TESTIMONIALS

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 234,000 people employed in the category of “fitness trainers and aerobics instructors” in 2012, an increase of about 40 percent from 10 years earlier and a robust exception to a stagnant or deteriorating job market along most other vectors of American life.

Andrew, last name Ginsburg, is also a stand-up comedian and does riffs, onstage and off, about the way the boom in personal training has permitted struggling actors, failed athletes and even ex-cons to repurpose themselves as trainers, with meaningless credentials from certificate mills.

“If you have $400 and a pulse, you can be a trainer,” he told me during a recent session, referring to the licensing fee from one organization, which administers a multiple-choice test. “A chimp could pass it…”

Harry Hanson, a longtime trainer who runs the American Academy of Personal Training, a professional school with branches in New York and Boston, told me that at some point over recent years, the market for personal training became so huge that “everybody who was a college athlete or had a good body thought, ‘I can be a personal trainer.’ ”

“There is no shortage of personal trainers,” he said. “It’s a glamorous occupation.” His own school’s mission, he said, is to turn out trainers who really do know what they’re doing.

The American Academy of Personal Training (AAPT) is a private occupational school internationally recognized for its innovative approach to personal training education and the only personal training school in the northeast to offer federal financial aid.

AAPT's hands-on curriculum combines equal amounts of classroom and practical instruction, conducted on-site with our experienced faculty. This style of learning enables students to develop confidence and aptitude in not only the science and business of personal training, but also in the everyday, practical aspects of the job.

In 2011, AAPT became the first US personal training school to achieve US Department of Education recognition as a nationally accredited institution. Today, AAPT remains the only nationally accredited personal training school in the Northeast and continues to lead the charge toward higher standards and better opportunities in fitness education.

course content

The AAPT course of study is focused on preparing students to work one-on-one with clients in a variety of settings. Graduates have a solid foundation in exercise science, training adaptations, and exercise prescription that far exceeds current standards in the industry.

fulfilling student potential

At AAPT, our primary objective is to bring students to a level of competency that qualifies them for both initial employment and for sustained success and career advancement as fitness professionals. We strive to fulfill this objective by realizing the individual potential of each student in a supportive and challenging learning environment. To ensure the best possible mentorship, we have recruited a faculty team that has met both our rigorous academic and professional requirements as well as our equally rigorous passion requirements.Academy instructors are seasoned professionals who love to teach just as much as they love fitness.

regulatory oversight and memberships

Our success as a school is measured by the success of our graduates. Likewise, the needs of the fitness community determine the objectives for our curriculum. So how do we ensure that we're doing a good job? In addition to the direct feedback we get from our students, alumni and employer network, these regulatory bodies help to keep us on track:

Council on Occupational Education

Accredits AAPT nationally as a school that meets the highest standard of quality in career and technical education;
Reviews AAPT's accreditation annually to assure those
standards are maintained and the fitness industry's growing
need for highly trained professionals continues to be met. With COE accredtation awarded in 2011, AAPT became the only accredited school for personal trainers in the US.

Department of Education

Licenses AAPT to operate occupational schools in
the state of New York, Massachusetts and Florida

International Association for Continuing
Education and Training (IACET)

Accredits AAPT internationally as a continuing educatoin provider, awarding graduates with 30 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for completion of the AAPT curriculum. With
its initial IACET approval in 2009, AAPT became the first US personal training school to receive international recognition.

Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE)

Formerly NOCA
Parent organization to the NCCA
Approves AAPT as a member of the credentialing and vocational training community. ICE's accrediting division, the NCCA, provides the current standard for examination-based personal training certification (the NCCA does not evaluate or accredit educational programs or schools).

AAPT's Occupational Advisory Committee (AAPT OAC)

Provides AAPT with industry-specific guidance to ensure that the school mission and coursework remain relevant and up-to-date according to current practices and standards in personal training.

AAPT's Institutional Advisory Committee (AAPT IAC)

Provides AAPT with community-specific guidance to ensure that the school objectives are appropriate to meet the local employment needs of the community.

Better Business Bureau

Accredits AAPT as a business that demonstrates fair, honest, reliable, transparent and responsive business practices.

Testimonials