Which courses to become a good PT?

September 11, 2011 9:09 PM

Personal trainer course (ie cert III & IV fitness) in Melbourne, Australia - what should I be looking for? Any recommendations or advice?

I think I would like to become a personal trainer but I'm a little overwhelmed by the multitude of companies offering Cert 3 and 4 courses out there and not sure where to start - I'd like to know what I should be looking for in a course (I want to feel confident once I have completed it) and which companies are reputable.

posted by lifethatihavenotlivedyet to Education (2 answers total)

Look into TAFE's. Their courses tend to take longer and (so I hear) be more thorough in what they cover. Certainly there are plenty of short-course-qualified dodgy trainers out there, enough so that standard advice to people looking for a PT is to avoid them.
posted by coriolisdave at 11:10 PM on September 11, 2011

I can't think of the names of some of the good ones off the top of my head, but I would avoid the ones that say you can "Get your Cert IV/Diploma in 12 weeks!!!!11!!" that advertise all over the place. There's a lot of gung-ho trainers being churned out - I have a couple of friends & several clients who have been injured by some of them.

Are there PT associations? I expect there must be, so I would suggest giving the reputable professional associations a call & asking them which training organisations they endorse.
posted by goshling at 7:04 AM on September 13, 2011