NASM Reviews: Personal Trainer Certifications – CES, CNC, PES, WLS, MMAS, GPT, YES, WFS, SFS, GFS

NASM Reviews: Personal Trainer Certifications –
CES, FNS, PES, WLS, MMAS, GPT, YES, WFS, SFS, GFS

Last Modified On: April 23, 2024

Watch Our Video: ACE vs NASM: Which CPT is Right for You?

NASM Reviews

Certified Personal Trainer, CPT The NASM-CPT is the most widely chosen certification among fitness professionals, making it the most widely accepted in the industry. As a future personal trainer it is important to align yourself with the most reputable certification and we believe that NASM is just that, which is why we are giving you an objective way to learn about NASM reviews.

The way that you receive your CPT credential is by passing the NASM CPT Exam. This is done by learning the information from the NASM CPT Textbook that is most relevant to succeeding as a personal trainer. NASM will provide you with education packages ranging from $800 – $2500 dollars, but most people agree that their education is confusing, which is probably why the pass rate is at 79% (proctored/accredited) and 90% (non-proctored/non-accredited).

The best and least expensive way to pass their exam and learn the information you need to be successful, is by taking our Free NASM Study Course (we use to charge $500 for this course) and then purchasing the exam and textbook separately. Our course goes into specific detail regarding what makes it onto the test so you can better prepare yourself for what to expect. The course also adds real world experiences and examples that teach you how to use the material to train your clients more effectively. Whichever way you chose to learn, the NASM certification should be your top choice as it is accepted at almost any training facility.

Other NASM Reviews for Specialty Certifications

Extra Credentials are like super setting your favorite two body parts, it pumps you up! (insert Arnold voice). When you are already a NASM Certified Trainer, I highly recommend focusing your continuing education on sales or sticking with their other certifications, as they transfer to equal the amount of CEU’s you need to recertify (1.9 CEU’s + 0.1 CEU for CPR). When choosing your additional certs, think purpose. What credential is going to make you more valuable to the type of clientele you want to attract? Below is an honest breakdown:

Corrective Exercise Specialist, CES:

Train people in pain

The CES certification is far and away NASM’s best cert, as you will learn extremely applicable information. It forces you to understand origins of pain and how to fix it. My biggest concern with my training was learning how to always progress in strength, athleticism and body image, while avoiding any training associated injury. Here’s the truth, if you don’t have perfect flexibility and muscle balance, you are on your way to finding injury. In the CES materials you learn about all the mobility issues that can lead to these injuries. Beyond this, the value you can build knowing and understanding your clients’ pain is immense. Imagine you look at the most basic movement patterns of someone in their everyday life and are able to tell them about how their overactive Pec Major is giving them that shoulder pain they have been dealing with for months. They are blown away. Another great thing about this cert is that the test you have to pass, which is NASM’s hardest by far, makes sure you have completed your studies and understand these difficult topics. All of this combined makes the Corrective Exercise Specialist Certification a true educational experience that is held to the highest standard.

Certified Nutrition Coach, CNC:

With a huge mess of information out there on nutrition, it is extremely important to be able to differentiate the good from the bad. When put simply we can say things like, avoid processed food; eat whole foods; avoid Trans fats, but we need to understand why these things are important. The Certified Nutrition Coach by NASM takes a detailed college level textbook and goes to town on understanding everything you need to know about PRO, CHO and FAT, as well as all of the vitamins and minerals, what they do and where to get them. Although there is no definitive way to eat (some may argue otherwise), being able to analyze the true nutritional content of what you are eating and understand why you are eating it, the knowledge gained through the Certified Nutrition Coach will help you to boost your own and your clients’ fitness goals.

Performance Enhancement Specialist, PES:

Unless you are planning on focusing your fitness career in sports specific training or you are a competitive athlete yourself, the Performance Enhancement Specialist may be of little use. The market for sports training is not a large one, and typically caters to high school and college aged clientele, which usually don’t have room in their budget for private training. It’s not too frequent that business men come to personal trainers looking to become a better running back or shortstop. In review of what you are learning there are great things about the PES. Through the assessments chapter you are introduced to some great sports specific assessments that can expand your repertoire when considering performance as a goal. Also they have a great Olympic Lifting chapter that is essential to understand for improving explosiveness and power in sports that have those needs. Same goes for the plyometric chapter. If you like understanding concepts behind why these types of training will benefit athleticism, then the science based information throughout the book will be a great resource. Overall the PES is great, but remember it has a very specific and small market. Certifications to explore that will benefit your sports based training knowledge would be the USA-Weightlifting’s (USAW) Sports Performance Coach and National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. These certifications are very focused on the college and pro level setting and it would not be easy to carry out their training programs in your typical commercial gym.

Weight Loss Specialist, WLS:

I may sound a little harsh towards this certification, only because they beat the law of thermodynamics to death (calories in vs calories out). When will NASM jump off the government recommended nutrition band wagon and realized there is more to altering body composition; ie. Hormonal Optimization, Macronutrient Ratios, and eating low inflammatory profile foods to name a few. Unfortunately they don’t discuss any alternative methods to weight loss, and just repeat what you already know, to slightly more detail. I do have to say that having this title will make you sound great, but recognize your investment in furthering your education provides little return.

Mixed Martial Arts Specialist, MMAS:

Is this your target audience? Then get it. Similar to the Weight loss Specialist, if you expect to get great insight into how to train someone like MMA fighters you are understandably misled. Mixed Martial Artists are athletes and you are better off applying the PES principles to understand and program toward the demand of the sport, rather than take them through circuit training with added kicks, knees and elbows. I really only see this as a clever way to capitalize on the recent MMA influenced fitness training boom. Once again the education is lacking, so the title is all you’re really paying for.

Group Personal Training Specialist, GPT:

Did you know that no gyms require you to have this to train their group exercise classes? I can only see this benefiting you in a few ways; one of them being that you’re starting a boot camp or private group class and want to bring attention to the fact that you are qualified, and the other being that you really suck at training groups and you need more insight, which is unlikely. If you fall into one of these categories I guess you could try it?

Women’s Fitness Specialist, WFS:

If this is your target market, adding this certification may be of value. It dives a bit deeper into the uniqueness of female clients including monthly cycles and hormonal factors. Sounds okay but you decide. I will be waiting for the Men’s Fitness Specialist to arrive. Any day now…

Youth Exercise Specialist, YES:

Teach them how to play and perform speed, agility and quickness drills. Once again if this is your target market it may hold value. The special considerations for youth can be found in chapter 16 in the NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training Textbook. The additional information in this cert does not add to much benefit beyond what the basic standards are for youth training.

Senior Fitness Specialist, SFS:

Great title if this is your main focus for your business. Besides that your money is better spent on the CES, learning ways to address musculoskeletal pain.

Golf Fitness Specialist, GFS:

Do you already kick ass at golf? Is this your Target Market? I love golf. If you love golf this does provide some great baseline knowledge for you to build upon in the real world, but check out the Titleist Performance Institute if you are serious about getting to golf training.

Highly Recommended: CES, CNC, PES

Honorable Mention: MMAS, WLS

Convinced NASM is the way to go?

Your next steps for NASM certification:

Get Fitness Mentors’ Free NASM CPT Study Course
Begin Your Studies Using the Fitness Mentors’ 4 & 8-week Study Timeline
Purchase NASM’s Cheapest Study Package Here
Begin Your Career as a NASM Certified Personal Trainer!

Written by:

Eddie Lester BS, NASM-CPT, CES, PES, FNS, WLS, MMAS, GFS, YES, SFS

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The 5 Hardest NASM CPT Test Questions (and Answers)

The NASM CPT exam is notorious for being one of the most difficult fitness certification exams out there. They purposely try to make it difficult in many ways, like reaching into the depths of the text book to locate the one sentence where that test question can be found [take our free NASM CPT Exam Study Course and we’ll show you each sentence]. They also have many questions that you must truly understand the concept to get right. Regardless of the reason for these questions being hard, let us help you by explaining the top 5 hardest questions from the NASM CPT Exam. (This has been updated to reflect the newest version of the exam: Version 6)

If you haven’t yet purchased a NASM Study Package click here to receive 30% off.
If you want an in depth review of the NASM CPT Exam click here.

BONUS!

Try our free NASM Practice Test below to see how you’d fair on the real exam:

1

Which of the following is released into the synaptic terminal to stimulate muscular contraction?

Calcium
Troponin
Acetylcholine
Actin

To immediately analyze this question, it is a science-based and from chapter two, which they do point out in their study guide. Specifically, they tell you to memorized Figure 2.38. When memorizing this chart, the answer is only 1 of the 10 steps in initiating a muscular contraction. All of the above answers are also located in this chart, making it that much more difficult. Thirdly, the actual answer is abbreviated in the text, making you second guess yourself. All of these answers participate in muscular contraction, but the key words you must look at in the question is the ‘synaptic terminal’, as this will tell you which part of the muscular contraction they are focusing on.

Answer: C : Acetylcholine

2

Anything asking you about Altered Length Tension Relationships or Altered Force Couple Relationships.

To vent a smidge, they don’t tell you what these topics are when you are reading in the book. They discuss the Length Tension Relationship and Force Couple, but never define what an altered version of either actually is. Yes, you could say its common sense, but the way they ask the questions leaves a little room for argument as to what the correct answer is. For example, “When the feet turn out due to tightness in the calves, which of the following has occurred? A. Altered Reciprocal Inhibition B. Altered Length Tension Relationship C. Altered Force Couple Relationship D. Muscle Imbalance”. Well we definitely know that this is an example of a muscle imbalance. But by definition, which they do not have in the book, misaligned joints or poor posture is an Altered Length Tension Relationship. This is your correct answer. My guess is they are trying to get you to use the principles they discuss as opposed to just saying it is a muscle imbalance. Tough stuff, but you just got it right for reading this.

3

Which muscle can internally rotate the hip when the foot is in the planted position touching the floor?

Gluteus Maximus
Adductor Longus
TFL
Vastus Medialis

Overall just a tough question as this would require you to memorize all the concentric actions of most the muscles in Appendix D. Luckily they don’t ask many muscle action questions, so don’t waste too much time, but knowing the basics to the larger muscles can help. In the back of the book the TFL does perform internal rotation, but adding, “when the foot is in the planted position touching the floor” throws most people off. The others are going to be external rotators of the hip or perform no rotation of the hip at all. The TFL is also associated with many muscle imbalances, so be aware this is not the only place that the TFL makes an appearance on the NASM CPT Test.

4

Which exercise follows the Half Foam Roll in the lower extremity proprioceptive progression continuum?

Bosu Ball
Balance Beam
Foam Pad
Balance Disc

This question is one of the questions that point to a very specific section of the book that you would not think to memorize. Most of us have some basic training sense that would give us a good guess, but the answer can be found in table 10.1 in Balance Training Program Design section. The correct answer is the Foam Pad, but noting the asterisk at the bottom, “theses modalities come in many shapes and sizes that will dictate proper progression”. This tricks many test takers as the balance disk and foam pad are tough to choose from when thinking of the next progression logically. Studying the right material is sometimes better than relying on logic, (insert shameless plug here) and that’s why we highly encourage checking out Free Fitness Mentors Study Guide for the NASM CPT Exam.

5

Which of the following supplements have the greatest potential for excess dosage in adults?

Selenium, Magnesium, Vitamin D and Thiamin
Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Iron and Zinc
Vitamin A, Iodine, Potassium, Vitamin K
Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, Biotin and Manganese

Uggghhhh. Pure agony. Of course you studied this, right? Well you know a few that might be considered toxic in excess amounts, but you can’t recall all of them can you? I know the feeling and this one gets most all test takers. Looking to Chapter 18 – Nutrition and Supplementation. You’re going to find this in the first two paragraphs after Table 18.3 – Comparison of Dietary Reference Intake Values (for adult men and women) and Daily Values for Micronutrients with the Tolerable Upper Intake Levels, Safe Upper Levels, and Guidance Levels; they couldn’t have named that chart any better. Every supplement has the potential for excess dosage when taken in extreme amounts, but NASM is looking to make sure you know the ones that are most common for our society, eating the American diet. Looking at the paragraph below Table 18.3, they list 3 vitamins and 2 minerals that specifically that can cause serious adverse effects, which are Vitamins A, D, B6, Iron and Zinc.

These questions will now be a ton easier once they show up on the test. 5 questions down, 115 to go. NASM can pull questions from any sentence in the book which makes the 600+ pages daunting for the unmotivated reader (Our Free Audio Lectures take you page by page through the text and explain everything to make this process easier). Check out more of our tips and tricks to passing the exam by signing up to receive the “5 Secrets to Passing Your NASM CPT Exam”. Also if you need more help we have some great premium materials, like our Practice Tests for the NASM CPT Exam that make this test a breeze. Check them out here. (If you can score above a 108 out of 120 on all three of our practice final exams you are ready to test.)

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8 Ways to Jumpstart Your Personal Training Career in 2025 (infographic)

Use this simple guide to jumpstart your personal training career. Here are the steps needed to go from personal training weakling to personal training career beast mode in no time:

Start at the Beginning

First things first, know that before you get into personal training you need to be 18 or older, have a high school diploma or GED and be CPR certified.

Get Credentials

There are many personal training accreditation bodies. Find one that works for you and study for the test. Our personal favorite is the NASM. Study for the NASM-CPT.

Extra Credentials

Extra credentials will set you apart from the pack and allow you hone in on the areas of personal fitness that you are most interested in.

Build on Your Foundation

Most really successful personal trainers find a niche that they excel at. This can be yoga, buy xenical online discount power lifting or martial arts. Whatever yours is, become the best at it.

Your Fitness Theory

This is what really defines you as a personal trainer. Your thoughts and feelings about health, how you promote it, the exercises you recommend and your nutritional habits all define your fitness theory.

Personal Branding

You are a reflection of your product. Make sure your personal brand reflects someone who is strong, healthy and fit.

Product Branding

This is where you tell your story and show the world what being a client of yours will bring to the table. It also incorporates branded exercises or fitness strategies unique to your name.

Business Registration

While not necessarily the last item you should tick off this list, registering your business and making it all legal is a top priority.

Personal Trainer Career Guide: Beyond Your CPT

Whether you work in a commercial facility, within a CrossFit-like gym, conduct group fitness classes outdoors or work in a private studio, this guide is for you.

No matter what type of personal training environment you are in, marketing yourself and your brand after you get your CPT is challenging. With the help of this guide, you will be able to learn about how to be a successful personal trainer based on your individual or company goals.

Keep in mind that some sections may or may not pertain to your career specifically so feel free to skip around the sections that do.

Beyond the PT Certification

Let’s assume that you already have your personal training certification with some central authority such as NASM, ACE, ACSM or the like. As you are likely aware, this is just the ticket to entry and does not really influence your potential clients’ decision in working with you or some other personal trainer. When was the last time someone approached you and asked you what personal trainer certification you had? Probably never.

That said, what really matters to potential clients and for your own personal advancement are your extra credentials beyond the standard PT certification. When we train personal trainers to get their NASM-CPT and start to talk about advancing their careers and gaining a competitive edge, we recommend that they stick within the NASM certification authority for two main reasons:

They are already familiar with the accrediting authority;
The additional certs transfer towards the continuing education credits (CEUs) needed to recertify.

Of course this train of thought – maintaining familiarity and working towards CE – can be applied to any authority, not just NASM.

In terms of picking additional credentials, you should consider them based on what is going to make you the most valuable to the type of clients you want to serve. In sticking with the NASM example, two of the most popular additional, or add-on, certifications are the Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) and Fitness Nutrition Specialist (FNS) certifications. As mentioned above, these certifications, or at least variations of them, are available through most of the accreditation bodies.

If your goals are to help clients overcome pain or help clients formulate diet plans along with fitness regimens, then the CES and FNS (or equivalent) certifications would be a good tool to have under your belt.

If you want to look like a real badass (who doesn’t?), consider getting a Mixed Martial Arts Specialist (MMAS) or Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) certification (or equivalent) to showcase to your potential clients that you have sick ninja skills and that you can help them elevate their hoop dreams to a whole other level. Bottom line is get some certifications that help you improve your offerings as a professional and as a resource to your clients.

Selling Your Fitness Theory

What the @#$% is a “fitness theory” you ask? A fitness theory is your core belief about what true health really is. Think of a major brand like Coca-Cola for example. They aren’t selling deliciously (unhealthy) soda, they are selling happiness in a bottle.

For the fitness professional, you aren’t selling sweat and muscles, you’re selling the confidence, self-esteem and attractiveness that comes with being in shape. Your fitness theory will define you as a trainer and at the same time become your sales pitch.

Maybe you can relate to my story; as I began my career in fitness I didn’t really know what my fitness theory was, I just sold someone else’s theory and was sort of this pawn. After I gained some confidence in my training style and approach I soon began to realize I didn’t really believe what I was selling,

I was just piggybacking off what some other respectable trainers had done. Well screw that, you are your own brand and you have to believe in what you are promoting and selling otherwise your clients won’t.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you recognize your fitness theory:

What is health to me?
What is my daily routine to promote health?
What are the best types of exercises I used to get in the best shape?
What do I eat and why?
What is the best way to create a new habit or behavior?

Take a moment to write down your answers to these questions. I’ll wait here, maybe do a pushup or two. All done? Great!

Do you believe in what you wrote down? You should, here’s why. You are the prime example your clients are looking at to give them an idea if your theory – albeit adapted – will work for them. If your idea of health is an alignment of physical, mental and nutritional wellbeing, do you think your clients can identify with that?

Does your diet consist of lots of healthy proteins, fruits and vegetables and healthy fats? Great! Unlike the overweight doctor who tells his patients they need to “watch what they eat,” you are the end-result of your fitness theory and are the image your clients can emulate.

Documenting Your Fitness Theory

Now that you have identified clear and objectionable actions that can be emulated to live a life of fitness you should document your approach so that you can provide it to your clients.

It’s one thing to tell your clients a nutritional plan they should follow and then another to provide them with a nutrition document that outlines it for them. Other documents you should create to help you promote your fitness theory and keep your clients aligned with their goals can include:

Fitness programs
Meal plans
Behavioral change strategies
Exercise charts

Keep in mind that if you put enough time and effort in these documents you can sell them to your clients or the general public. You are in business to monetize yourself right?

Base your documents on research, data and your expertise. They will form the template in which you train and help to keep you consistent – just xenical purchase like a Big Mac in Miami and a Big Mac in Spain. Not that you eat Big Mac’s.

Personal and Product Branding

Remember when you answered the question above “What is my daily routine to promote health?” This is essentially your own personal version of branding.

Personal branding is a fairly easy concept to grasp but one that you should be conscious of and evoke in your day-to-day life. For example, people in your local community that see you at the grocery or health foods market will see the food choices you make.

They’ll notice that you make healthy food choices and that McD’s isn’t part of your diet. They’ll also notice, if you’re anything like 90 percent of the personal trainers out there, that you are always wearing fitness clothes, probably because you just got out of the gym or engaged in some type of training. With all this healthy eating and training you are doing you are probably looking pretty good.

You know what, people who look good get a lot of attention and your attractiveness has a lot to do with your personal brand. Extend your personal brand to your clients and encourage them to eat like you, workout like you and let their friends know what they are doing to live this great life of health and fitness.

Product Branding

Product branding is equally as important to personal branding but will take a bit more consideration and implementation. Above we mentioned that you’re selling the confidence, self-esteem and attractiveness that comes with being in shape in your personal brand.

Let’s think about some ways that can translate into selling your product.

First, let’s consider what a personal trainer’s product could look like. Again, keeping in mind that what you are really selling is a lifestyle change, let’s look at what the tangible objects are that will get you there. What better place to look than what the 10 highest paid personal trainers are selling.

Here’s some examples of what a few of these personal trainers “sell” to get the reputation they have (based on an article from WeightTraining.com).

Bernardo Coppola– along with training celebrities, Coppola is known for challenging his clients to eat less sugar, processed foods, avoid caffeine, alcohol and sodium and has even developed a catering company and restaurant around this product.

Tracy Anderson– creator of the “Tracy Anderson Method,” a Pilates-style program that introduces members to new exercises, stretches and lots of reps.

David Buer– often recognized for selling his story of being bullied for being fat as a boy, Buer now has his own fitness blog in the Huffington Post. He is also known for helping clients with injuries and post-surgical rehab.

Can you see how these famous personal trainers sell not only their personal brands but also their own product based on their beliefs and expertise? How can you incorporate your interests, certifications and desires of your clients into a product brand that is targeted and desirable?

Here are some tips to help you get started:

Define Your Brand
- Use your fitness theory to clearly define what it is that can help make a difference in people’s fitness and health. Above, Coppola’s brand involved a clearly defined way of eating or put another way, not eating.
Define Your Audience
- Who are the types of people who would benefit from your fitness theory? What demographic research can you find on them that is quantifiable? Address specific ages, incomes, occupations, personality types and any other data you can get your hands on to learn about who you will be appealing to.
Create Your Brand Name
- Will it be like the “Tracy Anderson Method,” the “Booty Fit Club,” “Five Minute Abs” or some other type or personal name? Keep it simple and use your fitness theory as a basis.
Tell Your Story
- Were you once a chubby little kid with an accent that got picked on like Buer? What is it that motivated you to create your product?
Create a Logo and Tagline
- Keep it simple here too. Hire a professional graphic designer and pay attention to color schemes and psychology.
Create Your Image
- Your branding should be consistent across all mediums so that you become instantly recognizable. Use the same color schemes, fonts and layouts whenever possible. In the design world this is called a “style guide.” Use a graphic designer who understands this.

Personal Trainer Career Guide Conclusion

Once you begin a career in personal training your certification is only the beginning. This really only makes you par for the course and doesn’t really distinguish you from the pack or help you market yourself.

This is why advanced certifications are so important. When progressing your education and obtaining mandatory CEUs, you should consider the certifications that going to make you the most valuable to the type of clients you want to serve. Once you start to get some expertise in specific areas, the next thing you’ll want to think about investing in is your fitness theory or your core beliefs about what true health really is.

You’ll be relating to this again and again as you build your personal and product brands and help your clients identify with your health and fitness beliefs. Your personal brand is showcased in how you live according to what you preach and your product brand by your promotion of very specific services.

This could be your bodyweight exercise regimen or your personal training namesake, “Body’s by Jason.” Think about how some of the more well-known personal trainers have evolved their product brands and how much thinking they have put into telling their story, defining their audience and promoting their branding.

Using these tips will help you grow your business and meet your personal training career goals. Like turning a coach potato into a chiseled specimen of human, it will take time, dedication and perseverance, all things that you are ready for.