Happy Monday and welcome to Jessica Bond Fitness! Two weeks ago, I passed my ACE Personal Trainer Exam. After a year of hard work, I am finally a Certified Personal Trainer! Today, I am going to give a little more background on this journey and what lead me to this point.

When I started college back in 2016, I thought I wanted to get a degree in Athletic Training, graduate, and go to Physical Therapy school. After a year, I changed my major to Exercise and Sports Science, still fully expecting to go to PT school. Going into my junior year, I needed more shadowing hours to apply to the Exercise and Sports Science program, so I ended up shadowing a personal trainer. I thought this would was just a way to get the additional shadowing hours I needed to apply to the major, but little did I know, I was about to find my passion.

Fast forward a to March of my junior year, and I was accepted into the Exercise and Sports Science program at the University of Georgia. This program is SUPER competitive, so I was SO thankful to get in. My first semester in the program (Fall of my [first] senior year), I did some more shadowing, but this time, in a Physical Therapy office. I continued to pick up Physical Therapy shadowing hours for the next two semesters, but the more I shadowed, the more I realized that I could not see myself as a Physical Therapist. After my first semester in the program, I kept thinking back on how much I LOVED personal training, and I saw how much good and change I could bring to people’s lives.

In August 2019, I bought the American Counsel on Exercise Personal Trainer study program. The process was hard, overwhelming, and frustrating, but after passing the exam on August 19, 2020, it ended up being so rewarding.

I chose to get certified with ACE because they are one of the most widely recognized and accepted certifications in the United States, and they offer a much more thorough study program than other options I researched. In the next few months, I will be taking on new clients and graduating from the University of Georgia with a B.S.Ed in Exercise and Sports Science. I have a lot of exciting things in the works, so be sure to watch for some upcoming announcements over on my Instagram! It has been my dream for over a year to help busy women to become the healthiest versions of themselves. For me, my health and fitness journey has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and it lead me to my passion of personal training. I hope I can bring this experience to other women as well!