Personal Training: T-Minus 6 Weeks Til the Exam

Good morning! How was your weekend? As you may have seen on instagram, I spent mine moving! I was emotional leaving our first apartment! Not to mention, it’s our two-year wedding anniversary this Wednesday! Where has the time gone?
Speaking of time-gone, I’m almost out of time to study for the National Academy of Sports Medicine exam to become a personal trainer! The test is scheduled for May 25th, which is less than two months away!

For the record, I do not feel ready.

Here’s why: I ordered my materials awhile ago (at the end of last year). I was honestly so excited. Fit for a Bride (this blog) was about to launch and I’ve always imagined I would start the bootcamp not long after… I needed a personal training certification to do that; this was my ticket! However, despite my gung-ho attitude in the beginning, the box sat in my living room for a few weeks.

Then the holidays hit (we all know how crazy it is between Thanksgiving and New Year’s!)…

Then I launched the blog…

Then Rocky got sick…

Then, finally, I cracked open the package– OMG the textbook is HUGE! OK, note to self: this is serious, better start studying!

I finally set up my account on the NASM website and started using the cute NASM book bag I received with the study materials. Then guess what? Then I started reading and I made some note cards; studied those. Then I stopped again. 🙁

In March we were ping-ponging around town from one family event to another. We also started the search for a new apartment and packing…

I know what my trainer would say about all this: excuses, excuses. He’s right, too. There’s honestly no excuse for not being more prepared when I’ve had 4+ months to study already!

Oh hello, misplaced priorities!

Obviously time is running out and this month I have to make the time to study. I have to find new ways to get in the reading, too because I’m no longer taking the metro to and from work, and that’s when I did most of my reading.

I need to change my attitude as well. To say I’m nervous is an understatement. I mean, I love to workout and I love to encourage people (it’s what I think I’m good at), but anatomy, physiology, that’s a different story. And to be completely honest with you: deep down, I don’t know if I can be a personal trainer…

I look at other trainers (or my personal trainer) and think: I don’t look like that. Who’s going to listen to me? Who is going to want to train with me?  

I get in the gym and start doing circuit training drills with my trainer, which I LOVE, but then I say to myself: You’ll never be organized enough to put these types of drills together. You’ll never be able to come up with workouts on the spot.

I’m also afraid I won’t be able to answer people’s questions. What if someone needs to know how to stretch a certain muscle and I can’t tell them how? What if they want to strengthen a certain part of their body and I can’t think of the right exercises to tell them to do? I know I can research it, but in the moment, I’m going to look like a fool!

Obviously the negative self talk is no good. A big part of becoming a trainer, in my opinion, is having the confidence to lead and advise people. I’m not there yet– my confidence needs work.

For now, I think the best thing that I can do is focus on getting the knowledge I need to be build that confidence and become a part of this profession. Every time I share something I’ve learned with someone, it does boosts my confidence; like hey, “Maybe I can do this!” When I don’t know something, obviously it’s the opposite: where can I crawl and hide?

I’d love to hear your study suggestions, or even suggestions for building my confidence! Maybe I can schedule a mock-bootcamp with some of you friends and see how I do!

Have you ever felt a lack of confidence to break into a new field of study!