Does Your Personal Trainer Possess Proper Certification?

The field of fitness is highly subjective and competitive. Complicating matters even further is the fact that today there are over 400 organizations offering a dizzying array of certifications to fitness enthusiasts looking to start a career in health and fitness.

If you are interested in hiring a personal trainer to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals you must first strive to understand what the different types of certifications entail. This, in turn, will help you determine which personal trainers are qualified to help you meet your specific goals.

The following is a short list of the top 6 accredited fitness organizations and the types of certificates they offer fitness enthusiasts looking to become fitness professionals. All of these programs are NCCA accredited.

National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)

NCCA is the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance. the NCCA accreditation process serves as a basis for how fitness organizations should conduct certification. With more than 400 fitness certification programs available to fitness enthusiasts, the NCCA accreditation of a given certification program serves as a basis with which we can discriminate between qualified and unqualified fitness professionals.

National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)

Today, NASM is the worldwide leader in providing evidence-based certifications programs and advanced credentials to dedicated health and fitness professionals. NASM certified fitness professionals are also placed on a progressive career track with access to advanced specializations such as Sports Performance (PES), Injury Prevention (CES), continuing education courses and accredited Bachelor and Masters degree programs.

The NASM’s Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) program is one of the most comprehensive, and versatile personal training programs on the market today. to prepare for the exam applicants are taught such health and fitness principles as the scientific rationale for integrated training, basic exercise science, the basics of the cardio-respiratory system, human movement science, conducting proper fitness assessments, flexibility training concepts, cardio-respiratory training concepts, core training concepts, balance training concepts, power and agility training concepts, resistance training concepts, nutrition, behavior modification, and fitness program design concepts for all individuals including special population members such as pregnant women, the elderly and Cancer patients.

In addition to all this, NASM also offers its members professional development tips, job placement help, health insurance, accidental medical insurance and professional liability insurance.

American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)

As the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world, ACSM offers seven distinct certification programs including the prestigious Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist (RCEP) certification and the Certified Cancer Exercise Trainer (CET) certification.

To be admitted into the ACSM certified professionals continued education programs, applicants are often required to possess a Bachelors Degree in an allied health field such as nursing, physician assistant, physical education, kinesiology, or physical therapy.

Due to this organization’s dedication to exercise science and sports medicine, ACSM certified professionals are highly qualified to take on clients who suffer from an array of health problems including cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, or neuro-muscular diseases.

American Council on Exercise (ACE)

ACE is the world’s largest nonprofit fitness certification organization. As such, ACE certified individuals are part of the biggest and most active community of fitness professionals. Because of ACE’s commitment to helping communities throughout the United States adapt healthier lifestyles ACE certified personal trainers, group fitness instructors and lifestyle and weight management consultants are highly qualified to work with your entire family helping you reach your fitness goals, collectively.

International Fitness Professionals’ Association (IFPA)

Today, IFPA offers the widest selection of specialized training programs to individuals aspiring to become personal fitness trainers. Individuals who wish to be certified through IFPA can choose from a list of over 40 specialized certification programs. These certification programs range anywhere from the Military Fitness Specialist program to the highly popular lower back Disorder Specialist certification.

Due to the fact that IFPA splits its fields of specialization into so many sub-categories it is important that you ask any given IFPA certified personal trainer which specific type of certification he/she has completed before deciding whether or not he/she is right for you. For example, if you are interested in improving your overall strength and agility through bootcamp-style bodyweight exercises you need to make sure that your IFPA certified personal trainer holds a Military Fitness Specialist certificate and not a Pre and Post-Natal Trainer certificate.

National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)

As the most respected authority on strength and conditioning, the goal of the NSCA is to pool together the collective knowledge of a diverse group of professionals from such fields as sports science, allied health and fitness in order to create highly effective strength training and conditioning programs.

To achieve this goal NSCA offers a variety of certification programs including the highly sought-after Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification and the NSCA Strength and Conditioning Coach certification. to be admitted into these certification programs applicants must hold a Bachelors Degree in exercise science or related field and/or hold a degree in chiropractic medicine.

Due to these, and a variety of other reasons, NSCA certified individuals are most qualified to work with athletes, such as pro-bodybuilders, whose primary fitness goal is to focus on strength training.

International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)

ISSA’s certification program is similar to ACSM’s certification program in the sense that both programs focus on the needs of clients who suffer from an array of health problems. the main difference between the two programs lies in the fact that the ISSA program imposes no residency restrictions on its applicants and conducts most of its certification classes through distance learning. In fact, the ISSA certification program is one of the few programs accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency, and is a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Because of the nature of their studies ISSA certified individuals are highly capable of providing alternative personal training services such as online personal training services.