Starting a Fitness Career in Mid-Life

In The FItness Profession, You're as Young as You Feel

May 6, 2009

Fulfilling a dream to become a personal fitness trainer may seem like an unreachable goal after a certain age, but it's eminently possible and an admirable ambition.

You need look no further than the great Jack LaLanne, the great-great grandfather of modern exercise techniques to realize that age need not be a liability when it comes to staying fit and teaching others to become strong and healthy. An older trainer is an inspiration, proving to clients of all age groups that growing older doesn't necessarily also mean growing old.

Becoming Certified as a Fitness Trainer

Starting a new career in mid-life as a fitness trainer is as attainable for women as for men. The first step a potential trainer must take is to become certified through a reputable certifying agency. In most cases, the certification examination studies may be done at home, which is ideal if you are already established in a job or business during the day or if you are busy raising children. Some of the best and most respected certifying fitness schools are:

Each organization has its merits and it is worth exploring their individual websites for detailed information on the types of training they provide. For further information on these and other training schools, visit the website of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA), which promotes certification excellence.

You Don't Have to Quit Your Day Job

Personal fitness training can be done on a part-time basis, so quitting your day job isn't a necessity. Many trainers take clients early in the morning or in the evening, before and after work. Increasingly, offices are providing gyms for their employees, so you may find that your first clients are your own co-workers.

Internet training is also becoming increasingly popular and is an ideal base for a trainer who may not be able to leave an established career. An internet trainer works with his clients in the same way as an on-location trainer, conducting fitness tests and establishing exercise and flexibility programs. For accountability purposes, internet trainers usually require that their clients stay in contact during the week via email and the trainer website. This has the advantage of making the clients feel connected to their trainer in a way that a face-fo-face session might not.

How Old is Too Old to Begin a Career as a Fitness Trainer?

Ask Jack LaLanne. Of course, Mr. LaLanne has been actively exercising and training for more than 70 years, but if you are healthy and your doctor has given you the green light to become a trainer, age is irrelevant. To train others, you must be safely capable of engaging in aerobic activity as well as strength and flexibility training. If you are an internet trainer, your own fitness level should still be professionally high, but since your training sessions are virtual, many of the more rigorous physical demands of the job are eliminated.

In our youth conscious society, we too often believe that we must abandon our dreams as we grow older. But if fitness has always been your passion, and if you feel ready for the challenge, you're really only as young as you feel.

The copyright of the article Starting a Fitness Career in Mid-Life in Fitness Trends is owned by Nora Mayers. Permission to republish Starting a Fitness Career in Mid-Life in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.