Is NASM Worth It in 2026? 10-Year NASM Teacher Explains

Passing a personal trainer certification feels like you’ve earned the keys to the gym, until a real client shows up with knee pain, shoulder history, and questions you can’t answer with a multiple-choice memory dump. We talk honestly about whether NASM is worth it, why so many “gold standard” certifications still leave trainers with shaky programming skills, and how the industry sets beginners up to confuse a piece of paper with professional competence. 

We also pull a Reddit-style case study into the spotlight: a trainer using AI to write workout plans, getting better client feedback, even raising prices, and still feeling like a fraud. We break down the line between smart leverage and dangerous dependency, and why AI can support great coaching but can’t replace the craft. Real value comes from cueing, judgment, and adapting on the fly, not from reciting overactive muscles or hiding behind acronyms. 

From there we zoom out to what actually builds a sustainable personal training career: hands-on learning, mentorship, supervised reps, and a team approach that includes referrals to a physical therapist or registered dietitian when it’s appropriate. We get into the uncomfortable business truths too, like why so many trainers struggle to sell, why confidence collapses when your product is generic, and how skilled coaches think about pricing and multiple revenue streams. 

If you’re serious about becoming a respected, high-earning trainer, this is a roadmap for what to learn next and what to stop trusting. Subscribe for more honest coaching talk, share this with a trainer who’s feeling stuck, and leave a review with the biggest skill you’re working on right now.

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Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
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NASM / ACE / ISSA study guide: https://www.showupfitness.com

Transcript

Is NASM Worth It

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Is NASA worth it? I taught this stuff at MPTI, fourth edition, fifth edition, sixth edition, and the seventh edition. I have my NASAM CPT, CES, PES. I've taught all that material when I was working at their school. In my professional opinion, it's not.

A Trainer Uses AI Programs

SPEAKER_00 0:18

But let's see what our friends over at Reddit have to say. Feeling subpar. I've been working as a trainer for the last three years. The first two just at a small EMS gym with scammy, gimmicky workouts. In the last year, I've built up about seven personal training clients on top of my work at the EMS gym. I have my NASAM certification, but to be honest, I feel like I don't have a lot of the basic exercise programming and queuing ability that a lot of other trainers I encounter have. I started using AI to come up with exercise programs and suggestions in response to client requests. And it's made my clients enjoy the workouts more, see more value, and allow me to raise my prices. I feel like more of a designated Googler than a skilled professional, though, and I'm going through some imposter syndrome. Does anyone else use AI to create workout plans, see any value there, or do you guys think it's a cop-out?

The Certification Industry Problem

SPEAKER_00 1:09

That's what the internet is filled with. People talking about NASA, ACE, ISSA, but if you go to their page, that's the gold standard. Most trainers do the same thing. They read a book and they have no idea how to train the human body. They barely understand themselves. The N1. I have a six-pack, therefore I can get anyone a six-pack. And then John walks in with a hip issue, knee pain, shoulder issues, and you go, Well, my textbook didn't teach me that. Um, let's just walk backwards on a treadmill. That's going to cure your knee pain. This isn't a knock to these associations, but people do not do their research. There's no critical thought. I did my research. Do you know who owns these companies? NASA, owned by Ascend Learning, a billion-dollar company who's owned by their parent company. Blackstone, maybe you've heard of them before. A trillion dollars assets under management. What about ISSA, another profit organization owned by Tailwind Capital, a billion-dollar company? So what they can do is market to the masses. And if you go, how to become a personal trainer on the Google machine, guess what pops up? First ad. You click on it, it says gold standard. Accept that at all these gyms, you're going to become the best trainer in the world in four weeks. Any other professional, physical therapists, RDs, they have to go to school for numerous years, internships, learning from actual people, not freaking AI Claire. And then they observe and then they do it. Monkey see, monkey do. Then they go out there and it's a respected profession. Personal trainers, on the other hand, read a book, but do you think the average trainer actually reads all 800 pages? The average person is who read a book a year. Now you expect them to read an 800-page textbook? No, they go to the Google machine, how to pass NASAM. Quizlet or some guy telling you, oh, this is how you pass NASA. I help people pass NASA because I taught this stuff for 10 years. It's super easy. It is the easiest textbook certification out there, hands down. It's a multiple choice test. That's what blows my mind, the critical thought of today. I want to become a fitness trainer. I'm in the gym moving around. I want to work with actual people, but I want to read a book. One plus one does not equal 30. We don't have the common sense to recognize that the entry into this industry is way down here. So then people get frustrated and they can put imposture syndrome. Is it really imposture syndrome? You just don't know what the hell you're doing. But that's not a knock to you. Our industry doesn't set you up for success. You talk to a trainer who has survivorship bias, meaning I took ACE, therefore, that's what you should do. But we don't realize that there is a hierarchy. Qualified programs, show up fitness. You actually get to talk to people, you get to learn programming, the skills that are required for the profession. We have RDs teaching, we have physical therapists teaching in person, online, and we go to hands-on learning seminars and teach the best trainers. Hands-on. Therefore, you're set up for success. NPTI is a great program where I used to teach, but they kind of geared more into that NASAM route. That's why I left. And you're making people do an overhead squat OPT model from a physical therapist. Physical therapists don't know general pop programming. Strength coaches do. That's what you learn when you go through college. And you get a degree in kinesiology, and you understand programming undulating periodization, eastern versus western block periodization. A therapist doesn't learn that in school. They're teaching you models for rehab prehab. But I got my corrective exercise certification. You haven't worked with anybody. Textbook certifications may get you a job. And I give this young buck credit because he's stuck around. I'm saying young buck because mostly people on Reddit, they're younger, living with their parents. They can be making a grand or two a month and survive on that for numerous years. But the average person, if you want to make this into a career, you read a book and you don't make it. 90% of trainers script within the first year. It makes perfect sense. You don't know how to train. What internship have you been to? What hands-on learning courses? Who's your mentor? You want programs that are backed based off of science, like ACSM, that's a great certification. NSCA. They don't have the hands-on learning, but the material is sound. These are the fast food certifications, super easy to get. And I love the advertisements because they're just toying with you. They don't think you're smart. This is just my opinion. But look at the ads. Really look at the ads and how they're marketing to you. We're the best. We're the gold standard. All of them say that, but it's a book and you can pass in as quick as three to four weeks online. It's a multiple choice test. Your client comes in and they have upper cross syndrome. What muscles overactive? Latissimus dorsi. If you ever said that to an actual client, they would never sign up with you. And that's where trainers struggle today, the business side of the equation. We have this illusion that we're gonna read a book and we're gonna become a millionaire. I saw a friend on his Instagram and he has 200,000 followers and he made 200,000 last month. Did he? Did he really? Because I've known trainers in the game for 20 years and they're pulling in 20,000, 25,000. That's a respectable amount. 20 years of training. You think reading a textbook and taking a test is gonna get you there? This is a joke, by the way. You can tell I'm not that jacked up. AI is amazing if you use it as a tool, but AI is not the tool for

What Real Coaching Skills Require

SPEAKER_00 7:03

your success. This is a joke identifying the fall of personal trainers. This image of me all jacked up over here with the belt buckle. I don't have it today, sorry. But this is a joke because trainers, just like that, they're using it for their success. But it should be a role reversal. A trainer who uses AI as a tool, but the trainer is the tool. Just like a master craftsman, the tool belt doesn't make them who they are. Their skilled craft does, their learnings under proper supervision does. So I really feel for trainers because textbooks do not address the actual trade, the technical side. As he was saying, how to cue. You don't know how to cue people. That's our whole entire job, every single day. Back straight, don't do this, drive through your knees, make sure to go through your heels, big toe, little toe, heel on the ground at all times. Knowing how to cue that. People skills, you're not gonna read that in a book. You got to get into an environment where you're watching trainers train, taking notes about programming, and then having a conversation with them afterwards. I saw you do a goblet squat. Why did you choose the squat pattern? I noticed you did a pull-up. Why did you do this variation and not an Aussie? Because one's a vertical versus a horizontal pull. And having critical thought conversations with an actual professional, not a multiple choice test. And the business side, how to drive streams of revenue. The average trainer quits because they're making less than $50,000. Makes sense. You write a book. You want to make $100,000 plus per year, $10,000 per month, and you write a book? We are, I cannot say this enough. It blows my freaking mind, it pisses me off. Personal trainers. You have to engage with people. You need to know how to work with that body, the human body, not your own. This is how you do a hinge. Client does this. Well, how the heck do I teach that? Um, we're just not gonna do that. We're gonna come over here and do a leg press. You're not given the tools for success. So when you go through a program, it takes time, energy, reps. I got my degree in kinesiology, internships with physical therapists, cardiac rehab, in the trenches, learning from the best. After six plus years of learning, then I went out there and started training. I didn't have imposture syndrome. It's not because I went to UConn and Chico State with some of the best professors out there and I'm all hot shit. It's because I was given the tools for success. So when I was in these environments, I see a good trainer. Okay, that's cool. I'm not intimidated because I have the foundation. I have the tool belt, and I know these tools are gonna help my clients safely. I really feel for trainers today because the industry gets a bad rep. The bars down here. I got my NASA! I'm a trainer, I'm ready to start training people. Can you talk to me about the 17 muscles around the shoulder? Can you tell me 14 around the knee? What's the difference between the ACL and the PCL? What are the rotator cuff muscles? Kaffa! There's four of them: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis. What is their main job? To stabilize the gleno humor joint. Your clients don't care about that. That's not important. I see people all the time online. Can you speak English? I don't understand what you said. What is ER? You don't have the foundation. But for physical therapists, interview a hundred of them. What are the rotator cuff muscles? Okay, these are the four, and they also the subscapularis works with internal rotation. They will keep on going off because that's what they learned in school. You have to know that before you get into the trenches and watch your professors working with clients during that dadic internship. Physical therapists, respected. In rehab, prehab, don't even get me started on exercise programming. That's a whole different story. They're respected. Trainers, we're not, because we're training our clients in tank tops and we're sweating and we don't have a plan of attack for their success. We just annihilate them. We don't even assess them or do blood pressure. You don't sit down, see if you need to refer out to your team physical therapist or RD because you don't have one on your team. And then that person looks at us as well. You guys aren't professional, you know what the hell you're doing. The sphere of the personal training industry is based on people coming in, reading a book, and regurgitating their anecdotes. I have giant biceps. Here's what I did, here's the scientific method. That's not how it works, but we settle for statistics such as closing 25% of your assessments. How is that possible? Someone is in front of you and they want your help. 10 people you sit down with and two to three sign up. You don't have the confidence in your product. You can't confidently say this is $150 per hour. If you want to work with me for this month, it's going to be $2,000. Oh, by the way, I also do nutrition coaching, which is an additional $500 per month. I have an RD and you get to work with them. Nope, trainers don't do that. They get their PN1 or their NASAM CNC because I got a bundle. Can't wait to put all these acronyms in my bio to make me feel important. I feel important, but you're not competent. I'm not knocking you. I'm not saying you're a pile of shit or a dumbass. I'm saying the industry is not competent. And if you don't want to be like everyone else, you can't do what they're doing. You want to make this into a career. You have to be different. Interview trainers. Go to Reddit. Who in here is a personal trainer? I would love to learn your path. What did you find successful? What courses did you find beneficial? What books are you currently reading? Who's your mentor? Can I hop on a quick little Zoom with you? Don't just go off of the avatar, Frank 1328 with a freaking little robot on there. Have an actual conversation. I'd be more than happy to pay your hourly rate. I'd be more than happy to send you a gift card. I want to become a successful personal trainer. Maybe that's where I wrote the book, How to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Interviewing the best. What do they do? Background in kinesiology or movement. They have internships, hands-on learning. They are in the trenches, learning hands-on. Not checking off the next specialty textbook that you take a test online and you get a bunch of CEUs. Is NASA legit? Of course. National Academy of Spectacular Marketing. Oh, sorry. National Academy of Shitty Medicine. Oh, I mean, National Academy of Sports Medicine. They are a company that can get you a piece of paper and you may be able to get a job. You may get that interview. But then what the person's going to do is they're going to say, design a program. Or my favorite when I talk to managers, go out there, talk to a client,

Pricing Confidence And Career Reality

SPEAKER_00 14:05

train them for an hour, come back, and we'll have a discussion. I got to sell? I got to talk to people. I thought I would just start making 10,000 a month and you just give me clients and I know what I'm doing. Doesn't happen like that. As a trainer of 20 years, I'm frustrated because our career is not respected. These textbook certifications don't set you up for success, in my opinion. I don't want to get sued by these companies. I'm not throwing shade at them. I'm saying that they're making a boatload of money off of your ignorance because you're not truly doing your research. Any other profession that's respected, you got to work up the ladder. You start by watching people do what you will be doing. That's what an internship is. It's not just, oh, you want to be a contractor? Read this little book and go out there and start building houses. Okay, go up to someone say, Hey, I'm a general contractor. First person, can I build you a house? Hey, let me take a look at your resume. I don't have one. Um, do I use brick? Do I use cement? What do I what do I do? Uh you don't have a team, you don't have an electrician, you don't have a website, you don't have a portfolio, would never work anywhere else. If you want to become a successful personal trainer, you cannot do what everyone else is doing. Spending the shortest period of time because I look great. I've been in the gym for 10 years. Great, tell me the muscles around the shoulder. What happens when your client is 14 months post-op on a rotator cuff tear? What are the contraindications for the movements? Can you do overhead pressing? Can they get their humors to 160 degrees of flexion? If they can't, are you referring out to your physical therapist and your team? Are you working with them regularly, checking in on your clients, going over case examples? No. So when you ask trainers who are struggling and have imposture syndrome, those questions, how's your anatomy? What hands-on learning courses have you done? Who's your mentor? And you're going to see a common trend. No hands-on learning, no mentor, nothing about anatomy. So you're teaching everyone what you did. In science, it's called anecdotal evidence, and it would never fly. There's a scientific method for a reason. It works. And if you want to turn this into a career, you cannot be a cog. You have to take those blinders off and realize you're gonna have to learn a bunch. Knowing anatomy is a game changer. It literally separates you from the masses. Because if someone starts telling you about overactive upper traps, what do the traps do? They're up here. They upwardly rotate the scapula along with the lower traps and the serratus anterior, but they also elevate the scapula. Do you know the eight actions of the scapula? Oh, that's right. Your textbook doesn't have that. It has four, it has six. Did you learn from actual people? Did you get asked questions, or did you go search it and come across some YouTube and the person says, here's how you pass it? And you go out there and you gain unsupervised experience. That just kills me. Unsupervised experience would not fly in any respected profession, but that's the route that personal trainers are supposed to take. That's how you earn your stripes by practicing on human

Mentors Referrals And A Field Challenge

SPEAKER_00 17:19

bodies. Get into your Instagram story today. Here's my challenge if you're thinking about becoming a trainer, or maybe you are and you're struggling. Ask people if they would be willing to hop on a quick little call with you, General Pop, and interview them. Where are you struggling? Do you have any injuries? Have you worked with the trainer? What were their credentials? Did you like the experience? And you're gonna find your confidence is gonna grow. You will not experience imposture syndrome because you are learning from the actual person who you're gonna be training, those hypothetical avatars of what it is truly like. You need to be able to assess clients in pain. Program around pain. Pain is within our scope. It's when you try to do mobilizations around the joint, or you're taking them through ranges of motion that are not in our scope. But when you talk to your therapist on a weekly, daily basis, you will know what we can and cannot do. Therapists are our friends, dietitians are our friends. If you like Eastern medicine, nutritional holistic coach, they're our friends. They should be on your team and you should be getting business from them and you should be sending them business. When in doubt, refer out. I've taught over 600 trainers at Lifetime in Equinox in the last couple of years when we do our hands-on learning seminars. And the questions I always ask people: shoulder anatomy, knee anatomy. Trainers don't know. Therapist RD, who's on your team? They don't have them. How many streams of revenue do you have? They have one. Competent coaches have streams of revenue: 60% stream one, 30% stream two, 10% stream three. So you have a nice, happy medium where you get to do what you love to do, which is to serve our clientele safely, but you have options and you make this enjoyable because at the end of the day, we do this to help people. And trainers who come in through a textbook, they're not optimally prepared to help people. So is NASA worth it? Depends. In my opinion, it's not because it's a textbook. AI Claire isn't going to set you up for success. Certifications that allow for you to engage with actual professionals who you can ask questions to daily and weekly and monthly, go out there with a case study, come back, have interactions, and actually learn how to program and why that cueing that you used didn't work. And to think about maybe having this exercise in your back pocket in case that exercise didn't work well because you're programming off of movement patterns, that's what sets you up for success. We're here for you. We've certified thousands of trainers. If you can't get a refund for NASA Morace or ISA, whatever it is, pass it. Get it over with. You don't have to, but get it over with and then get into a program where you can ask questions and you can level up your skills because this is the most rewarding career ever. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. And that's exactly why I'm teaching this and helping you. Because I'm just being honest. If you got a textbook certification a year from now, you're not going to be training. If that's all you do, if you think that you can pass that test and then go out there and start training people without supervision, you're going to fail. I've seen it time and time and time again. Go to Reddit, go to Facebook groups and just look at the Discord and the frustration that trainers have. Trainers and influencers have. It's because they didn't do it under supervision. They don't have hands-on learning. And they're ultimately frustrated because they were led astray. Don't be a cog in the system. Level up your thinking, read more books, interview people, listen to better podcasts from people who are actually trainers. Not trainers 20 years ago. I used to work at 24. Now I got a popular podcast. This is how you train. 20 years ago, who are you currently working with? Don't waste thousands of dollars on mentorships. Work with actual people. Go out there and do it. Come back, get a report, and then constantly improve. You can do this. I believe in you. And remember big biceps are better than small ones and keep showing up.