When I decided to become a personal trainer, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I knew I had to study and there was going to be a test. What I didn’t know is how in-depth the knowledge is to become a personal trainer. I received my box from ACE, and I immediately wondered if I could do this. It was A LOT of information. I also didn’t have ANY background in biology, physiology, etc. It was completely foreign to me. Then I learned there are different ways to earn CEC’s after you get your certification. There’s so much information out there and ways to earn CEC’s. One year I just found the quickest and easiest way to them. The following year I wanted it to be something that I was going to use and something I was interested in.
Earn Another Certification
Some courses will give you more than enough CEC’s for your certification. There are so many out there. I have my personal trainer certification through ACE. I got the textbook to get my Group Fitness Instructor certification. ACE has a ton more certification based on your interest. Pick a topic that is of interest for you, and research if there is a certification to match.
Nutrition is a topic that isn’t my strongest, but I wanted to learn more information. I researched for a long time on a nutrition certification because there are so many out there. There are so many different places that you can earn a nutrition certification but do you research. I recommend Precision Nutrition to anyone who wants to get more knowledge on nutrition.
Attend a Conference
One of my favorites is SCW Mania because they have tons of locations. It’s all weekend long with so many topics to choose from. I got my cycle certification at a SCW Mania weekend. The conferences are all over the United States at different times of the year.
Another one that is super popular is IDEA world. I received a free registration a few years ago. The knowledge that you receive here is awesome. I also met so many people even though it was done virtually. It was great to get connected to people that I woudln’t have met otherwise.
Courses
This one is probably the easiest way to earn CECs. I’m not sure if they still do this but I would follow ACE during the holidays. One year ACE did a free 0.1 CEC each day for 12 days. Some where reading an article and answer a few questions. Some topics I was interested in and others not so much but it was still glad I did them.
Fitour is a great resource to get CECs over a 6 month period. They have a 6 months membership where you can get certified with up to 26 different certifications. I did this for my first certification. I got certified in all of them. The one thing I like is the variety of certifications and I did learn some new things. Teh downfall is each certification has the same information.
First Aid
Part of my personal training certification I need to be certified in cpr and first aid. For me, it only counts for 0.1 CEC. I have done both online and in person. I personally prefer the in person version because I think it goes into more detail.
Write Articles
I didn’t know about this under I was doing research for this post. There are different amounts depending on your contribution to the article and where it is posted. The amounts are higher for writing chapters in a textbook compared to writing an article for publication. I wish I had known this sooner because I think I would have written more. I would like more trainers or fitness professionals to post their content because I think we can all learn from each other. There are not enough trainers and group fitness instructors sharing their knowledge.
Video
Again, here is another one that I wasn’t aware of but I LOVE it. I think this should be a requirement at some point in your training career. It’s called Merrithew DVD where you submit a 15 minute video of yourself teaching the subject matter. For each DVD, you submit a 15 minutes evaluation for 0.1 CECs. Videos are submitted through wetransfer. I can’t imagine the feedback you would receive would be so beneficial
Overview
There are so many different ways to get your CECs for your certification. I would check your certification to see what they take and the appeal process. I was amazed to see all the different courses that were accepted.
