I am preparing for my ISSA certification exam and I had a few questions. Those of you who are trainers (ACE excluded) or are familiar with the program, is there anything specifically that you don’t agree with concerning their philosophies (I read that some of their stuff is considered outdated). I also feel they encourage you to “hold back” a little with clients. Sure, enjoying your workouts is important, but we all know there is going to be some discomfort if you’re really serious in building a better body.
Just curios what’s wrong with ACE? They seem to be endorsed by most college & University exercise science programs.
There’s a tendency for ACE certification to be viewed more as a credential for being a laughingstock than anything else. Now, am NOT saying that there are no good ACE-certified trainers out there who should be respected, because there certainly are. But there are also some real dipweeds out there with that certification who cheapen it for everyone else, and there is a general perception that the ACE certification process is too easy and non-exclusive.
I don’t think there really is any program out there that will have everything “perfect”. I mean, we are all human and subject to our own biases. I got certified through ISSA last december and I found the program rather thorough. Though there were some things I didn’t agree with (can’t think of them right now) I like to hear different opinions so I can make my own informed choice. As long as we never quit learning, it won’t matter if we learn some things wrong during the process.
you always have to hold back clients cause unless theyre draggingn thier asses out of the gm they think they got ripped off. ISSA is a good company but im personally not a fred hatfeild fan he professes to know everything yet look a his supplement line its like something from Kmart. I disagree with his veiws on steroid use and many other things although i dunno if ill ever squat 1000 but im hope i will. so i respect him for that even though he is 4 feet tall.
I’m ISSA certified and although it’s been a while (2 years) since my certification, for the most part the entire program is thorough as far as the information presented. The one part I can recall off-hand that might be a little outdated are the nutritional guidelines…Although I agree with most of it, I don’t agree with the recommendation that everyone follow a high carb, low-fat diet. The training info. however is excellent.
Bigguns 747 - I’ve been working in the industry for a little over two years now and have a CSCS and PFLC (Canadian, similar but a little higher than ACSM’s Health and Fitness Instructor). One thing I learned very quickly is that Universities and Health Clubs/gyms who accept the ACE certification do so because they’re too cheap to hire and retain people with a degree and high level certification. Plus, the big fitness boom in the 80’s and early 90’s created a need for trainers. With the supply not meeting the demand, the standards for being a “qualified” trainer were lowered.