Fitness instructor, gym instructor, fitness coach, certified trainer…no wonder there’s so much confusion about what kind of fitness training would be your best choice and what the differences are!
We’re here to tell you there are definitely differences, and they’re important ones, too. We’ll explain the differences between instructors and certified personal trainers, and let you know why we only hire trainers who fall into one category.
(Spoiler alert: we only hire certified personal trainers.) And here’s why:
Instructors
- Instructors do receive a certification, but the process is much quicker and simpler than that of personal trainers.
- The emphasis of instructors is mostly on aerobic, cardio-based workouts.
- Instructors are required to have very little anatomy training or knowledge in exercise science.
- Instructors are trained to run fitness classes, bodyweight aerobics classes, etc. A portion of their certification is learning music tempo and how to design class to the beat of a song.
Instructors can develop a good, basic knowledge for what they do, and we know there are good instructors out there. But…most of the dedicated ones will continue further training to become a certified personal trainer, and that’s who we hire at Outlaw FitCamp.
Certified Personal Trainers
- Certified personal trainers (CPTs) have extensive knowledge and training in exercise science, anatomy, and safety in movements.
- The primary focus of certified PTs is to help you reach your personal fitness, weight, and/or health goals. They work on specific goals for individuals.
- Certified PTs can guide you to results from wherever you are in your journey, as they’re trained to work with everyone from beginners to athletes. They’re able to help clients with special needs or restrictions. They do not work on a one-size-fits-all fitness plan. Many at Outlaw FitCamp advance their certification to specialize in a certain area like sports performance, corrective exercise or senior training.
- Besides tailoring a personal exercise program for you, certified PTs are also able to guide results through goal specific meal plans. Personal Trainers require some nutrition knowledge and can make nutrition recommendations to help clients reach their goals or to help compliment workouts.
- To reach your goals overall health is important. Certified PTs can address stress levels, sleep quality, and other areas they may see as a stumbling block.
- Certified PTs will always conduct a health and fitness assessment before beginning a personalized plan.
- Certified PTs provide constant and close supervision so that risk of injury and exercise fatigue is limited.
- A certified PT won’t just develop an exercise program for you and then let you go at it for weeks on end. They’ll tweak the program as you progress, to keep you more quickly moving toward your goals.
- Certified PTs can even work on psychology and behavioral changes in order to keep you motivated and feeling positive about your workouts. This is critical for long-term change, as results never happen overnight.
Outlaw FitCamp hires only the best certified personal trainers
At Outlaw FitCamp, we hire only certified personal trainers to work with our clients. We hire the best of the best, and then we train them in our proven methods. But we don’t stop there—we give them a great work environment, adjustable salary tiers and health insurance, so they become long-term employees. Many of our trainers have been with us for years!