A: PRACTICUM
During the last quarter of the program students are start their 36-hour practicum. The practicum consists of students working along side expert trainers to do 3 things: 1) watch the expert trainers to learn from their experience, 2) co-train with the expert trainers and gain valuable feedback, and 3) train actual clients under the expert trainer’s supervision.

B: EDUCATION
ELA incorporates such topics as interviewing skills, business development, marketing and sales into the curriculum. Knowing these crucial topics greatly assists our students stand out from the rest and enables them to recruit more clients and keep those clients for longer.

C: NETWORK
Unlike other academic institutions, ELA’s sole focus is the Personal Fitness Trainer program. We don’t teach math, English, computers or anything else. Because of our very narrow focus we are able to dedicate much of our resources to network with other individuals and facilities in the fitness industry. Calgary’s fitness industry knows us and wants our students.

ELA incorporates such topics as financial planning, sales and marketing into the curriculum. We invite guest speakers, who are themselves successful entrepreneurs, to speak to our students about these topics.

We also put much focus on networking and making connections with other professionals in the industry. We assist with making these connections by incorporating this process into the class assignments and by introducing our students to numerous professionals through field trips, guest speakers and lab work in other facilities.

The knowledge and practice that our students receive is much more in depth, their certification is much more valued and respected in the industry and they are more capable at doing their jobs safely and effectively.

Personal Fitness Training is not a job, it’s a very hands-on career. We believe that such a career cannot be learned strictly from a text book or a weekend course. This is why our course is of such great value.

The full cost of the course is $5879, and this amount includes all certifications, books and supplies. A payment plan, government funding and scholarships/bursaries are available.

Books, supplies, gym membership, First Aid & CPR/AED certification, certification with ACE, all classes (17 weeks, full time), assistance with practicum placement, networking opportunities with fitness professionals.

First Aid and CPR/AED: First Aid and CPR/AED certification is a requirement for any personal fitness trainer. Since it is, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to get it. Normally, prior to even enrolling in a PFT program, student must get certified on their own and present their certification as part of the admission requirements into a PFT program. ELA’s students will be receiving their First Aid and CPR/AED certification during regular class time at ELA. It’s that easy!

American Council on Exercise: ELA has partnered with ACE in delivering our curriculum. In fact, we utilize the thoroughly researched training program developed by ACE’s pool of fitness and health experts. Because upon completion of the course, our students know all the content that they need to be ACE-certified, we’ve thrown in the certification as part of the course. The more recognizable certifications a trainer has, the more credible they are in the client’s eyes. So why not add an American certification to our students portfolio?

So if you think about it, this is the one and only all-in-one program. Our students don’t have to go anywhere else to get accredited or certified.

The program is 17 weeks or 340 hours in length. The practicum is an additional 36 hours that the students must complete outside of classroom hours, during the 17-week period.

Government student financing is available for eligible students. For more information check our Student Finance page.

Please see the Program outline & admissions page.

In Alberta, and many other provinces, the personal fitness training industry is unregulated. What that means is that there is no one standard set of regulations and certification that all personal fitness trainers must follow. Hence, there are personal fitness trainers out in the industry with a wide range of different types of certifications and experience. Our certification is very expansive in knowledge and practicality. There’s also a large focus on business, sales, marketing and employability, which other types of programs lack.

Anyone from youth that have recently graduated from high-school, to more mature adults looking for a career shift into the fitness industry.

There is no typical job, but in many cases, personal trainers start out working within a larger fitness facility. Through the facility’s infrastructure, trainers are able to gain experience and a good client base. Once they have gained experience in a fitness facility, trainers often stay within the facility and advance to higher positions, such as supervisor and manager. Some trainers choose to work for themselves, either from their own home, from their clients’ homes, from a fitness facility or a smaller private fitness studio. Trainers may choose to work in such places as hotels, cruises, and resorts, or start their own programs, such as boot camps or corporate fitness programs.