Selma resident Jay Phillips considers exercise and staying fit an important part of life. So it was only logical for him to choose a profession that keeps him in the gym nearly every day of the week.

For the past six years Phillips has been working as a personal trainer, helping people lose the flab and look fabulous in a bathing suit.

Phillips, who has been a trainer at Vaughan Wellness and Fitness Center for the past two months, has become so popular with clients that he realized it was time to become professionally certified as a one-on-one personal trainer.

“A lot of people know me now,” he said. “Hopefully, with certification, business will grow.”

Phillips was one of four area residents who are taking part in the Vaughan Wellness and Fitness Center’s three-day workshop to become a certified professional personal trainer.

The workshop, which began on Friday and ended Sunday,

teaches trainers everything they need to know about exercise and helping clients meet their goals.

Tameka Little, director of the Vaughan Wellness and Fitness Center, said the first part of the workshop is going over a study guide with an instructor from the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, a company that issues personal trainer certification.

“On Sunday, they are going to take a written test,” Little said. “They have to get 80 percent correct to get certified. It’s a pass or fail test.”

Trainers will also have to prove they understand the correct way to test for body fat on a client.

Phillips did not seem too concerned about the test. With his years of experience as a trainer, he knows how to help clients meet their weight-loss or fitness goals.

“I really enjoy (being a trainer). This is a long-term thing for me.” He said. “I get pleasure out of it because when I’ve helped people achieve their goal, it’s like I’ve achieved a goal.”

Being a motivator and providing inspiration, Phillips says, is a major part of being a personal trainer.

“Fitness should be an everyday thing. You’ve got to have it,” he said. “I want help other people think this same way.”

Little said she is planning to have another personal trainer certification workshop sometime before the summer.

She also plans to hold aerobics certification classes in April of 2005.

Those interested in becoming a certified aerobics instructor or personal trainer should contact Little at the Vaughan Wellness and Fitness Center on Medical Center Parkway.