Certified Trainer
As a nutrition expert you may also be interested in physical fitness as well. If you are looking for a certified trainer, you will want to find someone who has been certified by the best organizations. Many of these organizations have websites that can refer you to trainers in your area. When you look for a trainer you should check that your trainers certification is current and check to see if your trainer participates in continuing education classes.
Here is a list of some organizations that offer certification for personal trainers.
-Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA): This organization offers a variety of different certification courses. The certification exam to become a personal trainer is not as intensive as the exam offered by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). This organization is popular among people who have had some experience but who do not have enough education to pass the ACSM exam.
-American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM): The ACSM is an organization that offers certifications to individuals who have a graduate degree in the exercise sciences. A person who attains certification as a Health/Fitness Instructor from the ACSM is considered highly trained in this field.
-American Council of Exercise (ACE): The ACE certifies personal trainers and group trainers, such as aerobic insturctors. This certification is the most popular in the personal training industry because the test is easier than the ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor test and the program is designed to teach trainers to design fitness programs for various fitness levels and medical conditions.
-International Sport Science Association (ISSA): The ISSA is an organization that emphasizes bodybuilding. However, this association has ten different certification programs that are more academically challenging because they require case studies and written papers as well as a written exam as part of the certification process.
-National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM): This group requires trainers to attend workshops and pass an exam. Trainers are expected to understand physiology, anatomy, and biomechanics. The certification process provides students with information about education, solutions and tools needed by fitness professional to help clients reach their unique fitness goals.
-National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA): This organization offers certification as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). This certification process requires that prospective trainers pass a three-part written exam and video analysis of exercises. The NSCA requires that trainers know how muscles are involved in the exercises and movement.
