West Virginia Personal Trainer Schools - WV
Education: Personal Trainer in West Virginia
While it is not required for certified personal trainers to receive a college degree, it can be a worthwhile investment. There are some colleges and universities that now offer West Virginia personal training courses at a certificate or associate’s degree level. Associate’s degrees in personal training, or in a related field, such as physical therapy, can give you a leg up on your competition, either when you apply for a job as personal trainer at a gym, or decide to start your own personal training company.
Deciding to become a personal trainer in the state of West Virginia can be a very rewarding decision, provided that you take the necessary steps to become certified. After all, indeed.com says that the average salary of personal trainers in West Virginia is $77,000 per year.
Here are some of the duties of the average personal trainer:
- Create safe, specific workouts for all customers. This means that you will need to know how to work with older people, younger people, people with physical injuries and disabilities, and amateur and professional athletes.
- Keep proper accounting of the money, invoices, and receipts that you receive from customers for your work as a personal trainer.
- Ensure the health and well-being of customers during their respective workouts.
- Have outstanding organizational skills in which you will be able to keep an accurate account of all customers, sessions, and training tools that you or your customers may need.
- Arrange for sessions that will fit into the schedules of your clients.
- Obtain the proper CPR certification, including first-aid and emergency training.
- Obtain liability insurance. If you work in a gym, you may be covered in this area by your employer, but if you decide to work for yourself, you will need to obtain this insurance on your own.
Steps toward Becoming a Personal Trainer in West Virginia
Here is what you will need to do to become a certified personal trainer in West Virginia:
- In West Virginia, personal training courses can help prepare you for national certification if you choose to electively pursue it. Once you decide upon a certification agency, order the materials that will be needed for you to take the certification exam. You will need to calculate the cost of testing materials for each organization. Many of these organizations provide free practice tests and workshops.
- While you study for the exam, it’s a good idea to attempt to create personal training programs for yourself, along with friends and family, for practice purposes.
- Before you take the exam, be sure to obtain an adult CPR certification. This can be found through the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross. Please be sure, however, that the association from which you will be obtaining your CPR certification will be acceptable to the company that you plan to work with following the successful completion of your exam (assuming that you will not be working for yourself). It is recommended that you take a CPR course that includes first-aid skills.
- Once you pass the exam, you will need to secure professional liability insurance. This insurance is relatively inexpensive, and you might be able to buy it via your certification agency.
- You may want to join such organizations as the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) to expand your social networking and further your employment prospects.