If you’re just here for the quiz, scroll down

I’ve made no secret about my feelings on personal training certifications in the past. I think they are, for the most part, a joke. Literally anyone with a few bucks and the ability to pass a horse shit test can get one. There is nothing you can glean from seeing that a person has a personal training certification except that they are probably First Aid and CPR certified. A simple certification tells you nothing about that person’s ability to prescribe exercise. These accreditation agencies make bank off of people who purchase their study material and register to take the exam. Just to register for the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Exam it is $600 and then it’s another $600 to purchase their customized study material which you will probably need to pass the test because it is written by NASM with all of their goofy ideas in sport science. The same can be said about the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) or the American Council on Exercise (ACE). They all just sell overpriced passes that get you into the club. My point being that just because a person has a personal training certification doesn’t mean that they should be able to program exercise. I’m really just annoyed that the gen pop will listen to dumbasses on social media because they parade their certification around and act like a hero.

I say all of this as a person who holds a certification from the ACSM as a Certified Exercise Physiologist and I am telling you, the credential alone means nothing. Does it mean that they have a greater understanding and more knowledge in the sport science field than the general public? Yes, at least at the time they took their test but without real life experience in the gym their certification is useless. There are people I graduated college with who have the same certification that I have and I don’t believe they possess any kind of ability to program exercise even though they hold one of the highest levels of training certs that is offered. Some of those people have even gone on to get doctorates in Physical Therapy and guess what???…. I still think they would be lacking when it comes to exercise prescription (If we went to school together and you’re reading this, I’m sorry. Just hope you’re not one of the bad ones.) On the flip side there are lots of people with no certifications whatsoever who are brilliant when it comes to programming exercise. I follow a couple of them on IG and it always makes me laugh how much better they are compared to some of the Fitspos I follow that talk about their certification nonstop.

I have decided to write a lil quiz with some questions that any respectable trainer should be able to answer with relative ease. Those of you that have consumed my content over the past 4 years will also likely be able to do very well answering these questions. So take it and see if you are more competent than the average IG fitspo trainer. I’ve put the passing rate at 50%. I don’t know what actual fitspos would score. I can’t send them the link to this and say “Hey I think you’re stupid and I don’t respect you as a trainer but I need you to take this quiz so I can clown you. Thanks.” That wouldn’t go over well especially with how haughty they all are. I bet many of them would score less than 50% so if you pass this join me in laughing at the fitspos. Best of luck.

Hopefully you did well. It doesn’t let me put explanations in the actual quiz so for details on all of the answers click the button below. I can’t put it on this page otherwise some of you will cheat.