Become A Trainer SUF Level 1, Level 2, Road Map For Success

Most personal trainer certifications teach you what to memorize. We care about what you can coach. We lay out how Show Up Fitness is structured in July 2026, from Level 1 foundations to Level 2 specializations, plus the Freedom Pass built around mentorship and lifetime access. If you’re tired of guessing whether you’re “ready” to train real people, this breakdown gives you a clear roadmap with live calls, direct feedback, and standards that actually mean something. 

We walk through the weekly live call schedule and what each coach brings to the table: exercise variations, programming, anatomy, mentorship, and deeper dives with nutrition coaches and physical therapists. You’ll hear how we avoid overwhelming new trainers while still giving ambitious coaches a fast path to level up, earn CEUs, and stack specializations that improve your resume and your real-world coaching skill. 

We also get specific about testing and expectations. For the CPT, we talk anatomy requirements, movement patterns, and how we evaluate programming and movement competency through Zoom and video submissions. On the advanced side, we cover the nutrition certification with registered dietitian support, motivational interviewing, and the Vitality partnership that can include 80 to 100 biomarkers. For soft tissue and pain-focused coaching, we explain the value of hands on seminars and an internship under a physical therapist so you build confidence through practice, not hype. 

If you want a career path that rewards curiosity and competence, share this with a trainer who’s stuck, and subscribe so you don’t miss what we’re building. Leave a review, send it to a friend, and keep showing up.

Want to become a SUCCESSFUL personal trainer? SUF-CPT is the FASTEST growing personal training certification in the world!

Want to ask us a question?  Email info@showupfitness.com with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!

Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Successful Personal Trainer Book Vol. 2 (Amazon): https://a.co/d/1aoRnqA
NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Transcript

Welcome And Quick Calls To Action

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Welcome to the Show Up Fitness podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry one qualified trainer at a time with our in-person and online personal training certification. If you want to become an elite personal trainer, head on over to showofffitness.com. Also make sure to check out my book, How to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Have a great day and keep showing

Platform Levels And What You Get

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up. Haddy old favorite trainer of the ball buckle taking you through the platform 2026 July, going over the levels, the live schedule, as well as how to take your tests. So level one, you get access to three live calls per week and they're put at the end of the platform. Tori teaches on Monday, exercise variations. Adam teaches programming on Tuesday, and then Tyson teaches anatomy on Thursday. Look at the time specific to where you're at. You get to ask questions, they'll help you with programming, whatever's going on with you. That is live access to professionals. We will do one Swift call per month with me. That's $7.99. Level two, two options. We got the SUF STM optimizing your pain assessments as well as linking up with physical therapists. And then we have the nutrition linking up with a registered dietitian as well as vitality. That is a new offering. Once you sign up for the $799 deal for the nutrition, you get access to that test. It's normally $600. You're going to learn how to drive streams of revenue with the nutrition, with the soft tissue. You're going to do an internship under a physical therapist, and that's going to get you that certification for the STM. That is also $799. There are four calls per week. I teach those. You also have access to an RD and a physical therapist. It's not access for the level one. And the reason we do this is because we don't want to overwhelm you, but also it's value add for people to get into this level two, which brings us to the next one, the freedom pass

Freedom Pass Mentorship And Pricing

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that we just did. We still have limited access to this. We're going to cap it off at 50. We're almost there. This is going to be five calls per week. I teach mentorship on Mondays at 7 a.m. You're going to get all of our certifications and one seminar. Some people have the CPT that's already behind them and they still wanted to do this. So we can substitute and give you two seminars. You can use those whenever you would like. You get lifetime access, and that's $9.99. It's the best deal we've ever had. And to be honest, it's quite bang for your buck because mentorship really got me thinking when I had students reach out, they're spending $15,000 to $20,000 for mentorship, and it wasn't even the person. I've owned gyms, started certifications, I've been where you are training at low-end gyms, high-end gyms, and I've helped thousands of people pass these textbook certifications. So access to me really is in itself worth the value, and that is $9.99. Some people are going to be doing $100 per month, and that's just the live calls for either here or either there at the level two, but you do not get the mentorship. You do not get the certification, which is the value add to improve your resume and level you up with those specializations. We also have a seminar and a certification deal, which is $9.99. As you can see, it's the same price as the Freedom. We are going to cap that off. We're only going to allow it for a few more days. Reach out, you get access to everything. And like I said, you never have to pay that $100 again. These are the current offerings that we provide at Show Up Fitness. If you reflect back in 2021, our certifications were less than $100. Based on market demand, as we get more partnerships with Vitality, First Form, Lifetime Equinox, we are really excited about offering our nutrition seminar, which we're going to be doing, which will allow for trainers to level up their career at lifetime, and you're going to be able to make money off of that cert.

Weekly Live Call Schedule Explained

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So let's take a look at the live calls. This is every single week. We post these on the platform and people struggle because if you go into the platform under calendar and if you're one minute late, it's going to say there's a meeting already in. So that's why, pinning on which level you're in, you will have a link and that will get you access to that specific class. If we're looking at Monday, you're going to have Tori teaching at 11 a.m., that's California time PST. I do the 7 a.m. mentorship. On Tuesday, I do STM and sales as well as assessments with Payne. And then Adam does the programming at 1:30 California time. I do nutrition on Wednesday, that's in the morning. On Thursday, we have Tyson, instructor at Lifetime, one of the top trainers there in Eagle, Idaho. He does that at 2 p.m. California time. At 11 o'clock, we'll either have Mel, sometimes we'll have O'Rom. And he is a nutrition coach. I will be speaking at the Vegas Coaches Summit in 2027. There'll be about 500 trainers there. That's supposed to be spectacular. I'm a little nervous. 500 people in the room, that's significantly more than the seminars. The max we've had is 50. He will be teaching twice per month. So you're going to learn from a nutrition coach who's implementing these strategies as it should be its own stream of revenue. We will have physical therapists, we have Dr. Coleman coming on today, which is Wednesday, 1:30, assessing acute shoulder injuries, different than chronic shoulder injuries. You will also be able to get a ton of CEUs that are free within the platform wherever you are at. This is the month calendar. Every month we will change it up within reason, meaning where people are, the times. This is going to be set in stone for July. Whatever month you are in, reach out to an instructor to make sure that you have the link and that you know when the calls

How The CPT Testing Works

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are. Let's talk a little bit about how to test for each certification. Most people start with the CPT, but you do not have to get it. If you're already certified and you want to get into level two, that's fine if you want to do nutrition or soft tissue. For the CPT, you need to know your anatomy, 17 muscles of the shoulder, 20 of the lower body, eight core movement patterns with the agonist and synergists, and then programming all within 15 minutes on a Zoom call. Some people will do them at the seminars, that's perfectly fine as well. You will need to submit videos showcasing your movement competency, and then your programming for a male and a female, a hunk and a hunkette. Three workouts, full body for a beginner. You will be asked questions on the exam around type one, type two muscle fibers. What's the difference? The rotator cuff, primarily type one, what is their main role? Stabilization of the glenohumeral joint. What are the type two muscles? Latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, knowing the difference between the quad muscles. A competent coach can talk through this. If you have questions on why we are only doing 10 jumps, you need to be able to explain that to us. We're not jumping like Tinkerbell for 30 seconds. You need to make sure it's applicable to the general population. When you move into level two, that's when we level you up with pain as well as athletic sports performance. And the last thing you may be asked on when it comes to level one is why do we start with 10 reps and we don't go less than that? It's primarily due to movement competency, strength in ligaments and tendons. I had a great question on one of our calls today asking about RPE, rating perceived exertion, and also RIR, reps in reserve. How many are you leaving for a beginner? And the question is, you really don't do that. And the reason being is because the central nervous system is gonna be the limiting factor. In the beginning, it's primarily just motor unit recruitment, synergy and synchronization within that. And then you're gonna have some maybe cardiac fatigue, meaning that if you're doing 10 goblet squats, the muscles aren't going to be the limiting factor. It's gonna be the nervous system as well as the cardiovascular system. So we don't really have to program one or two reps in reserve for beginners, but as we get into more advanced programming, which we talk about in level two, those are factors and things that you want to learn more

Nutrition Certification And Vitality Partnership

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about. For the nutrition, the calls are on demand. You get two calls per week, one with an RD, one with myself, mastering the basics, carbs, fats, protein, digestion, all about motivational interviewing. We have case examples. Then you get into those live calls to learn how you can link up with an RD as well as build that stream of revenue. There are quizzes, and then when you pay the $7.99 for the nutrition cert, you get access to Vitality. You will get a link, you schedule a call with a representative on their team, you will then go to Quest, get your blood drawn, anywhere from 80 to 100 biomarkers. The average doc is gonna do 10 or 15. Concierge doctors will do 50. You're getting close to 100 when you do the vitality. That's one of the unique new partnerships that we're offering in 2026. We're really excited about that. We also have nutrition seminars. One time every quarter. We would like to move that up to once a month, but for now, we're gonna do one in New York. The date is not set in stone yet. We're waiting for lifetime, but we will be doing those and they're gonna be really cool because it's going to be male teaching. I'll be there, but I'm gonna be getting into sports nutrition as well as bioenergetics, how to program for like high rocks, crossfit, our show-up fitness standards. It will be doing workouts that are a lot more high-intense versus for the STM certification that we have: upper body pain, movement screen, soft tissue, lower body. That's two different seminars. You do not have to go to one of the seminars in order to get the certification. We just highly recommend it because that hands-on learning is what separates the average trainer. You will link up with a physical therapist, you will intern under them, get between 20 to 50, sometimes more hours. You're gonna gain so much experience from that internship. You're gonna get a therapist on your team, really master anatomy 40 muscles versus level one, you need to know the 70 muscles around the shoulder. Level two, you need to tell me what the supraspinatus does. It stabilizes your glenohumeral joint. Yeah, it's more of a type one muscle fiber, but it's also going to be an abductor. Whereas the terrace minor infraspinatus, they're going to extend, externally rotate, and horizontally abiduct. You got to recognize 40 muscles and actions along with the 17 actions of the shoulder, nine of the humerus, eight of the scapula, and be able to talk through that. And that's how you're gonna get that

Soft Tissue Track And Nine Month Map

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certification. So our visitants show up when you compare this to the average trainer. You type in how to become a trainer, you get fooled by NASA or ISSA, they're owned by Blackstone andor Tailwind, which is a huge investment company, they have the funds to market. You spend your own time reading a book, you get a pat on the butt, you go out there and you start training. That's exactly why 90% of trainers quit within the first year. If you look at Show Up, what we offer, if you go through the whole program, especially with the Freedom Pass, you're gonna get lifetime access. But if you go through and just check off the certifications, three months for the CPT. After you get your CPT, you move into either soft tissue or nutrition. Let's say you do soft tissue, you can do nutrition, totally up to you what you're trying to learn. So, with the map of nine months, after three months, you get to a soft tissue seminar. You do upper body hearsay. And then within the next three months, when you're going through the soft tissue, you get to another seminar, but this time you're going to lower body. In the next three months, you get to a nutrition seminar with Mel. Nine months, three hands-on learning seminars. You are going to be the one percent. We've had so many success stories. Trainers making 10, 20, 26 plus $1,000 per month. It's because they follow the map and they go through and they continue to learn. The curiosity to continue to learn and surround yourself with the best trainers is what sets you up for success. I've known so many trainers that have wasted thousands of dollars just on textbooks. They go to Reddit and Facebook and they ask avatars questions or NASA. You got AI Claire. You don't even get to speak to an actual individual. Then you go to a seminar, you implement the strategies with assessments, your confidence begins to go through the roof. Then you go back into the trenches where you're training and helping people, and you rinse and repeat. Whereas in nine months, you will be set up for success, whereas most trainers will quit in that time frame. Now you can implement your Swift and learn how to innovate streams of revenue. What can you improve? What could you implement? The strategy behind the Swift is what sets you up for success. And it's exactly what we've done with our business plan. When we first started out, it was only live calls. That was it. Then we launched our certification. Now we have three certifications. Then we did a seminar. Now we have three seminars. With our partnership with First Forum, we will start doing quarterly seminars at their headquarters. We are

Referrals Accreditation And Final Ask

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going to continue to grow and improve the product because we have the best product out there. But when you hear some crazy guy with a belt buckle telling everyone, they freak out because they have their NASAM ACERISSA. So my one request from you, the belt buckle trainer, big biceps and awesome calves, is asking you one thing. Spread the word. If someone wants to become a trainer, get an SUF CPT. If they're a struggling trainer, get into the level two. You will get a commission, 200 bucks per referral. Post in your story, let people know your journey. Create a cool video. We'll put it into an ad and we'll throw it out there. You are telling your story of how you are turning your passion for fitness into a career. Nothing breaks my heart more when trainers tell me they're struggling, they've tried everything, and they're working from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. making two grand a month because we've seen so many case examples clear 10,000 per month. That's over $120,000. That is the 1%. That's what we create. We are going through the NCCA accreditation process. It takes time. NASA did it in 18 years. ACE did it in 18 years. ISSA bought another company. So now they are accredited. The accreditation doesn't mean much. If you want to work in a YMCA, maybe an LA Fitness, maybe you need it. Lifetime Equinox, they prefer our certification. We are going to get the NCC accreditation in less than 10 years. If there's a gym that's never heard of us, connect me with them. I will talk to the general manager, the owner, and see where they are at in their career and where the gym is at. Some people want NASA, so be it. There's a lot of gyms that want to level up their trainers, and that's why they come to us, because we provide the best hands-on continued education, most importantly, hands-on. We've gone to numerous other gyms outside of Lifetime. So if you work at a gym or you have a bunch of trainers in an area and you want us to come on out, reach out to us and we'll make that happen. I appreciate y'all. I'm proud of you for taking that next step, your curiosity, your humility to be the best that you possibly can be. And remember, leave a five star review for the podcast in the book. And big biceps are better than small ones that keep showing up.