You might not know this, but I have been a certified personal trainer for two years. The reason you may not know this is because I rarely ever talk about personal training anymore and I rarely even do it. The first year I had a lot of clients. I mostly designed and taught lifting programs for runners. I did write some 5k and 10k training plans as well. I enjoyed personal training because I like teaching and helping people.
But then I got busy and stopped making time for personal training. The less I did it, the more I realized I didn't miss it at all. A few weeks ago, I got a letter from ACE informing me my certification needed renewed. The cost to renew my membership, take the continuing ed courses required, purchase insurance for another year, and renew my CPR certification would be over $700. That's a lot of money to stay certified in something I rarely ever use.
And so I'm letting my certification lapse. It's definitely the right decision for me.
If I truly enjoyed training, I would make the time for it. But since I'm not making the time, clearly there are other things that are more important in my life.
I'm really glad I tried personal training. I'm proud of myself for studying and passing the exam. I learned a lot that has helped me in my own personal fitness journey, and that information is something I will always have with me, whether I stay certified or not. I'm proud this is something I can look back on and say, "Hey, I'm glad I tried that! Even though it's not for me, at least I know it's not for me." I never have to wonder if I missed out on something!
The decision was easy, so I'm glad about that!
The decision was easy, so I'm glad about that!
Have you ever tried something and realized it wasn't for you?
Is there something you haven't tried that you regret?
whoa $700 is a lot of money! It's good that you went through the experience though to see if it truly was your passion, etc. I definitely would have made the same choice if it came down to it. My gym membership just ran out recently and I'm debating activating it again or not. I usually try to work out at home and rarely make it to the gym during the school year, so I probably won't reactivate it, we'll see!
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad you can just go month to month without start up fees. Is your gym expensive? Planet Fitness is $10 a month so once I didn't go for 7 months hahahaha!
DeleteI knew you were a personal trainer but I wondered if you ever trained clients anymore! I didn't realize it was so expensive to keep up your certification. Hopefully it taught you alot anyway that you can use for your own personal workouts!
ReplyDeleteIt did teach me a ton! I am very thankful for that! If it wasn't so expensive I would probably keep the cert, but then again who would want to hire a trainer who never trains anyone??
DeleteThat is always a great feeling to try something you wanted to do! You should feel very proud of that. As you know, I have a degree in Nutrition and I quickly learned I did not want to counsel clients on weight loss or disease mgmt (diabetes, etc.). I did it my last year in school and it was not for me. As I started grad school, I got my job at HPE and decided to take a leap of faith and enter the world of high tech. That was almost 20 years ago and I do not regret it one bit. It's hard to say if I would have enjoyed nutrition teaching/research (which was why I was going to grad school) but I love where I am at so I don't think about it much. And like you, I always have the knowledge of what I learned for myself. That is priceless, I think.
ReplyDeleteIt is priceless- and what also is priceless is the comfort of knowing you made the right decision and you didn't miss out on anything! Do you ever give nutrition advice in an unofficial capacity? Like friends or family asking you things?
DeleteYes, I do! I love to talk about it. Most people never follow my advice and that is OK. In fact, only my cousin Darrin and Rick have followed my advice and they both dropped weight and kept it off for years! Makes me happy. Most people just want a quick fix and for it to be really complicated (they make it complicated). I always say it's not necessarily easy but it's super simple.
DeleteWord. (In regards to it being simple but not easy!)
DeleteYup, i've been there before too. Never in an endeavor that was as costly as $700 but things I thought I wanted to do but in the end really didn't make much time for. But to be fair, for those of us who have full time jobs with benefits, it's hard to really get into a "side business" when it's our "day job" that pays the bills. Know what I mean? I tried doing professional writing for a while and although I got a lot of work, it just doesn't pay all that well. I really hated to give it up because it is my passion so now I still do it on a smaller scale and still have my full time job. It's a lot to keep up with, but I would miss doing it if I didn't have it anymore. At least now you know if you ever leave your full time job, you have something to fall back on and build upon. Okay, this comment wasn't suppose to be this long. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteYes!! It is hard to do the side business things when we have a "real" job that pays the bills. I mean, I realize PT IS a "real" job for some people, but for me, it's not what gives me insurance, etc! I am glad you can do professional writing even though it is not your full time job.
DeleteI had no idea it was so much to renew. I don't blame you for not wanting to do it if you rarely use it. Sometimes things like this have a place in our lives, but they "run" their course. Get it? :)
ReplyDeleteHaha! You are so right.
DeleteWow, it's crazy how much renewal costs! It reminds me of teaching certificate renewals. $75 to renew, plus $50 to get finger printed every 5 years. It's such a scam to squeeze more money out of teachers! Or, in your case, personal trainers! I think it's great you tried it out and enjoyed it for awhile :)
ReplyDeleteI was so mad when PA started making us updating our finger prints and child abuse clearances. I had gotten them done when I got certified but ever since the Sandusky Scandal, we have had to get them more often and like you said, pay for them out of pocket. When the PTO gives me money, that's what I spend it on. It's supposed to be for our classroom but guess what? I am an integral part of the classroom!!!
DeleteI can't believe it's been two years since you got certified. I feel like it was just yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI've tried so many things over the years that later turned out to not be for me. In each case I learned something new and the experience has helped me in other areas so I don't mind at all! To be honest, I am surprised that running stuck! When I decided to try it out I really thought to myself "there's no way this lasts more than a week" and here we are! So you win some and you lose some!
I know, I remember calling Paul on the way home from my test squeeeeeeealing that I had passed!!! :) That was a great feeling. :)
DeleteWhatever made you decide to start running??? Now I am curious to hear this story!
It was kind of on a whim and kind of at the suggestion of my therapist.
DeleteWhen I was deep in my ED I used to exercise obsessively so that I would burn more calories than I was eating. Since I wasn't eating a lot to sustain working out for so long I would often black out, etc. Which was sadly a point of pride instead of a warning sign. Obviously as soon as I was out of that deep, dark part of my life I realized how stupid and dangerous all of the actions I had taken were.
SO much of my recovery has been dedicated to trying to get healthy while not being triggered to go back to old ways. It's still something I talk to my therapist about on a bi-weekly basis. Anyway, I could write a whole novel about it - but basically she told me that I needed to find a way to exercise without being triggered.
The elliptical and stationary bike reminded me of spending hours on them during my ED so I thought I'd give running a try even though I hated running.
Running was so freaking hard I didn't have time to worry about how many calories I was burning, I just had to keep moving forward! I hated it a lot and honestly didn't think it would stick - but I also really liked the challenge and it was one way for me to workout without obsessing over calories. Strength training was also like that for me. I like that when you lift there is no flashing screen that tells you how many calories you've burned!
I am SO GLAD you found running and that it's helped you get out of the dark place. Strength training was like that for me! Somehow, I was still able to run without deciding I needed to run 2 hours a day. I'm not sure how all that worked. I guess the stars just aligned and I was able to stick to the change for some reason.
DeleteI'm sure it felt good to make that decision. You still have the benefit of all that knowledge and experience--hopefully you'll continue to share it with us here on the blog!
ReplyDeleteIt did! I am thankful that it wasn't that hard of a decision to make. I feel good about it.
DeleteThat is a lot of money and I don't blame you to let the certification go if you don't use it. Besides, you got something out of it and used it a bit, plus you still have the knowledge you gained from it even if you can't train or write plans for others. I've learned that our lives have seasons and activities, jobs, hobbies, etc have their own season... so maybe your season for training is just over- and that's okay!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy! I definitely agree there are seasons for things.
DeleteOh yes. My day job pays the real bills and my piano studio pays the vacation bills. :)
ReplyDelete