Editing Personal trainer (section)

===United States===
A number of certifications are available in the U.S., although a number are not accredited. Most require a high school diploma, [[cardiopulmonary resuscitation]] (CPR) and [[automated external defibrillator]] (AED) certification, and some type of examination.<ref name="bls.gov"/>

The United States Registry of Exercise Professionals (USREPS) is the official registry of exercise professionals in the United States and provides clients, employers, healthcare practitioners, policymakers, and insurance providers a single source for finding well-qualified exercise professionals or to verify credentials.

In the United States, various certifications are available within the fitness industry, although not all are accredited. Most certifications typically require a high school diploma, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), AED (automated external defibrillator) certification, and may involve an examination process.

A 2002 investigation evaluated a random sample of 115 personal trainers using the Fitness Instructors Knowledge Assessment (FIKA) (which measures knowledge in nutrition, health screening, testing protocols, exercise prescription, and special populations). The study described that:<ref>Malek MH, Nalbone DP, Berger DE, Coburn JW. Importance of health science education for personal fitness trainers. J Strength Cond Res. 2002 Feb;16(1):19-24.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Malek|first1=Moh H.|last2=Coburn|first2=Tamara K.|date=2010-05-09|title=The Level of Exercise Science Knowledge Among Personal Fitness Trainers: A Guideline|url=http://www.nsca-lift.org/HotTopic/download/Personal%20Trainers%20Knowledge.pdf|access-date=2023-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509062447/http://www.nsca-lift.org/HotTopic/download/Personal%2520Trainers%2520Knowledge.pdf |archive-date=2010-05-09|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 70% of those surveyed did not have a degree in any field related to [[exercise science]].
* Those who did not have a [[bachelor's degree]] in an exercise science-related field scored 31% less on average than those with a bachelor's degree or higher in the field.
* Those holding one of two specific certifications (the [[American College of Sports Medicine]] (ACSM) or the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) certification) scored 83% of the questions correctly on average. Those holding any certification other than ACSM or NSCA answered only 38% of the questions correctly.
* Years of experience was not found to be predictive of personal trainer knowledge.

In partnership with the fitness industry, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), which represents over 9,000 health and fitness facilities, started an initiative in 2002 to improve standards for both its own clubs and the industry as a whole. In January 2006, IHRSA implemented a recommendation that its facilities only accept personal trainers with certifications recognized by the [[National Commission for Certifying Agencies]] (NCCA) if recognized either by the [[Council for Higher Education Accreditation]] (CHEA) and/or the U.S. [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]] (USDE). As a result, the [[Distance Education Accrediting Commission]] (DEAC) was recognized by IHRSA as a recognized accreditor of fitness professional certification organizations.  Since then, the DEAC has accredited several personal trainer certification organizations, including the [[Athletics and Fitness Association of America]] (AFAA) and the [[International Sports Sciences Association]] (ISSA) among others.  As of now, [[National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)|NASM]], [[International Sports Sciences Association|ISSA]], [[Athletics and Fitness Association of America|AFAA]], [[American College of Sports Medicine|ACSM]], ACE, and NSCA certifications are among the 16 accredited certifications recognized by IHRSA, three of which are accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ihrsa.org/home/2010/1/14/accreditation-announcement-to-ihrsa-members.html |title=Accreditation Announcement To IHRSA Members |access-date=2011-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413080001/http://www.ihrsa.org/home/2010/1/14/accreditation-announcement-to-ihrsa-members.html |archive-date=2011-04-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Personal Trainers as Professionals|url=http://certification.acsm.org/blog/2013/august/personal-trainers-as-professionals|publisher=American College of Sports Medicine|access-date=19 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055709/http://certification.acsm.org/blog/2013/august/personal-trainers-as-professionals|archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref>

Various organizations within the profession have lobbied for the adoption of more stringent criteria for certification developed by the [[NSF International]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Cotton|first=Richard|title=Personal Trainers as Professionals|url=http://certification.acsm.org/blog/2013/august/personal-trainers-as-professionals|publisher=American College of Sports Medicine|access-date=19 September 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055709/http://certification.acsm.org/blog/2013/august/personal-trainers-as-professionals|archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref> There remains no national legal restriction on the industry to date except for the District of Columbia (D.C.) which as of February 2014, passed legislation requiring personal fitness trainers to register in that jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite web|title=§ 3–1209.08. Personal fitness trainer.|url=https://code.dccouncil.us/us/dc/council/code/sections/3-1209.08|publisher=Council of the District of Columbia}}</ref>