Personal trainer certification?

Getting certified as a personal trainer is one of the things on my "checklist" of life that I'd like to achieve. Can anyone steer me towards the more reputable and prestigious organizations to check out, and maybe give me an idea of what I'm looking at as far as costs, requirements, etc.? Thanks in advance.

If you dont have a college degree in exercise physiology, go for the CPT certified personal trainer offered by the NSCA. There website is nsca-lift.org

Check it out. The CSCS offered by the NSCA is the most prestigious but you need a B.S. in ex phys to get that.

The CPT should be a good choice for you.

NSCA is very good.
NASM is also fantastic. Those would be the two I'd recommend.

It'll probably cost you anywhere around $500.

fabes is correct.

The NASM stuff cost me about $450 for the cd's and membership if I remember correctly. I haven't taken the test yet but I'm sure there's more $ I'll end up paying. If you're serious about it, its worth it though. Many gyms won't let you work for them without certification.

ASCM, American College of Sports Medicine, is probably the most well known support among medical professional.

Like the CSCS certification of the NSCA you do need a college degree to take the ASCM certification exam.

BUT this certification get into places that other certification can't.

but you need a B.S. in ex phys to get that.

not true. You can get it with a bachelor's degree in ANY major. (philosphy, political science etc..)

They just want the person with this degree to have proved to have had a good education.