Is Formal Education Essential for Success as a Personal Trainer?

Does education matter for personal trainers? That singular, burning question has been ever-present throughout my 30+ years in the fitness industry. After deciding to return to college to pursue a master’s degree, I quickly learned that writing a thesis was a requirement. Though I have many questions that remain unanswered when it comes to fitness, the question that has always been there, is the question  I was going to ask, “Does the education level of personal trainers have any association with client retention?”

Why client retention? My intent was very clear with my question. At the end of the day, client retention is everything. Trainers can make a living, fitness departments hit their goals, club owners and operators make more money, and clients can reach their goals or maintain their fitness, when clients stay longer with a personal trainer. Everyone wins when client retention improves.

The purpose of a master’s thesis is to learn the process of conducting research, not necessarily to contribute new knowledge to the field of study. Only one study had previously researched client retention. That study had a sample size of 9 people, too small to derive any conclusions. A literature review is a required component of proposing a thesis and learning the research process. My proposal would never get approval with a single study making up my literature review. Luckily my thesis chair had another question in mind that would allow me to refine my question into a thesis. The question that she wanted me to ask is “Does the education level of personal trainers have any relationship with the knowledge of personal trainers and does that knowledge have any relationship with client retention?” Some research has been done on the knowledge of personal trainers. Now I have my literature review and approval from my department. My question has now evolved into the title of my thesis.

An Investigation of the Relationship Between the Education Level, Credentials, and Knowledge of Personal Trainer and Client Retention.

Literature Review

The research on the knowledge of personal trainers is not extensive. One study interviewed 11 personal trainers and found that clients do consider industry credentials, education and soft skills such as active listening, empathy when selecting a personal trainer to work with. A second study also interviewed 11 personal trainers and found that trainers learn in multiple, complex ways including formal (college or personal training certifications), non-formal (journal articles, the internet) and informal (on-the-job).

A third study conducted a survey with 11 questions of American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) content. 1808 ACSM certified individuals completed the survey. Clinical Exercise Physiologist had significantly higher scores than personal trainers and those with a doctorate degree had significantly higher scores than those with “some college”. Those results are not surprising. But what is surprising is that the mean score for ACSM certified professionals taking a test on ACSM subject matter was 42.87%. The last study on knowledge scores of personal trainers conducted a survey with 48 questions. 115 people completed the survey. Those with a degree in exercise science scored significantly higher (68%) than those without a degree (37%), those with four or more core (exercise science) classes scored significantly higher (61%) than those who did not complete the four core classes (36%), individuals with ACSM or NSCA certification scored higher (83%) than those with certifications other than ACSM or NSCA (38%). According to their results, 63% of knowledge can be accounted for by degree or certification. This study found no relationship with years of work experience and knowledge.

As stated earlier, there was no research on client retention at the time that my research was conducted (2018). A brief review on Google Scholar showed that my research which is being discussed in this article is the only research that has been conducted on client retention to date.

Purpose

The purpose of my study was to investigate the relationship between educational attainment and personal training certification acquisition and knowledge scores of personal trainers and client retention. The research had two specific goals: 1. To examine associations between education and credentials of personal trainers and knowledge scores and 2. To examine associations between education, credentials and knowledge of personal trainers with client retention.

Hypotheses

The combined hypotheses for specific goals #1 and #2 were

1. There will be no association between the education levels of personal trainers and knowledge or client retention.
2. There will be no association between an individual certification obtained by personal trainers and knowledge or client retention.
3. There will be no association between two or more certifications obtained by personal trainers and knowledge or client retention.
4. There will be no association with years of experience of personal trainers and knowledge or client retention.

We used null hypotheses for this study. A null hypothesis states that there is no difference between groups or no relationship between variables. After all the data is collected, a statistical analysis is conducted to see if the data supports the null hypothesis. If the data doesn’t support the null hypothesis, then researchers know that there is a relationship or association of the variables. This is a common practice in research. This is important because the hypotheses for this research are written in a way that might make it seem like I was looking for no association with client retention, when the opposite is true.

Research Methods

A cross-sectional research design was used for this study. Cross-sectional research is an observational study that analyzes data from a population at a single point in time. In our case data was collected via electronic survey. To be included in the survey, participants had to be currently working as a personal trainer providing one-on-one instruction. Both certified and non-certified personal trainers were included. Individuals that were excluded from the study include former personal trainers, anyone under the age of 18 and fitness professionals working in disciplines other than a personal trainer, e.g. group exercise.

Both dependent and independent variables were identified so that we would be able to run our statistical analysis. In research, the independent variable is the variable that is manipulated while  the dependent variable is the one  that changes as a result.. For specific goal 1 the dependent variable was “Knowledge”, and the independent variables were education level, personal training certification credentials and years of experience.

To measure “Knowledge” we developed a 24-item questionnaire. We identified six broad topics that are shared by four well recognized certification organizations (ACE, ACSM, NASM and NSCA). Those six topics are (1) Interviews, Consultations, Assessments and Risk Appraisal, (2) Anatomy, Physiology, Basic and Applied Sciences, (3) Program Design and Planning, (4) Nutrition, (5) Communication, Goal Setting, and Behavior Modification, (6) Scope of Practice, Professional Conduct, and Emergency Procedures. One question from each of the four certifying organizations was selected from practice examinations for each of the six broad topics, resulting in a 24-item questionnaire. Note: NASM declined to share a practice examination with the researcher, so myself along with my thesis committee team developed 6 questions based on NASMs content from their text “NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training”. Knowledge was determined by the total number of correct answers.

We purposely developed an exam that would test general knowledge that is common to minimize any advantage that subjects might gain because of the certification they hold.

For specific goal 2 the dependent variable was Client Retention, measured in total weeks the client had been training with the personal trainer and the independent variables were education level, personal training certification credentials, knowledge score and years of experience.

Participants were recruited via fitness groups on social media including LinkedIn, USREPS, IDEA, IHRSA and by reaching out to fitness managers and large and regional fitness chains.

I am aware of the limitations of this research. Confounding variables were identified and accounted for when possible. Those variables include the Interpersonal skill of the personal trainer (personality), sex of the trainer, cost of the training, age of the trainer and facility type where the training occurs. The cross-sectional design of the research is a limitation as there is no temporal sequence and cause and effect cannot be determined (only relationships or associations). Reliability of the measurement tool and measurement error are both limitations as this was a self-reported survey.  Other limitations include the sample size of the study, unknown or unidentified confounding variables and the inability to collect data from the clients. Clients can decide to stop working with a personal trainer for numerous reasons that are completely unrelated to the trainer’s knowledge or credentials. Furthermore, clients can also decide to continue working with a personal trainer for numerous reasons other than industry credentials and exercise science knowledge.

Despite numerous limitations there are also strengths in my research design. The survey was comprehensive. Information was collected on; age, sex, years of experience, certifications (current, expired, non-CPT credentials, group exercise), education level, price of training, location (zip code, for demographics), type of facility, size of facility, job task analysis and the process by which we selected the knowledge questions to minimize researcher bias. We attempted to control for all known confounding variables. An additional strength of this research is its novelty. The preliminary findings contribute new information to the body of knowledge.  The results from this research provide an opportunity to develop new insights to move our profession and the industry forward.

Statistical Analysis

• All data analysis was done in IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
• Data were checked for normality prior to analysis
• Descriptive statistics were calculated (e.g., mean, median, interquartile range, variance and standard deviations)
• Bi-variate statistics:
• Mann-Whitney U & Kruskal-Wallis for non-normally distributed data
• Independent t-tests and ANOVAs with Tukey HSD for normally distributed data
• Statistical significance was p<0.05

Results

• 270 – People opened the survey
• 1 – Did not consent
• 2 – Were ineligible (not a personal trainer)
• 18 – Did not start the survey
• 23 – Completed less than half of the survey
• 226 – Final sample size included in analyses
• 135 – Provided client retention data on less than two clients
• 91 – Fiinal sample size for client retention analysis  

For Specific Goal 1

Examine the associations between education, credentials of personal trainers and years of experience as a personal trainer with knowledge of exercise science and personal training principles.

The mean age of the participants was 30.62 years. Most of the participants were male (66.8%), had a bachelor’s degree or higher (54.9%) and had earned a degree in an exercise-science related field (56.2%). Most participants were certified personal trainers (81.9%). The five most frequently reported certifications were ACE (19.9%), IFPA (14.2%), NCSF (13.3%), AAPTE (11.9%) and NESTA (11.5%).

The median years of experience working as a personal trainer was 4.42 years, with a median of 4.61 years for certified personal trainers and a median of 4.34 for non-certified personal trainers. Personal trainers who were certified were older, 31.34 years than non-certified personal trainers 27.41 years. A larger percentage of personal trainers (58.5%) who were not certified had an expired certification compared to those with a current certification (44.9%). A larger percentage of certified personal trainers (45.9%) reported also being a certified group exercise instructor compared to personal trainers without a current certification (24.4%).

Of the personal trainers surveyed, 67.2% worked at either a regional or national chain or an independent local health club and 53.4% reported working as corporate employees. More than half of the personal trainers, 57.8%, reported working in a facility between 5000-15,000 square feet. Sixty-five percent of personal trainers reported they or their employer charge a fee of $50 or less for a sixty-minute personal training session (2018 data). The mean number of hours per week personal trainers reported working as a personal trainer was 31.17 hours.

The knowledge scores were not normally distributed. The median knowledge score for the sample was 6.0. The mean knowledge score for the sample was 7.21 points or 34.3% correct. Personal trainers with an associate degree or lower scored a mean of 6.62 correct answers. The personal trainers with a bachelor’s degree scored a mean of 7.01 correct answers and personal trainers with a master’s degree or higher scored a mean of 6.87 correct answers on the 24-item knowledge questionnaire Nearly 92% of the sample scored 41.7% or lower (10 or fewer questions correct out of 24). Gender, education level, degree type and certification status were not associated with knowledge scores.

Years of experience in personal training was positively associated with knowledge scores. Personal trainers with 10 or more years of experience had a significantly higher mean rank (163.31) than personal trainers with less than 10 years of experience. Specifically personal trainers with less than 3 years of experience, with 3-6 years of experience and 6-10 years had the following mean scores on the 24-item questionnaire 7.06, 8.89, and 7.51 respectively, compared to a score of 12.30 for personal trainers with 10 or more years of experience.

Personal trainers with 10 or more years of experience were the only group that scored significantly higher on the knowledge portion of the survey. Overall, the scores were very low. I will discuss these results in more detail in the conclusions and discussion portion later in this article.

For Specific Goal 2

Examine associations between education, credentials, years of experience and knowledge of personal trainers with client retention.

The mean age of the participants who provided client retention data was 31.47 years. That is 0.85 years older than the mean of the full data set, which had a mean age of 30.62 years. Like the full sample most of the participants were male (64.8%), had a bachelor’s degree or higher (59.0%) and had earned a degree in an exercise-science related field (59.3%). Most participants were certified personal trainers (80.2%). The mean client retention for the sample was 77.81 weeks. Personal trainers reported client retention data on a mean of 5.23 clients; 58% of respondents reported data on 2 or 3 clients. Forty-two percent reported client retention data on 3 or more clients, six of which reported data on 12 or more clients.

Client retention was significantly associated with personal trainer certification status (yes/no), education level, the type of exercise science degree, years of experience, and facility size. Client retention was not significantly associated with the sex of the personal trainer, having a degree in exercise science (yes/no), the number of personal trainer certifications, the cost of training, facility type, employment status of the personal trainer or knowledge scores.

The mean total weeks of client retention reported was 77.81 weeks. Certified personal trainers reported a significantly higher retention (82.73 weeks) than non-certified personal trainers (57.84 weeks). The mean difference between the two groups was 29.91 weeks. The education level was also positively associated with client retention. Those with a bachelor’s degree had significantly higher client retention (90.29 weeks) compared to those with some college (44.91 weeks). The mean difference between the two groups was 45.48 weeks. Likewise, those with a bachelor’s degree had higher retention (90.29 weeks) compared to an associate degree (46 weeks). The mean difference between the two groups was 44.29 weeks. Individuals with a master’s degree or higher had significantly higher client retention (107.85 weeks) compared to those with some college (44.91 weeks) and those with an associate degree (46 weeks).

Similarly, the type or level of exercise science degree type was associated with client retention. Personal trainers who reported they had multiple degrees in an exercise science related field (e.g., associates plus bachelors or bachelor’s plus master’s) reported having significantly higher weeks of client retention (144.61 weeks). On average, personal trainers with multiple exercise science degrees reported more weeks of client retention compared to personal trainers with only an associate degree (81.87 weeks), personal trainers with only a bachelor’s degree (71.09 weeks) and personal trainers with a master’s degree in exercise science (77.87 weeks).

There was also a significant association between client retention and facility size. Personal trainers who work in facilities under 1000 square feet reported significantly higher client retention (120.61 weeks) compared to 5000-15,000 square foot facilities (71.53 weeks), and 15,000-30,000 square foot facilities (47.67 weeks). Personal trainers that work in facilities 30,000 square feet or larger reported significantly higher client retention (161.81 weeks) compared to 1000-5000 square foot facilities (74.80 weeks), 5000-15,000 square foot facilities (71.53 weeks), and 15,000-30,000 square foot facilities (47.67 weeks).

Lastly, years of personal training experience was also associated with client retention. Personal trainers with 10 or more years of experience reported a mean of 119.64 weeks compared to those with less than 3 years of experience (67.27 weeks) and those with 3-6 years of experience (70.10).

Conclusions and Discussion

Two previous studies have measured knowledge via survey. Both studies had knowledge scores with higher means (42.87% & 37%-83%) than the results from our research (34.3%). Our scores may be lower than those observed in previous research due to the nature of our sample and the survey we utilized. Our sample was diverse with responses from individuals certified through numerous certifying entities. Likewise, our questions were intended to assess the general knowledge required of a personal trainer and in accordance with the KSAs from four major certifying entities. Our survey questions and sample were not associated with a singular organization, and this may explain why our findings resulted in a lower mean score compared to previous studies which included only ACSM certified participants, and their questions were based solely on ACSM guidelines.

Our preliminary findings suggest that neither educational level nor personal training credentials (certifications) are significantly associated with knowledge scores. However, years of personal training experience was the only variable associated with the knowledge score. Most of our participants were both educated and certified, suggesting the personal trainers had been exposed to the information on the knowledge survey at some point. The low knowledge score may therefore be a function of poor knowledge retention. Colleges and universities should reevaluate curriculums to ensure they are providing personal trainers with the information they’ll need to succeed in the profession and certifying organizations should ensure that continuing education requirements and curriculum emphasize knowledge retention in addition to knowledge expansion. Finally, the industry should work together to determine the  foundation of knowledge necessary for personal trainers based on job task requirements. Collectively, these actions would better prepare personal trainers for the profession. Years of experience was the only variable associated with knowledge scores and this finding suggests informal and non-formal learning may contribute to retention of knowledge. Long-term personal trainers are likely to have greater exposure to on-the-job training, observational learning, and CEU requirements for employment purposes.

Previous research findings can partially account for the reasons why our survey participants in the present study scored low on the knowledge assessment. They determined that personal trainers may not be utilizing the knowledge acquired during preparation for the job, therefore they may be less likely to retain that information. That cannot completely account for our low knowledge scores because personal trainers with more than 10 years of experience scored significantly higher knowledge scores. If knowledge retention diminishes because of that knowledge not being utilized frequently on the job, then logic would suggest that those who experienced being formally educated further in the past (personal trainers with 10+ years of experience) should have scored the lowest on the knowledge assessment. Our findings showed the opposite. Is it possible that the personal trainers (with 10+ years of experience) that scored the highest, learned the formal education material more thoroughly, such that it became long-term memory? Maybe that deeper level of understanding of the information contributed to their success in the profession, resulting in the length of their careers? Or perhaps the additional volume of CEC requirements for personal trainers to maintain certification for more than a decade contributed to the reinforcement of the information?

This study’s findings also suggest that personal training credentials (certification), education level, type or level of exercise science degree, years of personal training experience, and facility size were all positively associated with client retention rates. An interesting finding is that, among personal trainers with a degree in an exercise science-related subject, only those with multiple degrees had a significantly positive association with client retention compared to those with only an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree. Perhaps the attainment of multiple degrees in exercise science is an indication of commitment to the subject and dedication to the profession of personal training.

Collectively our findings suggest that education, certification and experience will enhance client retention for personal trainers and for the facilities that hire personal trainers. Employers that are interested in a win-win-win-win scenario should focus on policies that will result in improving client retention rates. Those changes should include the hiring personal trainers that are certified (already a common practice), have completed their formal education and have multiple exercise science degrees (this will have the biggest positive impact on personal trainer profit centers in fitness facilities) and have more than 10 years of experience. Hiring personal trainers with more than ten years of experience might prove difficult, so the priority should be to develop management strategies that focus on retaining personal trainer employees for as long as possible. When employers start to do this, trainers can make a living, fitness departments hit their goals, club owners and operators make more money, and clients can reach their goals or maintain their fitness, when clients stay longer with a personal trainer.

Personal trainers who wish to thrive in the profession should pursue a degree in exercise science. Fortunately, that can now be completed via remote online study while still working in the profession as a certified personal trainer.

Lastly, personal trainers interested in improving the retention of their clients should consider working in a facility under 1000 square feet or larger than 30,000 square feet. Though we don’t know exactly why this association exists, it does make a lot of sense. Personal trainers working in small spaces are often entrepreneurial or sole proprietors that have developed a loyal following of clients. Larger facilities have a lot of the features (spa, group exercise programs, café, locker rooms, kid’s clubs, etc.) that more affluent clients tend to value. While it is not feasible for club owners and operators to change the square footage of their facilities just to improve client retention rates, personal trainers clearly have the option to work in larger facilities if they are interested in better career opportunities.

Continuing to seek information and knowledge that will better prepare personal trainers for the profession may in turn lead to improved outcomes for personal trainer’s clientele. Improved preparation and enhanced knowledge for personal trainers may lead to better career opportunities and market expansion. Hopefully more knowledgeable, better prepared, personal trainers delivering better results to more people will improve public health outcomes. The intent of this project was to contribute to the body of knowledge that will lead to that end.

It is noteworthy that this research was finalized in 2018, two years prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, to avoid future industry shutdowns, the fitness industry has shifted its focus toward advocacy. The intent is to categorize the fitness industry as “essential”, part of the allied health system, and it plays an integral role in the solution to public health outcomes. Hiring degreed professionals to deliver the programs that lead to improved health outcomes is “essential” if we ever want our industry to be considered “essential.”

At the end of the day, client retention is everything. Trainers can make a living, fitness departments hit their goals, club owners and operators make more money, and clients can reach their goals or maintain their fitness, public health outcomes improve, and our industry can be considered essential when clients stay longer with personal trainers. Everyone wins when client retention improves.