As one of the most trusted sources of fitness training certifications in the world, NASM is a distinguished name that will stand out to fitness employers. When you choose NASM for your Personal Trainer certification, you’ll get access to world-class fitness experts, your top choice of gyms to work for, and much more:

• • Peer-Reviewed Content from the Brightest Minds in the Industry

• • State-of-the-Art Digital Learning Platform

• • Programs Designed to Meet Multiple Learning Styles

• • 35+ Years Of Experience Training Fitness Professionals

• • 1.5M+ Fitness Professionals Trained

• • 100+ Countries with NASM Fitness and Coach Professionals

• • 12K+ Gym & Health Club Partnerships

• • Optional NCCA Accreditation

• • NCCA-Accredited Certification includes optional add-ons like Job Guarantee Program, Gymternship™, lifetime recertifications, and more

You must have a high school degree or GED. You're also required to have a current CPR and AED certification before you take the exam. For your convenience, NASM offers an online CPR/AED Certification.

You can complete your personal training certification in as few as 4 weeks. In addition to its interactive multimedia-rich content, learning tools, resources, and comprehensive study-planning guide, you can also receive assistance from NASM experts when questions arise.

Absolutely! You can complete this program and become a Certified Personal Trainer while also working full-time. The study material is 100% online and self-paced, and can be accessed on a computer, or a mobile device such as a phone or tablet.

You have the choice between two exams—a non-proctored Certificate exam, and a proctored NCCA-Accredited Certification exam. Here are some of the major differences between the two:

• • The non-proctored exam has 100 questions; the proctored exam has 120 questions.

• • You have 3 hours to complete the non-proctored exam; you have 2 hours to complete the proctored exam.

• • The non-proctored exam is open-book; the proctored exam is not.

• • The non-proctored exam confers a Certificate as a Personal Trainer; the proctored exam confers an NCCA-Accredited Certification as a Personal Trainer.

The choice of exam is up to you and in most cases simply depends on what your employer requires.

The non-proctored, online-only exam contains 100 questions that must be answered within 3 hours. This exam is open-book, meaning you can refer to your study materials.

The proctored, NCCA-Accredited exam contains 120 questions that must be answered within 2 hours. This exam is closed-book, so you cannot refer to your study materials.

You will have 180 days from the date of registration to take either of the exam options. An extension for the exam can be purchased by contacting NASM Member Services at 1-800-460-6276.

The non-proctored exam is administered online only.

The proctored, NCCA-Accredited exam can be taken online or in-person. For more information click here.

For the non-proctored exam, you have 3 attempts to pass. If you do not pass after 3 attempts, a retest can be purchased by calling NASM Member Services at 1-800-460-6276.

For the proctored, NCCA-Accredited exam, you have one attempt to pass. A retest can be purchased by calling NASM Member Services at 1-800-460-6276. A retest is also included with the Premium Self Study and All-Inclusive programs.

You must recertify every two years to ensure that your Personal Trainer certification remains up-to-date with current best-practice guidelines and skills. You will be required to earn 2.0 NASM approved continuing education units (CEUs) every two-year period, which includes 1.9 CEUs from a specialization program and 0.1 CEUs from the mandatory CPR/AED certification.