Certifications???

F

flee

0
So I have been doing research on Certifications. It is my desire to become a trainer and I have some questions.

It seems the most recognizable cert. is the CSCS. NASM has an attractive system and is Nationally recognized as well. And others including ACE and the Cooper Clinic right here in my own back yard.

Questions:
Any cert. better than another? If so why?
Any advice on materials needed for the certs?
Is all recommended material necessary?
Are the materials available used?
Is there a resource where these materials can be found other than the Cert. orgs?
Would that be considered un-ethical?
How vast is the body of knowledge?
How much time should I expect to study before taking the cert. exam?
Does anyone have opinions on self-taught certs. vs. courses (like the Cooper Clinic offers)

Any advice, direction, information is very much appreciated.

It really isn't an issue of money, so much as it is an issue of "knowing" the path, before I walk it.

Thanks,

Ryan
 
flee, two members here hufftraining and jpfitness can more than likely provide you with some good info. maybe look in the memberlist above to find their profiles and you can contact them directly if they dont see this post.

:)
 
abear,

Thanks for the response. I have actually chatted with Coach Huff before. He is quite helpful. I will shoot him something and see what he has to say on the subject.

I have posted the same topic on JP's Forum.

Thanks for the ideas. Hopefully someone here will have something to share.

Ryan
 
i recently got certified through ifpa and wishing i had done more research on certifications.
ifpa is convenient if you don't hve the time to go somewhere and take a test. they send you the test in the mail and you take it when ever you'd like.(anyone can pass! that's why they're not recognized) or you can go to one of their seminars and do the test there. but they don't offer the test in too many states, so you'll have to make a trip out of it.
IFPA SUCKS
the material itself is good and i learned a lot from it. but i was also begining and the only other education i had was a human anatomy class i took in college about a month prior.
if you are serious about personal training or any field of education within fitness, but you don't have a degree yet, i'd suggest nasm or ace. these are more recognized within the fitness industry and if you're planning on starting out at a gym, like bally's or 24 hour fitness ace and nasm will help you out a lot more with a job.
i'm just beging in the personal training industry, so i don't know all. but i have been looking around and i'm planning on getting recertified through i recently got certified through ifpa and wishing i had done more research on certifications.
ifpa is convenient if you don't hve the time to go somewhere and take a test. they send you the test in the mail and you take it when ever you'd like.(anyone can pass! that's why they're not recognized) or you can go to one of their seminars and do the test there. but they don't offer the test in too many states, so you'll have to make a trip out of it.
IFPA SUCKS!!
the material itself is good and i learned a lot from it. but i was also begining and the only other education i had was a human anatomy class i took in college about a month prior.
if you are serious about personal training or any field of education within fitness, but you don't have a degree yet, i'd suggest nasm or ace. these are more recognized within the fitness industry and if you're planning on starting out at a gym, like bally's or 24 hour fitness ace and nasm will help you out a lot more with a job.
i'm just beging in the personal training industry, so i don't know all. but i have been looking around and i'm planning on getting recertified through NSCA-CSCS -nasm. try to avoid spending the money on ifpa when you may have to get recert. through another.

hope this helped!
 
I just got my package in the mail a few days ago from AFPA (not IFPA like the guy above mentioned)

It's the same thing - you get it in the mail and do it yourself, but from what I see it's very good.

They give you a 550+ page book, another 200ish page book on anatomy/joints/proper technique, a DVD that goes along w/ the 200 page book so you can see the movements performed better, and a CD with like 600 fitness articles.

You have to send them in the 250 question test and either a DVD or pictures of you doing a bunch of different exercises (I forget how many) so they know you can do them properly

I believe they're at least partially well-known, as far as I know at least. They've been around since 94 so thats a good thing.

I like that they make you stay current and continue your education. That's one reason I signed up w/ them. Plus they're cheap :) ($335 for a cert.)
 
Reeveso said:
I just got my package in the mail a few days ago from AFPA (not IFPA like the guy above mentioned)

It's the same thing - you get it in the mail and do it yourself, but from what I see it's very good.
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Open book tests don't test knowledge, they test your ability to turn pages and copy words.
They give you a 550+ page book, another 200ish page book on anatomy/joints/proper technique, a DVD that goes along w/ the 200 page book so you can see the movements performed better, and a CD with like 600 fitness articles.
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Every certification process has something along these lines...the CD is a nice touch, assuming that the quality of the articles are good, which is likely debatable. Actual studies would have been better vs. fitness articles
You have to send them in the 250 question test and either a DVD or pictures of you doing a bunch of different exercises (I forget how many) so they know you can do them properly
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I'm wondering if they even watch those dvds...I don't see how pictures are going to tell much. This sounds more like a gimmick rather than actual conformation of technique.

I believe they're at least partially well-known, as far as I know at least. They've been around since 94 so thats a good thing.
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not really. Just another bunch of letters in a sea of certs...

I like that they make you stay current and continue your education. That's one reason I signed up w/ them.
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They all do.

Plus they're cheap :) ($335 for a cert.)
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Rarely if ever a good reason to choose a cert if you're concerned about yourself as a professional and the quality of your client care.
 
Jonathan,

Do you have something against AFPA personally or something?

They're accredited by pretty much every major company that deals with personal training and they're nationally recognized.

I agree with you on the open books thing - but that has nothing to do with the company. Almost all companies now offer courses where you don't need to travel.

If I was like most people, I'd just flip through, find the questions, and send it in.

But..I actually WANT to learn more and will continue to do so. I'm not a person who just goes by the minimum standards. So that argument has no merit for me personally, although it might for others.

They probably have studies in the CD - I didn't get a chance to take a look yet.

At any rate, I'm impressed w/ the materials I got, they're nationally recognized, and they have a ton of other courses I'm interested in so I can continue my education. Therefore, I think I made a good choice :biggrinsanta:
 
if you think you can learn a thorough knowledge of all about the body in a few months learning by yourself is like saying you can become a professor in evolutionary biology by just reading transcripts of the internet :p
 
LoL, Matt I realize that

I've been reading about nutrition and fitness for about 7 years now, so I have a very good understanding of how everything works going into this.

The only real difference w/ this is that I'm learning more in-depth knowledge of things I already know.

You have to realize, EVERYBODY starts out as a newbie personal trainer. In the end, the first place I got my PT cert. isn't going to make a huge difference.

The biggest learning experience is getting out in the field and actually doing it. That's where the learning curve really starts going vertical.

I'm reading 2 different books on fitness right now as we speak (one on the science of it, one on creating workout programs, and my next book is on the mental part of fitness), ON TOP of studying for the certification.

I also have a few friends, relatives that are letting me create sample workout programs for them and be their personal trainer for free so I can get some learning experience in. I'm starting this next week actually - THAT is when I'll really start to learn.

Believe me, I'm about 10x more motivated than 95% of people out there.

One more thing - I'm very good at teaching myself. Almost everything I do in my life today was self-taught. I guess I have a knack for it - I dunno.

I do a lot of trial and error ;)
 
Its good to see your determined. but for the most part the knowledge to become a PT is easy, quick & superficial. But i guess the job requirements for a PT doesnt require more than this.
 
Yea I know it's really not that hard to pass the tests - nothing I can do about that though :)

Starting as a beginner I'll still have more knowledge than the average person starting, but I realize that I still won't know as much as experienced PT's.

That only comes with experience and time.

I'm not in to only meeting the minimum requirements. In every single aspect of my life I try to go above and beyond what's expected of me.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit around my house and study all day, even though I have a certificate, just so I can be the "perfect" PT right off the bat. I'd rather get in the field, get experience, and study more while I'm getting in person experience.
 
Reeveso said:
Jonathan,

Do you have something against AFPA personally or something?
Click to expand...
Why would I have something "personally" against the AFPA? :confused:

They're accredited by pretty much every major company that deals with personal training and they're nationally recognized.
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That doesn't make a certifying body good. Who are the certified members of the organization: PhD's? Clinical professionals? Or Joe Blow cpt's? What research has your organization done? How difficult is the knowledge-base of the examination process? What is the pass/fail rate of the testing? Any gym wil take any cert: it's a money-maker for them. It doesn't mean much...

I agree with you on the open books thing - but that has nothing to do with the company. Almost all companies now offer courses where you don't need to travel.
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Again, this doesn't mean that it's ok. What are the organizations that do require effort towards their certification process? Maybe these are the better programs to look into...

If I was like most people, I'd just flip through, find the questions, and send it in.

But..I actually WANT to learn more and will continue to do so. I'm not a person who just goes by the minimum standards. So that argument has no merit for me personally, although it might for others.
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That's excellent: it's exactly what you should do and i would hope that more of your peers would do the same, which most of them don't :(

They probably have studies in the CD - I didn't get a chance to take a look yet.
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If what they offer under "studies" on their website is an indication, then no, they don't.

At any rate, I'm impressed w/ the materials I got, they're nationally recognized, and they have a ton of other courses I'm interested in so I can continue my education. Therefore, I think I made a good choice :biggrinsanta:
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As long as you're able to grow and develop as a professional, then you're right: it really doesn't matter what cert you have. However, I tend to question someone that lists cheap price and take-home testing materials (read: easy) as reasons for getting a certification as being dedicated to his/her profession. Perhaps i mis-read your previous post and jumped to conclusions. I tend to be skeptical about the overwhelming majority of "professional personal trainers" in the field today.
 
I hear ya about being skeptical - there's a good reason to be.

And I know I can't convince you that I'm unlike the rest of the majority of people unless you (in the future) see some of the things I do, ways I treat my clients, etc...guess you'll just have to trust me on that one

The only thing I can really say to convince you that where I get the certification won't mean much is the fact that when I can read something about fitness - I actually physically (my mannerisms change dramatically) get excited to be able to learn about it.

By the way, I only said that about the money and the take-home thing because of my current situations - not because I was proud that I found a company like that.

Anyway, for my future studies I'll be sure to look around a bit more before taking any courses.
 
Reeveso said:
I hear ya about being skeptical - there's a good reason to be.

And I know I can't convince you that I'm unlike the rest of the majority of people unless you (in the future) see some of the things I do, ways I treat my clients, etc...guess you'll just have to trust me on that one

The only thing I can really say to convince you that where I get the certification won't mean much is the fact that when I can read something about fitness - I actually physically (my mannerisms change dramatically) get excited to be able to learn about it.

By the way, I only said that about the money and the take-home thing because of my current situations - not because I was proud that I found a company like that.

Anyway, for my future studies I'll be sure to look around a bit more before taking any courses.
Click to expand...

well, from where I'm sitting you have the right attitude and the right idea. I'm sorry if I came off wrong, like I said I tend to be skeptical of most trainers :rolleyes: I completely understand the idea of money as a factor: I'm a professional student, after all! But remember too that career-building and education is all positive debt. An investment in your future is never something to cut corners on...it will pay dividends for you later on in terms of the quality of your work and in your future income.

Best of luck...Jonathan
 
You can't go wrong with any of the major accredited certifications (NASM, ACE, NSCA, ACSM), though more and more of the big fitness companies and gyms are leaning towards or requiring NASM.

A quick overview of each:

NASM - heavy research in functional training has really pushed this certification into the "limelight" among many professional fitness organizations because of the diverse client bases. Gyms such as Lifetime Fitness require this certification for employment.
ACE - not as strong of a certification as it was 5 years ago, namely because of the reductions in internally sponsored studies, but it is still well respected as an accredited certification and it is one of the easier ones to obtain.
NSCA - a very well rounded certification, and a great choice if your eventual goals focus on employment with and training of athletes or sports teams, as they have the CSCS option.
ACSM - a strong certification, especially if your goals lie in clinical personal training due to the fact that much of their research focuses on personal training and health benefits among special populations such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiac arrest survivors.

None require college degrees for entry level certifications, and, correct me if I'm wrong, NSCA, NASM, and ACSM require college degrees if you wish to proceed to higher, more specialized certification.
 
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