Becoming a Personal Trainer in New Hampshire

New Hampshire is the home of some of the best skiing, off-roading and hiking in the country, but there is more to the fitness activities of people in the state than that. In actuality, some of the top ranking outdoor physical activities for residents of New Hampshire are walking and golfing.

Because the fitness needs and workout preferences of the people of New Hampshire can be so varied, it sometimes presents a challenge for personal trainers to present unique methods of training. In the gym or outdoors, the challenge to keep your clients driven and motivated in a variety of training scenarios.

Penn Foster Career School's Online Personal Trainer Programs

Take the first step towards preparing for your career in the fields of personal fitness and nutrition through Penn Foster Career School's online programs:

Personal Trainer Career Diploma

You’ll work with a variety of clients as a personal trainer in New Hampshire ranging from young runners to skiers and regular folks just trying to keep limber and trim. What is nice about New Hampshire is that its proximity to Boston affords you the opportunity to work with an even more diverse clientele as well while still allowing you to focus on training techniques based on your own fitness interests.

Steps to Becoming a Personal Trainer in New Hampshire

Becoming a personal trainer is a once in a lifetime type of experience that you will always remember. Regardless of where your passion lies, be it core training, flexibility and nutrition, or strength training, the process of acquiring the necessary knowledge and how to use it will stick with you forever.

Degree Options for Personal Trainers

One of the best ways to put your career as a personal trainer on the road to success is to build it on a foundation of the proper education. By taking courses on physiology, anatomy and physical education you will add expertise to your passion for being a personal trainer. It’s also an excellent way to network and begin taking steps toward landing the type of job in the personal fitness industry that you desire the most.

Degree options for aspiring personal trainers include, but are not limited to:

Associate’s Degree Programs in:

• Biomechanics

• Personal Training

• Fitness and Health

• Physical Education

• Exercise Science

• Dietetics

Bachelor’s Degree Programs in:

• Athletic Studies

• Exercise Science

• Nutrition

• Exercise Physiology

• Human Biology

• Sports Medicine

• Kinesiology

• Physical Education

• Sport Psychology

The foundation of your career as a personal trainer will be the lessons learned not only in the health and fitness courses you take, but the kind of hands-on practical advice that comes from your professors.

Personal Trainer Certification Options

Obtaining your national certification as a personal trainer will be one of the most important things you do as you begin your career. The process will often include first having the right educational background and then undergoing a certification exam. This certification will open employment doors and definitively serve as proof that your knowledge and skills are up to par. Some of the U.S.’s top certifying bodies offer certification exams throughout New Hampshire.

Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), with tests offered in

• Gilford

• Freemont

• Nashua

National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF), with tests offered in:

• Portsmouth

• Concord

American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), with tests offered in:

• Nashua

• Whitefield

National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), with tests offered in:

• Nashua

• Whitefield

Personal Training Careers in New Hampshire

According to BLS statistics from 2014, the average income for personal trainers in New Hampshire was $36,520, or about $5,000 above the national average.

While New Hampshire has a number of large fitness and health clubs, there is no shortage of smaller clubs for those who prefer a more intimate setting. It is the larger gyms such as Gold’s Gym, Planet Fitness and The Zone Gym in Hampstead that are regularly hiring personal trainers as their already large client bases regularly expand.

A good option for employment if you hone your skills is to work within the university system as many college teams have a need for personal trainers. Another possibility is working for a corporation that keeps a personal trainer or two on staff to service the fitness or their employees.

Another option is to work as an independent fitness trainer taking advantage of the great outdoors as your studio. You can work with trail runners, cyclists or lead classes in the park for anywhere from a few people to a couple dozen. Whatever your career goals as a personal trainer in New Hampshire are, with the proper education and certification the possibilities are limitless.