Surprise! I'm a Certified Personal Trainer
My quiet goal for 2025: Dive into uncharted career territory.
I’ve been teasing a project that I’ve been working on behind the scenes, and now, it’s finally time to let you all in on it.
Since December 30, 2024, I’ve been studying to become a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the leading, evidence-based fitness certification organization since 1987. Most nights, after Tim and I went to bed, I’d stay up reading the self-paced course—a collection of 23 chapters on basic and applied sciences, nutrition, fitness assessments, posture, exercise technique, training instruction, and NASM’s Optimum Performance Training Model for clients. (For the sake of brevity, we’ll ignore the fact that from January to April, I made the mistake of starting with another course, NASM’s Certified Nutrition Coach, figuring I’d tackle “the harder one” first. I got up to chapter 11 before switching to the fitness side of things.)
I hadn’t studied since college, and wow, did it show. My attention span had massively deteriorated while my procrastination had increased. I’d get through about half of a chapter a night, then I’d have to go back to reread and absorb the key points. At the end of each chapter was a quiz, followed by a longer quiz at the end of each section. What I thought would take me about three to four months ended up taking nine. “I should be studying” became a common phrase within our household.
By September, I had finally finished the course and was ready to start memorizing key terms, concepts, and exercises. Some examples:
“Human bones act as attachment sites and levers (rigid rods) to produce movement when muscles contract. Bone growth occurs throughout life and remodels itself with specialized cells called osteoblasts and osteoclasts.”
“Stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped out of the heart with each contraction.”
“Glucagon aids in the metabolism of glucose, and insulin aids in the cellular uptake and storage of glucose.”
“The small intestine has a key function of absorption of carbohydrates, lipids, calcium, amino acids, and iron. The large intestine absorbs electrolytes and vitamins and serves to pass waste from nondigested food.”
“Osteokinematic describes the observable movement of a limb, whereas arthrokinematic describes the movement taking place at the joint itself.”
“The global muscle system can be broken down into subsystems, including the deep longitudinal, posterior oblique, anterior oblique, and lateral subsystems.”
“VO2 max testing is considered the gold standard for identifying a client’s level of cardiorespiratory fitness, but it requires specialized equipment and training to conduct.”
… And these facts are only from the first four sections! As someone who struggled in science classes, I had my work cut out for me.
But, on October 3, the day before my birthday, I took the NCCA-accredited NASM CPT certification exam. And passed.
I’m now Faye Brennan Cook, NASM-CPT, which feels pretty awesome to write down. Oh, and I also received my barre instructor certification in a 12-hour hands-on workshop through Barre Vida and can now teach group classes.
“But what about your other career?” you ask. “The one in magazines, digital media, and content creation that’s fueling Fire Edits, and your business, Faye Brennan Writes?”
Don’t worry, I’m still charging hard in those lanes and have a few great clients I’m currently working with. But, there are a few reasons why I wanted to branch out into uncharted career territory this year.
Some of these may resonate with you if you’re pursuing a media or content job, feeling restless in your nine-to-five, or looking to shake up your work life a bit.
