The Myth of the Master Personal Trainer

Every so often I encounter people who calls themselves a “master” personal trainer and I always wonder what it took for them to make this boastful claim? Does a Master Personal Trainer know everything? When I ask people what they did to deserve this title, they usually reply that they passed a “Master Personal Trainer” certification test – and that’s it!

Hmmm…

I have had several of these Master Trainers take the AAAI/ISMA personal training certification that I teach –and they fail! How can this be…?

It’s simple. The title “master personal trainer” is bogus! It’s the fitness equivalent of a bag of magic beans!

Here’s a fact. Passing any fitness certification (ACE, AFAA, NSCA, NASM, ISSA, ect.) only demonstrates that the person knows the MINIMUM requirements. How is a “master” personal trainer certification any different?

There may be some advanced topics covered in a master personal trainer certification exam but there is still SO MUCH MORE that is not covered.

Take this test:

1. Your client’s legs cramp every time he/she walks for more than a few minutes. What might you suspect?

2. Your client complains that their muscles are extremely sore immediately after exercise. What’s might you suspect?

3. Your female client, who runs marathons, confides that she’s missed 3 menstrual cycles in a row -and she’s not pregnant. What might you suspect?

4. Your client tells you that their A1c level is 9. What’s that and what does it mean?

These are advanced topics but they show up daily (especially question #1) . How many trainers knew the answers? If you did, fantastic! There is a great chance that you did more than simply pass a certification test and that’s what it’s really all about –education.

Titles like “master personal trainer” do not matter. All that matters is staying educated. There are many personal trainers out there who have college degrees –and they don’t know anything about personal training! A college degree does not mean the person knows personal training.
How many personal trainers reading these words worked out this week? That’s great -now how many books about fitness did you read this week? Biceps don’t matter – education matters!

There are also trainers out there with no degree and no “certification” who are very smart. They are the passionate ones. They learn, study, make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. That’s the person I want in my corner. The trainer who admits when they don’t know something and then goes out and finds the right answer.

Nobody knows everything.

I sure don’t. I never call myself a master personal trainer or an “expert” or anything like that. I have some college degrees and I’ve even been lucky enough to have written a few books but I don’t know everything– and I hope I never do! I try to learn something new about fitness and nutrition every day. I think this, more than anything else, is at the heart of the matter.

If my venting on this topic offended some people, that was not my intention. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I felt these words needed to be said. So many people get hung up on titles that they lose sight of the big picture – staying educated. If you are a master fitness trainer, great. Just make sure you reinforce it with new ideas and knowledge on a regular basis. Failure to do so is like buying a new car – and never changing the oil.