Question: I have been steadily gaining weight ever since I stopped using weight loss pills. I think I have reduced my workout load because of this. I lost 30 lbs with the pills. Will I gain them all back without it? I am still working out. Please advice.

Anna

Answer: Ah, weight loss pills, the biggest scam ever propagated on the American public. I ask you what made you lose weight, the pills or maybe the way you stopped eating the half-gallon of ice cream every night because you were taking the pills. Sometimes the mere suggestion that something may work brings on psychological responses that are positive. If you keep up with the work out and don’t succumb to cravings you will not gain weight. You do need to keep up at least the same workload and not reduce it or you will gain weight back.

Question: Can you give me some advice or guidance in what I should be eating to stay in shape?

Answer: This is probably the most dangerous question I can answer. As a fitness expert I’m asked this all the time and as someone who knows a little about nutrition I always want to help the person out asking the question. But I must and do abstain from giving my advice. It is in my opinion wrong, and borderline, if not actually illegal, for me or any personal trainer to give nutritional advice or prescribe a diet, to anyone including my/their clients without a license. Food allergies are just the tip of the iceberg! I recommend you seek the advice of a licensed dietitian or nutritionist.

Question: What is the best certification for personal trainers? I want it to be worth the effort and mean something. Our local colleges don’t offer a program in this area.
-Personal Trainer Wannabe

Answer: The best certifications are from companies that are accredited. I personally like the practices portrayed by The National Board of Fitness Examiners. In my opinion and the ones I look for when I hire personal trainers are as follows:
National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA),
National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM),
National Federation Of Professional Trainers (NFPT).

There’s also a wonderful website that compares all the personal training certification programs and gives you all the details. It’s called http://www.starting-a-personal-training-business.com/.
I tell this to everyone wanting to get into the industry. It is not a HOBBY it is a business and needs to be treated like one. A couple of questions you need to ask yourself is
-Do you have enough knowledge of how the body works to expertly consult onconditioning a person? Certification programs don’t teach you this.
- Do you have a marketing plan?
- Do you know how you will get clients?
- Do you have a plan on how to keep clients?
- What is your niche or specialty?
-Do you know what type of payment policy you will have? Packages or pay per session? Do you know the difference?

These are only a bunch of questions out of 100 that you will need to answer. Start with these first and worry about certification later. Because reality is…it doesn’t matter what certification you have unless you’re going to work for someone else. Either way you need to make sure they are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). Hope this helps