Time Is No Longer Your Exercise Excuse, and Info On Becoming A Personal Trainer

Posted byLori Posted onJune 28, 2011 Comments30

I tweeted this workout yesterday, and couldn’t not post it for you, too. (get your daily nudge: #fitnudge) The Pure2Raw twins thought it was pretty good, too.

There are plenty of excuses not to workout, but if time is one that you’re crossing off of your list today. Only have 10 minutes? Drop and give me 10…

Drop and Give Me 10

  • 10 push-ups (no knees! do them with hands on a bench, if needed)
  • 10 body-weight squats (keep those knees in line with your toes, focus on keeping weight on heels)
  • 10 jump lunges
  • 10 crunches
  • REPEAT 5 TIMES

 

Got a few more minutes and energy to spare? REPEAT 10 TIMES

All you need for this fast and calorie scorching workout is you. No equipment, not much space, and certainly not much time.

 

In other related news, I’ve had a lot of people asking me how I became a personal trainer. How I decided to go with a certain certification. What was involved in actually getting certified. What it’s like to actually train. Hopefully this is the post to take care of all of your questions. 🙂

 

Ask Personal Trainer Lori

I have loved exercise and fitness for years. I love the way it makes me feel and the way it can change lives, including my own. I also love that I can inspire someone to be fit, or get healthy, or even enjoy exercise, too.

That’s why I decided I wanted, more than anything, to be a personal trainer.

 

I did a lot of research on each of the different training certifications. I talked to a lot of fitness professionals and looked into which gyms accepted what. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is a widely accepted certification that is held in high regards among fitness professionals, and throughout the health industry. National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) is another certification I found to be among the top ranking ones. These are the two I narrowed my search to.

 

 

When considering a personal training certification, think about these things:

  • Time. How much time do you have to study, prepare, take the exam?
  • Money. Some certs are not cheap. Find out all of the costs before you take the “plunge”.
  • Is it widely accepted. Will the gym(s) you want to work for take this certification?

 

I decided to go through ACSM. I liked the program, I knew it was reputable, I knew the certification test questions were challenging, and I knew that I liked the other certs I could eventually obtain through them.

You can decide to buy all the study material they suggest or not. I did. The books are not cheap, but in my opinion, they were helpful. I studied for about 2 months before I took the certification test. This was enough time for me but I have heard of others studying for as little as a few weeks up to a year. The test is hard but not that hard.

There was some pretty in-depth questions. Coming from no formal education or background with anatomy or biochemical pathways, the information was overwhelming at first. I took a 3 day prep workshop that I found immensely helpful. If you do decide to get certified, I’d look into making it to a workshop. The workshop also supplied me with a study guide that simplified things and made studying much easier.

 

So, that’s it. After some studying and debating if I was ready or not to pass the test, I just took the plunge and signed up. Passed. And am now training.

Stay tuned Thursday for information on what it’s like to actual use your personal training certification.

 

What exercises do you like to do/put together when you are on a time crunch?

Are you thinking about becoming a personal trainer? PLEASE send me/comment with ANY questions at all!

 

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30 People reacted on this

  1. Awesome awesome awesome!!! Im still wanting to go. I was talking with the hubs last night about it. I was leaning towards ACSM too. Its the one that I found to suit me the best through all the research that I have been doing. I recently did hire a personal trainer and am 4 weeks into it and hes the BEST trainer Ive ever had. He listens to me and what my goals are and he can pick out my weak points and make me work on those. He really pays attention and no two work outs are the same. Hes great! I wanted to utilize a trainer before I go and get my certs. Just to see=) But overall great experience.

    If Im short on time my quickie workout is deadlifts, box squats, presses and chin ups.

  6. When you suggest exercises, you need to explain what they are for those of us not too smart…i have NO idea what a jump lunge is. Do I jump into the air and come down into a lunge? like feet spread apart? back and forth? huh?
    Also, is there ANYONE OUT THERE who can tell me how to put my picture on this message spot??? thank you!

  8. I agree you have to have exercise even just 3x a week if you want to have healthy body.i done to my self after work i do walk up to the hill once i sweat i go down and take a rest i feel really good every time im doing that.and it would be nice if you go to a training u get some tips in work out…

  9. Definitely want to try that workout! My favorite thing right now with my clients is to put them through supersets (about 4-5 different super sets, with one ab move at the end of each superset) and then some form of tabata training at the very end. It has proven to be one of the most effective things I could have done with all of them! I have a lady who lost 11lbs in one week (hands down, most of it was her changing her diet and going from absolutely nothing, to intense training!).

  10. I’d looove to have my job be fitness oriented. I wish I could do that and be paid as well as I am in my current job!

    ..Lori, I’m still missing your fitbites. I need to make my own! 😉

  11. that workout is awesome and incredible hard core! i like to combine abs and lower back when i’m short on time. today i did super sets of decline crunches with hyperextensions!

  12. That sounds like a great workout. Hey, I can work out now–so exciting, my energy is back! I don’t know what jump lunges are, and I don’t think I can do ten pushups without my knees (but I can do a lot more than ten with my knees now, so that’s progress). But I’ll definitely try this.

    I love doing ten or fifteen minute sessions jumping on the rebounder, varying my speed and posture.

  13. I’ve definitely used the excuse “I have no time to workout” quite a few times when really it isn’t an excuse at all! Like you said, even 10 minutes of intense working out is better than nothing. Thanks! 🙂

  14. I’m glad you’re writing about this. I just passed my NCSF certification last month & I’m getting my own business started up. So any info you have is wonderful

  15. This was good info! I am going to be getting my ACSM cert through Purdue University. So, I think it will be a little different since it will take me 3 years and I will be doing it through college. Hopefully it won’t be as overwhelming! I think you did the right thing with choosing ACSM. They are widely recognized and I think they are more credible. My manager at the gym where I work won’t hire any trainers unless they have ACSM certification. He won’t even consider other certs. And, we aren’t that big of a place. I think that says a lot. I am so happy for you! You make a great trainer, and I love these little workouts you post. THey give me ideas for my core classes that I teach, and my workouts too!

    Still hoping I can meet you one day and we can bust out a workout together! I still have a plane ticket I need to use before Feb 2012. 😉

  16. still SO proud of you for taking the plunge! such an awesome leap of faith and trust in your intuition. You are amazing!

  17. LOVE workouts like that- very Crossfit style. I like them because you can do them anywhere and don’t need the gym. I think other plyometric type exercises are great when you’re in a time crunch-they’re always hard and you don’t need an hr to do them. i actually am (hopefully) going to be a trainer! im taking the NASM test at the end of july! I guess my only question is do you like your job? Was it difficult to get one/get clients?

  18. Great post!! I do want to get certified someday — probably not while we are here because there are a grand total of TWO gyms in the entire city haha, doesn’t seem like it’d be worth the time here — but I LOVE helping people achieve their goals and I think it would be so fulfilling!!

  22. Sweet workout! When I’m in a time crunch, I try to hit the major body parts with either plyos or body weight exercises like dips, pushups, and squats. 🙂

  23. I like this time crunch workout! I usually combine similar exercises when I am in a rush. Push ups, squats, crunches and lunges are perfect! Basically exactly what I would choose 😛
    Question: When trying to progress to a ‘real’ push up, is doing push ups on a bench better than doing on the knees? thnx!

  24. oh yes, we loved your workout, we love short and sweet workouts
    lately been doing jump roping for quick workouts mixed in with pushups

    thanks for the tips on personal trainer, it is something we have thought about for years just never seem to get around to it

  25. I am so glad you are doing this series of posts on personal training. After this weekend- I am convinced I should get my Personal Training Certificate. I have a few questions for you:
    1. How do you find clients?
    2. How is the job market for personal training? Do people come to you or do you have to go to them?
    3. Would you ever consider making Personal Training a full time job? Or just keeping it as part time?

    So glad I met you this weekend girl. You are awesome and I hope we keep in touch 🙂

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