Personal Trainers

627 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by applejuice, Jun 23, 2004

mommy22

Discussion Starter · Jun 20, 2004

I am considering hiring a personal trainer, at least for a few sessions. What I need to know is what kind of certification is the best? There must be at least 10 different cert. a trainer can have, so I'm lost as to what cert. to look for before hiring a trainer.

Any advice?

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Panserbjorne

· #2 · Jun 23, 2004

There is no "national standard." your best bet is looking for someone with a certification from the NSCA (national stength and conditioning association) or a CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist.) You may also want to look for someone with a Master's in exercise science. it is far too easy to get certified nowadays and there are MANY hack companies that will just do it over the internet. You just want to get what you pay for, ya know?

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Sisyphus

· #3 · Jun 23, 2004

ACSM (american college of sports medicine) is also a good one. ACE is next down the list and after that is all the "other" certs like AFAA, etc.

Interview your trainer, talk to as many trainers as you need to before choosing one. Find a trainer who you "click" with, who you feel can motivate you and who knows their stuff.

If you start with one person and decide it's just not working for you (i.e. you aren't seeing any results different from what you achieved on your own) then you may need to change. Don't worry about offending them, they understand that it's a very personal thing and sometimes you need to change.

Whatever you do, don't let your gym tell you who you can go to (ie. whomever's name is "next" on their list).

HTH

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Sisyphus

· #4 · Jun 23, 2004

I just noticed you are in Florida. Where in FL are you and what gym do you belong to? I lived in Florida for a few years (Central and south) and have a couple of recommendations for you if you are in one of those areas

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applejuice

· #5 · Jun 23, 2004

There is really no certification for this, however...

You may want to be sure the trainer has a background in kinesiology/recreation and has studied physiology and anatomy. It can help. Also, get references and follow up - OTOH, these can be forgeries or simply phone numbers of his best friends.

I'd be careful of someone who is always trying to sell you some exercise contraption or nutritional supplement.

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