for you guys in Maryland, anyone hear of NSPA? (national stregnth professionals association)it’s run out of Philbin’s athletic center in Gaithersburg.
how does there certificatin measure up? as far as sound info and recognition, I like the fact that it’s local, but I wonder if I’d be better off going with one of the more nationally recognized orgs like ISSA?
If you’re gonna drop cash on a cert, why wouldn’t you just get one that’ll be recognized across the country? A regional cert seems like a waste of money to me.
true about nation wide recognition being better.
but the local org holds its 2 day course at the gym with live instruction and hands on practicals. so it’s a toss up.
Some people like it but it will not be accepted by all gyms if that is what you are looking for. I am believe it is focused around HIT training which is either good or bad depending on your belief about that.
Not to do too much of a shameless plug but my school (NPTI) is in Northern VA, it is a lot longer than most certs but if you are serious about being a trainer you might want to check it out. You can sit in a class for free if you wish, just contact me to do so.
I did the 2 day CPT course a few years ago. It was very HIT-centric as Tim said. I learned a few things but I’d say I knew 90% of it prior to the course. The test wasn’t hard at all, some memorization and some long and short answer questions. This was a few years so it may be changed by now though I have my doubts.
I would definitely consider Tim’s place if I had to do it all over again. NPTI was one of the courses I was considering back then. The only reason I did the NSPA at all was because my boss at the time wanted the trainers to have it (even though he didn’t even utilize HIT at all with his clients and neither did any of the other trainers.) Right now since I don’t train for a living, I’ve let the NSPA slip and if I was going to do something now I’d personally go for a USAW coach cert along with a nationally recognized cert like the NSCA CSCS.
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
Some people like it but it will not be accepted by all gyms if that is what you are looking for. I am believe it is focused around HIT training which is either good or bad depending on your belief about that.
Not to do too much of a shameless plug but my school (NPTI) is in Northern VA, it is a lot longer than most certs but if you are serious about being a trainer you might want to check it out. You can sit in a class for free if you wish, just contact me to do so.[/quote]
six months course at cost of $6,000+
no thanks.
I’d sooner invest that much $$ and time on NSCA
I got the ISSA cert. a few years back and they had a 2 day weekend seminar. First day was practical book review then the next day was hands on in the gym with the instructor, Tom Platz was doing the 2 day seminar that I attended. It was part of the online curriculum. It was educational but nothing ground breaking if you have been reading the articles here for a few years.
i live in md and im NSCA CPT i think you should invest ur money in something that will be recognized everywhere opposed to something regional or atleast use that as a stepping stone to get a more recognized cert
Mark Rippetoe co-author of Starting Strength, Practical Programming and another book I can’t remember right now just resigned his NSCA CSCS.
I just found it interesting.
NSCA is outdated.
Dinosaur knowledge really.
I’d go with NASM CPT PES CES, it has more practical progressions that you can learn.
Apart from that Mike boyle’s 10 DVD functional strength coach will value add to the certification.
PB summits are liking icing on the cakes.
NSCA is just a huge chunk of text, lots of nice to know and good to know stuff but lacks the need to know element.
Not worth the time, its bright and brilliant people who make NSCA look good not the other way around.
Check your inbox.
[quote]weib wrote:
NSCA is outdated.
Dinosaur knowledge really.
I’d go with NASM CPT PES CES, it has more practical progressions that you can learn.
Apart from that Mike boyle’s 10 DVD functional strength coach will value add to the certification.
PB summits are liking icing on the cakes.
NSCA is just a huge chunk of text, lots of nice to know and good to know stuff but lacks the need to know element.
Not worth the time, its bright and brilliant people who make NSCA look good not the other way around.[/quote]
For all those who see this thread knowing the top 5 nationally ligit organizations please join me in slappin this bitch ass hoe bag kunt munch mothafucka! OHM OHM need to find my calm and my cognac now!
I’m from MD, got my CSCS. I worked as a trainer in DC the past two years and had never heard of NSPA when I lived there. I hadn’t heard of it till I moved back up around Baltimore - it seems to be somewhat popular here.
The fact of the matter is any 2 day personal training certification course is never going to be groundbreaking. I’m sorry, it’s just too much detail to cover in a short amount of time. The only good weekend courses you will ever take will be focused on a small aspect of the overall spectrum. A certification is just like a degree - it is just a piece of paper that says you are somewhat proficient in a given area. It is no guarantee that you will actually be good at what you do.
If you’re gunning for a job at a gym that requires it, get the cert. If the job you want doesn’t require it, get something that is nationally recognized so you actually have some flexibility. If there was a gym that would actually turn away quality applicants with different certs in favor of those who had a 2 day trainer certification, you really have to ask yourself if that is a place you want to work.