined and enjoy working with people. You don’t have to have the perfect body to be a trainer, but you should be a good role model for your clients.

2. Getting Certified
There are many choices for getting certified. You must have a certification as a personal trainer to begin work, whether you work for a gym, become self-employed, or create your own business. There are many places to get this certification. If you are going to work at a gym, they should help you in this process. They will probably give you the information and tell you to come back when you are certified. You can also get certified through a traditional school, or through distance learning. Some great places to get certified are:

American Council on Exercise (www.acefitness.org/getcertified/default.aspx)
American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org/certification/index.htm)
National Council on Strength & Fitness (www.ncsf.org/)
National Federation of Personal Trainers (www.nfpt.com/)
International Sports Sciences Association (www.issaonline.com/)

3. Market Yourself
Start making flyers, newsletters, business cards, a website and maybe some local seminars. You can begin by posting flyers in sporting goods stores, getting friends and family members to spread the word and sending out flyers and newsletters to them. Offer free consultations and seminars to get people to know your services.

4. Be Indispensable
Getting a certification is not a guarantee that you’ll get clients or, even keep those clients. To advance your skills, consider joining a national organization, such as IDEA Health & Fitness (www.ideafit.com/) to go to personal trainer workshops and seminars.

5. Options
You don’t have to work in a gym or even work for yourself. Personal trainers work in all kinds of different areas. If you are looking for something a little different, try these jobs as a personal trainer: corporate fitness, cruises, resorts, spas, online training and more.