Personal Fitness Professional - January 2008 - (Page 14)

Scott Larkin came to Gainesville Health & Fitness in Gainesville, Florida, with an extensive background as a certiﬁed athletic trainer, having been involved in the recruiting and hiring process for over ﬁve years. Scott expresses a common frustration among those in the role of hiring trainers: “Some of the less credible certiﬁcation organizations provide their applicants with a false sense of knowledge, and, in the ﬁeld, someone lacking an understanding of the human body becomes a hazard to clients.” Gainesville Health & Fitness seeks out individuals certiﬁed through ACSM, NASM and NSCA. “Because of the variety of oﬀerings, we will consider candidates with other certiﬁcations, but we require that, within 90 days of hire, they are registered to sit for one of the three,” Larkin states. Juan Carlos Santana employs a small stable of professionals and expects that each one will maintain the high standard upon which he built his facility in Boca Raton, Florida, the Institute of Human Performance. Santana requires NSCA-CPT certiﬁcation, stating, “If an applicant comes in with NASM, ACSM, ACE or AFAA, and they have all the desired traits, I’ll hire them conditionally. They’ll have six months to sit for the NSCACPT. What’s important to me is that they obtain a certiﬁcation from an organization that incorporates a huge body of knowledge in their learning materials, a collective work from a variety of experts in speciﬁc, related ﬁelds. I ﬁnd the NSCA maintains a balance between the right body of work and the right support behind that body of work. With 30,000 members, three major conferences and a vast number of state and regional clinics and symposiums, it has served IHP well.” Juan Carlos echoes a common sentiment, “It’s important that trainers are certiﬁed, but because they’re certiﬁed doesn’t mean they’re useful on the ﬂoor. It’s one factor among many, but it’s fair to say that the right certiﬁcation serves as a strong foundation for career development.” The Questions Remain Who, if anyone, will establish mandates for this ﬁeld? Is licensure an inevitable certainty or a misdirected eﬀort? Which third party entities will ultimately lead to a single standard and one indisputable accreditation? How will the emergence of personal trainer degree programs impact the certiﬁcation arena? Constructive discussion is always a mandate in creating a win for all bases. In order for the career-oriented trainer, the certiﬁcation agencies, the industry employers and, ultimately, the consumers to ﬁnd conﬁdence in a career choice still riﬂed with uncertainties, the dialogue needs to grow CERTIFICATION ASSOCIATIONS AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE (ACE) 888.825.3636 support@aceﬁtness.org www.aceﬁtness.org LIFESTYLES TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 888.286.7677 sales@lifestylestech.com www.lifestylestech.com AEROBICS AND FITNESS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (AFAA) www.afaa.com AQUATIC EXERCISE ASSOCIATION 888.232.9283 www.aeawave.com NATIONAL FEDERATION OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS (NFPT) 800.729.6378 info@nfpt.com www.nfpt.com INTERNATIONAL FITNESS PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION (IFPA) www.ifpa-ﬁtness.com BALANCED BODY UNIVERSITY 800.745.2837 info@pilates.com www.bbupilates.com NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SPORTS MEDICINE (NASM) www.nasm.org NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION (NSCA CERTIFICATION COMMISSION) 888.746.2378 commission@nsca-cc.org www.nsca-cc.org NATIONAL EXERCISE SPORTS TRAINERS ASSOCIATION (NESTA) www.nestacertiﬁed.com C.H.E.K INSTITUTE 800.552.8789 info@chekinstitute.com www.chekinstitute.com NATIONAL PERSONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE OF COLORADO (NPTI) www.nptitrainer.com DCAC FITNESS CONVENTIONS INC. 800.DCAC 551 information@dcacregistration.com www.dcacﬁtness.com WORLD INSTRUCTOR TRAINING SCHOOLS (W.I.T.S.) 888.330.9487 csdept@witseducation.com www.witseducation.com PEAK PILATES www.peakpilates.com STOTT PILATES www.stottpilates.com FITOUR 281.494.0380 support@ﬁtour.com www.ﬁtour.com JAN-FEB2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM YOGAFIT TRAINING SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE 888.786.3111 trainings@yogaﬁt.com www.yogaﬁt.com THE COOPER INSTITUTE www.cooperinst.org 14 http://www.afaa.com http://www.lifestylestech.com http://www.acefitness.org http://www.ifpa-fitness.com http://www.aeawave.com http://www.nfpt.com http://www.nasm.org http://www.bbupilates.com http://www.nestacertified.com http://www.nsca-cc.org http://www.chekinstitute.com http://www.nptitrainer.com http://www.peakpilates.com http://www.witseducation.com http://www.dcacfitness.com http://www.stottpilates.com http://www.fitour.com http://www.cooperinst.org http://www.yogafit.com http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - January 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - January/February 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Money Talks Current Controversies Grow Your Business Through Equipment Leasing Product Profiles Elementary, My Dear Watson Selling Your Expertise on the Internet Mark Your Calendar The Machine Myth Exercise Spotlight Product Profiles New on the Market

Personal Fitness Professional - January 2008

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