ACSM Personal Trainer Certification

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“If you are looking for an entry level personal trainer certification, then you should probably skip over ACSM. It is a great certification for people with some experience but can be overwhelming for new trainers.” (about me)

ACSM Personal Trainer Certification

They market is as "the gold standard" in the fitness industry (and now NASM is trying to claim this title too). While that's a bit of an exaggeration, the ACSM personal trainer certification is definitely one of the top certification options.

And of course why only offer one certification? ACSM offers a whole catalog full of them but I will focus on the two most common options.

You can compare ACSM Certification against other Personal Trainer Certifications using our Certification comparison table. And don't forget to check what our readers are saying about the ACSM personal trainer certification.

What is cPT?

Well, it won't certify you to drive a boat, but I guarantee you that your clients will call you Captain if you put those initials on your business cards. The cPT is the basic ACSM personal trainer certification. It qualifies you to train healthy individuals, make fitness assessments and exercise recommendations.

What to I have to do to get it?

To get the cPT ACSM personal trainer certification you will need the following:

* 18 years of age or older
* High School Diploma or equivalent
* Adult CPR qualification (with practical component)
* Pass the 2.5 hours exam consisting of 125-150 questions
* Pay the exam fee of $279 (pass rate is 71%)
* And in case you don't pass the first time, $150 retest. ouch!

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How do I do that?

Where there are exams, there will be workshops. And getting the ACSM personal trainer certification is no exception.

ACSM is happy to lighten your wallet for these optional but helpful offerings:

1 day workshop $129 (experienced trainers only)
3 day workshop $375 (for the rest of us)
Textbooks, Textbooks Textbooks. About $125 if you buy them all.

Where's my Calculator?

Add it all up and you are looking at close to $800. No wonder they call themselves the gold standard!

But then I'm Certified, Right?

Well, yes and no. If you pass the exam you will earn the ACSM personal trainer certification. However, every 3 years you must renew your credential. That takes $30 plus 45 CEC units. That's continuing education classes if you are not familiar with the term.

So how much is 45 CEC units? Its equivalent to about 7 days worth of workshop attendance. And of course you can guess, ACSM only recognizes their own CEC's for maintaining the ACSM personal trainer certification.

So if you go down this path, plan on spending another $800-$1000 on continuing education.

What about advanced certifications?

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The ACSM personal trainer certification is just the beginning of their offerings. You can continue working and become an ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor(HFI). The HFI qualifies you to train clients who are not in good health. This kind of training requires much more knowledge of anatomy and requires a great deal of responsibility.

At a glance, the main difference is that you must have an Associate's degree (usually a two year program) in a health related field. The cPT ACSM personal trainer certification only requires a high school education. The costs of the HFI certification are comparable to the ACSM personal trainer certification.

What do you think about ACSM certification?

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ACSM Certification Insider Tips

Getting feedback about ACSM certification from people who have gone through the program is valuable. Click on each tip to read and rate the comments submitted by our readers.

ACSM secrecy
I find it disappointing that the ACSM website doesn't offer cost information for their CPT or other certifications. You actually have to spend $90 (or ...

When to take workshop in process of studying for certification
Hi Friends,

Can anyone offer an opinion as to whether it's better to take ACSM's three day workshop when you initially get the exam materials and start ...

Is the ACSM Workshop worth it?
I decided to become certified in personal training because I have worked as a Physical Therapy Assistant for 10 years in many different settings with many ...

ACSM Certification
I think that it is always great to have some kind of standard or benchmark to determine a person's level of competence. However, it sounds like ACSM has ...

Which ACSM Certification?
I am seeking advice on which ACSM certification to get. I recently took a workshop for the Health Fitness Specialist because I was going for that cert....

Does a College Degree Matter?
Hey my name is Jason and I a senior at Fairfield University, which is 4yr. college. I'm about to graduate with a degree in Sociology, but I am seriously ...

ACSM Certification Changes
ACSM has changed its Health Fitness Instructor certificate to Health Fitness Specialist to reflect more accurately what a fitness expert does in this industry....

ACE frequently references ACSM
I'm studying for the ACE exam. The fact that ACE frequently references ACSM in their personal trainer text indicates the high reputation ACSM enjoys in ...

I recently passed the ASCM CPT exam
Hi I recently passed the ACSM CPT exam in Ireland without attending the workshops, I did it all through home study and it was very demanding. I could have ...

ACSM CPT to Nutritionist
I am going through a career change and am about 95% sure I want to go to school for nutrition. In the meantime I was thinking of getting certified as ...

What study books are best?
I bought 4 books for studying for this test, and I'm feeling overwhelmed. I have the "ACSM Resources for the Personal Trainer", "ACSM's Certification ...

Nutrition
I'm just wondering if nutrition is a major part of the ACSM cert or if it's mostly about proper exercise?

ACSM Workshop
I am trying to decide whether or not to attend the ACSM workshop. Have you been to one of these workshops? How many people normally attend and is everyone ...

ACSM Exam Tips
I recently passed the ACSM personal trainer exam on the first time around. It was hard, but I passed it and I am new to the industry (never certified ...

ACSM certification has the best reputation
I am considering taking the ACSM HFI exam at the end of this semester. It definitely has a good reputation amongst my teachers. The cost is definitely ...

ACSM certification is worth the cost
You are absolutely right about the cost! But I really believe that I have a superior certification compared to some of my peers. Of course, not everybody ...

ACSM compared to NASM??
Hey... I'm a chiropractic student who is also looking to get certified as a CPT so that I can incorporate it into my own life as well as my practice after ...

NPTI Compared to Other Certifications
NPTI is a 500 hour course which involves actually hands on practical hours. I am an NPTI certified personal trainer and I have worked alongside ACSM, ACE,...

ACSM Certification Costs Not rated yet
i recently completed the ACSM CPT certification process. the total cost of the process, for me, was $460. that includes the cpr/first aid training, textbooks,...

Just Passed the ACSM Exam! Not rated yet
I took the test today 06/22/10, and I passed with a score of 643/800. I'll say this straight up... I studied hard, but I did NOT take the workshop. It ...

ACSM certificate program at community college? Not rated yet
At the local community college they offer an acsm certificate program. Has anyone done a program like this, where you would take 25 units versus doing ...

BABA's TIPS to pass ACSM-CPT exam Not rated yet
BABA's TIPS for ACSM-CPT

I took ACSM CPT test after 2 months of prepration and achieved 723 out of 800. I finished the test in ...

Difficulty of ACSM Exam, specialized exams Not rated yet
I am a physical therapy student. I have spent the last 2 years learning about anatomy, kinesiology, exercise, pathology, etc. I also took a class as ...

Becoming member of ACSM or IDEA Not rated yet
I am set to take the ACSM exam next week. I am trying to decide of I would benefit from being an ASCM member over the IDEA health and fitness association....

ACSM Health Fitness Specialist Workshop. Worth it??? Not rated yet
Hi,
I am finishing my last semester of a B.S. in Kinesiology. I am going to take the ACSM Health Fitness Specialist exam.

I am considering taking ...

beginner thinking of taking the workshop. Can someone give me advice? Not rated yet
Hey all-I've been reading and studying a bit from the ACE book but am really having trouble on my own and need some direction to get certified. I saw that ...

ACSM Health fitness specialist Not rated yet
I recently just passed the health fitness specialist exam. It was difficult considering I just received my bachelors in exercise science. I do not know ...

ACSM PT Cert or Health and Fitness Specialist? Not rated yet
I currently operate as a personal trainer in the UK. I have been running my business successfully for four years. I have a vocational personal trainer ...

Question about ACE related to ACSM... Not rated yet
I purchased all the ACE material last year and read the book, but didn't feel like it helped me with the exam much. I am interested in taking the ACSM ...

What if you have a lot of science background? Not rated yet
I've been training (and had trainers off and on) for over 10 years. I also instruct anatomy and physiology for pre-meds. I want the ACSM certification ...

ACSM Continuing Education Not rated yet
How often do the continuing education courses come around to Chicago and/or local suburbs on average, how are notifications sent for them, and lets say ...

ACSM Best Certification Not rated yet
I have been a certified ACSM Personal Trainer for the past year and a half. Other trainers always think highly of you when they find out you have the #1 ...

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