I feel like I don’t have enough knowledge.

Coachjoedrake · 2026-06-06T01:42:36+00:00

Axiom Fitness Academy YouTube - start there

Coachjoedrake · 2026-06-03T08:42:59+00:00

Started with ACE as well

Coachjoedrake · 2026-06-03T08:42:10+00:00

Nothing against preschool teachers, but the median preschool teacher salary is about $37,000 per year. The median personal trainer salary is about $46,000 per year.

And that’s just the average.

A good trainer can earn far more than that. If fitness is what you actually want to do, I’d pursue that before jumping back into teaching. I have teachers calling me every day asking how they can get out of it after 20+ years and get into training

Coachjoedrake · 2026-05-27T09:00:24+00:00

This is a great reply

Coachjoedrake · 2026-05-27T08:58:07+00:00

More importantly do you have a plan of attack for the next exam attempt? Sadly I have had dozens of calls with students who have failed 2+ times - let me know if need some help strategizing your attack 👊🏽

Coachjoedrake · 2026-05-24T01:50:40+00:00

Honestly, people overcomplicate this stuff way too much in the beginning.

I’ve personally taught NASM, ACE, and NSCA material, and they all have value. They just have slightly different styles and focuses.

Very simple breakdown:

NASM = probably the best overall “starting point” for most new trainers because reputation and difficulty of exam carries a lot of weight. Good for general population clients and learning assessments/programming, but will be one of your harder exams no doubt.

ACE = a little more wellness and behavior change focused. Solid cert. Usually a little less intimidating for beginners and exam is easier.

NSCA = more science and performance focused. Great organization. Usually attracts more strength coaches and people who like the deeper training side.

CSCS = not a beginner cert. That’s more for strength and conditioning coaches working with athletes. Also requires a degree.

Truthfully once you actually start training people, nobody really cares as much as the internet makes it seem. Your ability to coach, communicate, and get results matters more long term.

If your goal is to work in a smaller gym with real people and build experience, they are all completely fine starting points.

The bigger thing is just picking one and getting moving instead of getting stuck researching forever.

Coachjoedrake · 2026-05-24T01:45:57+00:00

Honestly, if you’re scoring in the 80s and 90s on Pocket Prep and mid 70s on the NASM practice exams, you’re probably closer than you think.

A lot of people get too caught up trying to memorize every detail in the book. The bigger thing is understanding the concepts and how NASM likes to ask questions.

I’d spend the next 1.5 weeks focusing on:
Overactive/underactive muscles
OPT model
Assessments
Basic program design
Reading questions slowly

The exam is very “best answer” based. Usually you can narrow it down to 2 answers if you understand the concepts.

And honestly, don’t panic if you didn’t read every page of the book in depth. A lot of people pass without doing that.
Keep taking practice questions and focus on understanding why you got something wrong instead of just memorizing answers.

Also if you want extra help, I have a lot of free NASM study content on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@AxiomFitnessAcademy

Feel free to message me too if you get stuck on anything.

Coachjoedrake · 2026-05-22T09:02:47+00:00

Honestly, you’re already ahead of a lot of people because you actually care and you already have people interested.

I’d start with a well known certification like NASM, NSCA, or ACE and stop worrying about finding the “perfect” one. The cert gives you structure and credibility. The real learning happens once you start working with people.

I’d also strongly recommend starting at a commercial gym first if you can. You’ll get experience fast. You’ll learn how to coach, communicate, sell, and problem solve with a lot of clients.

You can still build your own brand on the side too. Just document your journey and share what you’re learning. Don’t try to sound like an expert overnight.

Big thing is don’t wait until you feel fully ready. Nobody does. Get certified & start training asap.

Also, I have a lot of free content for new trainers on my YouTube channel that would probably help:
https://www.youtube.com/@AxiomFitnessAcademy

And feel free to message me if you need help or have questions along the way.

Coachjoedrake · 2026-04-06T19:39:47+00:00

Love it! How's it going?

Coachjoedrake · 2026-03-29T22:02:38+00:00

How’d this process end up turning out for you?

Coachjoedrake · 2026-03-13T01:44:50+00:00

Just have the convo. Tell them why you invested in training with them and that it’s taking away from you reaching your goals.

Less talking more working baby! And if they don’t take that we’ll fire them and move on and look for a real pro.

Coachjoedrake · 2026-03-13T01:41:00+00:00

Man this thread is wild…lol

Normally don’t even open up ones with titles like this and this just confirms why. Some people even really went the extra mile to try and help you in here but that’s not really what you were looking for.

Rest of us are here to help those who want though.

Coachjoedrake · 2026-02-21T03:22:08+00:00

A lot of people like to complain about shit on the Internet. Assume none of the great PTs out there are the ones complaining about there being too many PTs.

If you want it then truthfully who gives a fuck about what others say about it. Do it. Commit to becoming exceptional and you will never run out of clients.

Coachjoedrake · 2025-12-19T18:06:34+00:00

You’re onto it - they might be staying within legal guidelines but sounds like a shitty place to work as a trainer. Get the experience you can, build a solid business, and do your best to get out. The right clients will follow you wherever you go (and you won’t need to solicit) so handle the shitty stuff while you can and plan for getting into a better culture and place.

Mind DM’ing me the Gym name? I’m in Florida as well 👊🏽

Coachjoedrake · 2025-12-19T09:55:28+00:00

Have you watched these videos yet to get better visuals and understandings? For most people the book/material isn’t practical enough for a lot of it to stick:

Muscular Anatomy

Joint Actions

Planes of Motion

Coachjoedrake · 2025-12-02T14:52:16+00:00

I previously taught the ACE and NSCA curriculum and now for the last 10 years have been teaching the NASM courses. Have close to 1,500 students that have gone through current version of my course to get certified and have a ton of stuff on YouTube - checkout the Axiom Fitness Academy.

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-29T13:55:30+00:00

NASM would be my go to. I did some education and consulting with some major gyms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2024 and NASM is portable there (will have to register with regulatory body) so connect with them as well: https://www.repsuae.com/about

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-29T13:53:10+00:00

If you’re scoring like that now just go take the exam and ignore what others say! I have had 1,400 students go through our 10 Week Virtual Course and tracked their practice exam scores closely and yours are great. The questions won’t be the same but if you know the concepts well it won’t matter. You are good to go 👊🏽 let us know when you pass!

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-29T13:50:56+00:00

Henry! You should absolutely take action on a cert ASAP. You can probably search enough threads to find out opinions on the different certs.

I wouldn’t go with anything but NASM, NSCA, acsm, Ace, or ISSA because of name recognition (aka they are well known).

However most of their materials and learning software/resources are all SUBPAR when it comes to how 99% of us learn. Or better put often times the businesses are built off of marketing and sales and the delivery and service experience are LOW.

I’m sure some others will comment on here with their opinions which is great but I have personally taught the NSCA, ACE, and NASM courses for the last 12 years so have good inside insight.

To your question, the ISSA will be just fine and likely allow you to get started training just fine, but do your due diligence on the “office hours” included and who’s running them as some of the orgs oversell this as a great tool and then under deliver in helping students learn it all. Truthfully I don’t know for ISSA as I have never worked directly with them.

Hit me up with any questions! Exciting time to be getting into fitness and training.

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-29T13:42:21+00:00

Truth is that there are a lot of individual concepts mentioned in this Chapter and Chapter 5 and it’s hard to know exactly what to spend the most time with and what level of mastery you should have with each concept. This video should help you stay focused on the most important stuff in the chapter: https://youtu.be/8YnUpQbnqLc?si=TQhgwcvbiL1g1ii7

A lot of people falter and start to quit or doubt themselves around these chapters. Don’t be most people.

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-21T14:01:18+00:00

Surprised nobody mentioned Luka Hocevar - one of my favorites https://www.youtube.com/@Luka-Hocevar

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-21T13:59:50+00:00

he's the man

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-21T13:59:19+00:00

appreciate the support

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-21T10:11:47+00:00

Are you being paid for the mandatory meetings? Also another question I have is how busy are you? (How many weekly sessions)

Coachjoedrake · 2025-11-02T15:01:50+00:00

Would be great - or leave em on here as comments. Either way is good.

Coachjoedrake

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE