Students Become Certified Personal Trainers

[Story by Olivia Johnson]

The National Academy of Sports Medicine, better referred to as NASM, is a program that is provided for individuals who are interested in becoming certified as a fitness instructor or personal trainer. FHS has been offering the NASM course since 2018, and has been an elective class ever since. The class is offered to all students for free and it is a year-long course. NASM teaches students a variety of different kinds of skills that are needed to get a personal trainer certification at the end of the year.

In the beginning of the year, the class primarily focuses on the teachings of anatomy and physiology. During the middle of the school year, different types of exercises are taught to students and then at the end of the year, students learn how to work with different types of groups of people in order to best suit their physical needs.

There is a large scale of majors that students can get in college, once completing the NASM course in high school. Taking NASM is a great way for students to prepare for their majors and can better their chances at success while completing them. Students are able to explore many different career paths as well that involve teachings from the course.

“I am interested in studying kinesiology next year in college. I hope to go into sports medicine and or sports science fields in college,” said senior Issac Yun.

If students are interested in the course, it is quite simple for them to sign up for it.

“[Students] just have to talk to their school counselor and they just need to make sure that they have enough space in their schedule for this class. Depending on how many students sign up, [the total of classes] will depend on how many blocks it’s offered,” said Physical Ed teacher Sarah Verdis.

There are plenty of majors that students can get in college, once completing the NASM course in high school.

As well as college majors, NASM has plenty of advantages for those interested in fitness. It is a great tool to use to help others with their fitness and their health.

“With NASM, we can better understand our bodies, and what are useful tools to help ourselves, and others to become better physically and mentally,” said senior Nicole Burch.

NASM is a great addition to the sports education electives and is the perfect way for students to learn more about the human body and how it works.

“I have had a lot of students find a bunch of success but my big thing to students is to just reach out when you have questions and we can work together and figure out how to work on challenges that they have problems,” said Verdis.