How to Recognize Scams in the Personal Training Industry

By Leslie M Smith

The Personal Training industry is lightly regulated, so there is rampant opportunity for scams and criminals to prey upon naive aspiring trainers (and clients alike) and part them from their hard-earned money.

As much as I hate to admit it, I've personally been taken in a scam...just to give you an indication of how prevalent and easy it is to fall victim to these people.

There are literally over 500 certification organizations out there posing as "the best certification money can buy". With so many certifications out there by all these 'gurus' and experts, its no wonder that we are all so easily preyed upon by scam artists that wish to get a few hundred dollars from us.

There appear to be at least two types of scams out there that are popular today. I'll describe what I've learned so far to give you some help in avoiding them.

Personal Trainer "Certification" Scam

Just as the name implies, this is a ruse where a self-appointed guru offers a certification, certificate, degree, or other form of educational verification in return for classes, materials, supplements, but most of all, your money.

With so many certifications out there, it's almost impossible to advise how to watch out for these scams other than tell you that the NCCA approved certifications - plus a few other well respected organizations - are safe bets that I can guarantee you won't be a rip off.

I've even found people that try to sell you NCCA certification courses that aren't even associated with the group. Watch out for offers to help you pass exams if they aren't directly from the organization.

* Always deal directly with the Certification Organization through the web (directly to their website) or a direct call placed by you to them.

* No reputable certifications are distributed "in-house", "remotely" or in some guy's gym.

* Solicitations are almost always a sign of lack of legitimacy.

* Poor quality study materials (or even NO study materials!)

* Certifications based on "previous" or "life" experiences

* Claims that they are the 'Most Recognized' program, certification, or etc. No one certification holds that title, therefore the reputable ones do not try and claim such a position.

* Courses that are only online and incredible cheap.

* Non-Profit Status asserted as an advantage (possibly why their rates are so low, they'll say). None of the legitimate certifications are non-profit.

Personal Training "Job" Scam

The other common scam is a job offer - usually at high rates of pay unheard of in other job offers - that require you to pass their "particular" fitness certification. Although many jobs require you to be certified by one of the NCCA organizations (which is 100% legitimate), these have their own certification that you've never heard of before that they require you can begin working for them.

This type of scam is becoming more and more common as there are more and more personal trainers. They ask you to pay a modest fee, say $230, to take their certification exam. Surprisingly, you fail and the relationship is over.

Of course, it's not a real company. They have no address, no clients, no references, and no standing in the community. They are just collecting money from us to take their fake exam and then disappear.

Here are some helpful hints for avoiding job scams.

* If the certification you are asked to pass isn't well known, it's not a real company. Google has a lot of hits for real certifications.

* Paying to qualify for a job is illegal. Paying to take an exam for job qualification assessment is NOT common in the legitimate side of this industry. If your local fitness studio needs you to get a certification for their requirements, they will give you time to get it through a NCCA organization while you shadow or assist them on the floor.

* Uncommonly high pay for trainers with no experience is a red flag.

* All respectable jobs ask to see your certification papers during the interview. They don't just settle for phone screens.

Trust your instincts. When I was scammed, I knew something was wrong, but I didn't listen to my own doubts. I paid for it and learned my lesson well. I hope my publication of this article helps other current and aspiring trainers avoid the same fate.

Leslie Smith is a Certified Personal Trainer and owner of Fun-2B-Fit, LLC. She has published a book on "Becoming a Certified Personal Trainer" to assist aspiring trainers with their goals of becoming Certified Fitness Professionals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

How to Keep Fit and Healthy at All Times

By William Messruther

If you want to keep fit and healthy at all times, then you have to make some active effort. Keeping fit doesn't only mean looking good from the outside. It means being physically active, mentally sound, and feeling energetic and ready to face the tasks of everyday life.

In order to keep fit and healthy, you don't have to run for hours, or spend several hours at a gym, or playing football or tennis, or riding a bike. You can start by doing simple exercises. People have all sorts of excuses for not exercising. Most everyone has family, children, and busy work schedules to take care of. However, if you want to stay healthy, then you have to make some little changes towards a healthy lifestyle.

To keep fit and healthy, follow a healthy and balanced diet everyday. Make sure that your everyday diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and protein. You should cut down on red meat, junk foods, caffeine, and sugar intake. Avoid soft drinks or canned fruit juices. Instead, opt for a variety of fresh fruits, vegetable salads, freshly made fruit juices, milk, nutritious energy drinks, etc.

You need to be more active in order to keep fit and healthy. Modern life has become very sedentary, with fewer scopes for physical activities. You need to exercise in order to burn those calories. Minimum physical activity slows down your metabolism rate. So, you can put on weight even when you eat less. On the other hand, exercise and a more active life will burn up the calories, even when you eat a little more. You can simply go for a brisk walk, or jog, or you can join a gym. The important thing is that you must include some physical exercise in your everyday life, because fitness and health cannot be achieved without some physical exercise.

For a healthy life sufficient sleep is important. Lack of sleep can make you feel tired the next day. So work hard, but make sure that you have enough sleep; so that your body gets the time to replenish itself.

Do not skip your breakfast, no matter how busy you are. Breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day. It works as a fuel for your body and keeps you going for the rest of day. If you skip breakfast, you will feel hungrier in the latter part of the day, and you may end up eating more! So, you may run a risk of gaining weight, if you skip your breakfast frequently.

If you are not a healthy eater and find it difficult to improve your food habits due to busy, erratic, work schedules, then you may be depriving your body of the essential nutrients that are important for good health. In the long run, unhealthy food habits can lead you to serious health hazards. An easy solution to this problem is to include multi-vitamin supplements in your daily food intake. Multi-vitamins can be taken to replenish the nutritional deficiencies in your daily diet.

Following these simple but effective rules will enable you to keep fit and healthy at all times.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/