Few people know more about the fitness industry than Dr. John Spencer Ellis. Active in the fitness and health community for more than 20 years, and a renowned member, Ellis is known for a variety of things, including his stint on the Real Housewives of Orange County, the creation of NESTA, and most recently the launch of DietGuru.com.
We had a chance to speak with John and catch up on a few goings-on in the fitness world right now. We talk about making the resolutions last (yes, there’s still time!), identifying the best personal trainer for your needs, and how Diet Guru can help you become an A+ eater.
You’ve deiced to get your personal training certification- congratulations. But with hundreds of certification programs out there, how do you know which one is right for you? Today we take a look at one of the most respected programs, the National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association (NESTA), and what you can expect from their NESTA Personal Fitness Trainer certification.
The NESTA Personal Fitness Trainer certification is NCCA Accredited, a requirement amongst most places of employment. While the NESTA PFT is the most widely known of their programs, they also offer many coaching and specialization programs that are very unique to NESTA including the Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning Coach and the Triathlon Coach programs. They also have several programs specifically designed for the in-depth sciences, such as the Biomechanics Specialist program or the Heart Rate Performance Specialist program which was co-developed with Polar Heart Rate Monitors.
NESTA believes that in order for their graduates to be successful in the fitness field, they need a strong grasp of foundational exercise science and, more importantly, the application of that science.
“In my experience, many programs stress the science and are weak on application (or vice versa). Furthermore, the science is typically taught in a dry, boring manner. We strive to create the most engaging educational experience out there,” says Scott Gaines, NESTA’s Senior Vice President. While to program is completely online, they prefer to teach interactively, as opposed to learning material from a “boring textbook,” and use teaching methods that enhance experience, like proprietary 3D animations and visuals within the coursework.
“Most people enter this field because they have a passion for health and fitness and they want to share that passion for others. We want our education to fuel the flame of their passion for health and fitness, not snuff it out like many educators do.”
Originating with a Twitter account owned by Graydon Sheppard and Kyle Humphrey, popularized through YouTube video and quickly generating a whole universe of spin-offs, the “Sh*t People Say” meme has proved to be a thoroughly entertaining phenomenon. Some may take offense, some may already think it’s played out, but we couldn’t resist sharing a few of the gems that apply to our work here at DietsInReview.
Our love of real, unprocessed, organic foods here at DietsInReview is sure to cause a lot of people to stick most of us in the “foodie” category. Shopping at the farmers market or Whole Foods, participating in a CSA and obsessive back-of-package label reading are some of the key characteristics of the foodie. They typically love greens, local food and sustainable farming, and may also adopt more rigorous eating regimes, such as going vegetarian, raw, local, vegan, paleo or gluten-free.
One thing we’d like to add to the script:
“I only shop at perimeters of the grocery store.”
In the past few years CrossFit has been capturing the eyes of many individuals from around the world. With their affiliate gyms popping up everywhere, it seems that CrossFit is carving out its own unique niche within the fitness industry. If you were to log on to any social media site, there are many CrossFit fan pages, videos, and advertisements on where you can do this type of physical training. The question to be asked: Is CrossFit for everyone? And with popularity and large masses of people doing it, what are the pros and cons?
The CrossFit corporation is not a franchise, but you can buy into their affiliate program, which costs $3000 and you must take and pass their Level 1 Certificate Course, which cost $1000. Once you take and pass this course, you are now eligible to apply to be an affiliate of CrossFit.
This is where some of the bad publicity comes into play with CrossFit, and it has been getting a lot of press in the health and fitness industry. Are the individuals who are becoming business owners of affiliate CrossFit gyms experienced enough to run such a facility, and do they have enough training experience? We know that CrossFit is an excellent system if the right trainers are in place to teach these methods. If the wrong instructors/trainers are not qualified and the only training they have taken is the Level 1 Certification Course, then this is not a good sign. This is when CrossFit needs to focus their attention on due diligence and really qualify individuals before granting a CrossFit affiliate license. If the qualifications are stricter, it will create more credibility within the health and fitness industry. Read Full Post >
