Is National Health Educators (NHE) Legit?

Several personal trainers have asked me about the National Health Educators (NHE) [url]http://www.nhecertification.com/index.html[/url]

they say personal trainers can make $2000-3000 per month for 20 hours of work, putting together workouts for people in other countries.

Is this company legit?

Are there any personal trainers who work for the NHE? I would love to hear your experiences with the NHE and their recruitment process. Do you have to pay any money up front or do you have to be NHE-certified before they hire you?

Any help is appreciated!
Joe

This seems like one of those promises that is too good to be true. If you're looking into this, I would be very, very cautious. I've been in this field for close to 4 years now, and I've haven't heard anything that relates to that, or even the NHE for that matter.

I agree caution is important here. Ive been in the business about 15 years and have not heard of them either.

[QUOTE=JoeCannonMSCSCS;1096681883]Several personal trainers have asked me about the National Health Educators (NHE) [url]http://www.nhecertification.com/index.html[/url]

they say personal trainers can make $2000-3000 per month for 20 hours of work, putting together workouts for people in other countries.

Is this company legit?

Are there any personal trainers who work for the NHE? I would love to hear your experiences with the NHE and their recruitment process. Do you have to pay any money up front or do you have to be NHE-certified before they hire you?

Any help is appreciated!
Joe[/QUOTE]

We've been talking about NHE for years on this site. Here's the latest:
[url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=151728653&page=1[/url]

They're legit. Primarily because they have the hardest programs out there. You're referring to the PT position for international clients. Well it's not like 24 hour fitness, so saying there's all this work for trainers isn't true. It's very hard to get a job there and I've heard they don't promise squat.

Here's another...
[url]http://www.linkedin.com/groups/NHE-Personal-Fitness-Management-Specialist-4826225?_mSplash=1[/url]

They don't make you pay for anything to apply there so you have nothing to lose if you want to get an interview. They'll make you get tested so be ready for the hardest exam you've ever taken. Everyone fails it.

Ronin, thanks for that information!
joe

[QUOTE=Ronin4help;1096759663]We've been talking about NHE for years on this site. Here's the latest:
[url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=151728653&page=1[/url]

They're legit. Primarily because they have the hardest programs out there. You're referring to the PT position for international clients. Well it's not like 24 hour fitness, so saying there's all this work for trainers isn't true. It's very hard to get a job there and I've heard they don't promise squat.

Here's another...
[url]http://www.linkedin.com/groups/NHE-Personal-Fitness-Management-Specialist-4826225?_mSplash=1[/url]

They don't make you pay for anything to apply there so you have nothing to lose if you want to get an interview. They'll make you get tested so be ready for the hardest exam you've ever taken. Everyone fails it.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=JoeCannonMSCSCS;1096781303]Ronin, thanks for that information!
joe[/QUOTE]

No problem brother.

Recognition is not the standard true professionals use when determining legitimacy, research and due diligence are. I roll my eyes each time I read somewhere.. 'I've never heard of it before so it must not be any good'. A few weeks back I had never heard of them either. I believe I'm looking at the same position too, along with two others from different organizations. The NHE Position you are referring to pays the least of the three I'm considering. The NHE position is a part time for 2900/mo, which is roughly $35/hr. This is hardly breaking the bank for the level of expertise they require and the amount of work the job entails. I make almost twice that with just my ACSM credential. That said, they do have the most stringent and thorough recruitment process compared to any company I've ever applied at. You are required to pass their exam, which is a reasonable request seeing that you would be associated to their academia but there are no required fees. You can get a study guide if you want or you can use the one you already have but that is a separate deal that you are left to decide on your own. They don't care about how you prepare. I've been on Google every week for the past several weeks and have read countless posts with just about everyone saying the same things:

1) the nhe exam is like the bar exam for pt's.
2) they are very selective in who they hire.
3) you must have at least five years experience to get considered.
4) all recruitment requirements are free, no fees.

A few disgruntles say negative things about the NHE process, but in each case it appeared that person either failed the exam, had insufficient expertise or were under-qualified for one reason or another. Some of them wanted to work for NHE so badly they took the exam two or three times. I am going to apply there after the summer for my own personal reasons. You have to basically do your own research but its all basically in favor of NHE. Their reputation is very good. The only downside is that they are not as recognizable in the gyms. Some people say that's a good thing because there hasn't been one certification program that has not been utterly destroyed at the gym level. Remember how awesome ACE, AFAA, and ISSA used to be? Now people are embarrassed to say they have that certification. Those who aren't haven't visited enough forums. Personally, I like ISSA. In any case, I'm not saying they will be a good fit for you, no one can say that. If you're looking for a job though, I found them on Indeed. Surprisingly, there were quite a few good jobs on the Indeed site.

[QUOTE=Conseila;1096897103]Recognition is not the standard true professionals use when determining legitimacy, research and due diligence are. I roll my eyes each time I read somewhere.. 'I've never heard of it before so it must not be any good'. A few weeks back I had never heard of them either. I believe I'm looking at the same position too, along with two others from different organizations. The NHE Position you are referring to pays the least of the three I'm considering. The NHE position is a part time for 2900/mo, which is roughly $35/hr. This is hardly breaking the bank for the level of expertise they require and the amount of work the job entails. I make almost twice that with just my ACSM credential. That said, they do have the most stringent and thorough recruitment process compared to any company I've ever applied at. You are required to pass their exam, which is a reasonable request seeing that you would be associated to their academia but there are no required fees. You can get a study guide if you want or you can use the one you already have but that is a separate deal that you are left to decide on your own. They don't care about how you prepare. I've been on Google every week for the past several weeks and have read countless posts with just about everyone saying the same things:

1) the nhe exam is like the bar exam for pt's.
2) they are very selective in who they hire.
3) you must have at least five years experience to get considered.
4) all recruitment requirements are free, no fees.

A few disgruntles say negative things about the NHE process, but in each case it appeared that person either failed the exam, had insufficient expertise or were under-qualified for one reason or another. Some of them wanted to work for NHE so badly they took the exam two or three times. I am going to apply there after the summer for my own personal reasons. You have to basically do your own research but its all basically in favor of NHE. Their reputation is very good. The only downside is that they are not as recognizable in the gyms. Some people say that's a good thing because there hasn't been one certification program that has not been utterly destroyed at the gym level. Remember how awesome ACE, AFAA, and ISSA used to be? Now people are embarrassed to say they have that certification. Those who aren't haven't visited enough forums. Personally, I like ISSA. In any case, I'm not saying they will be a good fit for you, no one can say that. If you're looking for a job though, I found them on Indeed. Surprisingly, there were quite a few good jobs on the Indeed site.[/QUOTE]

It's a very legitimate certification for several reasons but the most important to me is the fact that they don't allow just any numb nut to become certified through them. What makes a certification illegitimate IMO is a cheap cost, easy exam and absolutely no one online talking about them or wanting the credential. None of these negs apply to NHE. The only people who say they are not legitimate are trainers who failed the exam thinking they were smart enough to pass with just three days of studying for it or they just sat for the exam sans preparing at all. It's the exact same sob story in almost every NHE thread. There's always one second rate trainer complaining about how impossible the exam is to pass. The legitimate trainers love them, the weekend trainers who fail the NHE exam hate them but they still would drop everything they are currently doing and cancel all their clients just to work for them LOL! I took their exam back in '09, I paid a few hundred dollars and failed the first attempt but took their free retake and passed. It's not that big of a deal, trust me. People say its really hard but it's not. I only failed the first time because of poor time management, not because of the difficulty of the format or anything. I have an NHE, NASM and my undergrad in ex phys. The sad part is I work along side, and earn the same fee, as people who are only ACE certified. Go freakin' figure...

I applied to work as an ECI and went through the entire process. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started. There are enough really positive reviews about NHE but you never really know until you go through it yourself. I can first tell you that you have to take their master trainer exam but you don't have to buy anything. Beyond that, they don't try to sell any of their programs to you. It's all very professionally orchestrated. I've worked at some nice places but none of them were as tedious and proficient as this particular concept. On the surface it all looked pretty good but you have to ask the right questions to be certain because companies don't always tell you everything unless you ask. I asked them if I needed to purchase their program, they told me no. I also asked them if they at least recommended that I get a study guide to prepare for the exam and they basically told me that if I was qualified for the position, it would show on the exam and that the guide is not a necessity for the type of professionals they were seeking. I asked if I would be required to sell programs if and when I got hired and they told me that there is no sales for anyone other than sales reps. All of this was consistent to what I have read online but again you have to hear it from the horses mouth for it to be credible. The bottom line... if you want to earn a six figure income in the next five or so years, you won't do it it at NHE because there is absolutely no career advancement opportunities there. If you want to build a name for yourself, you won't be able to do that there either from what I understand because their system doesn't promote individualism nor does it reward professional achievements outside of the standard pay. The pay is decent and the company has a good brand and reputation but they are selective so if you feel you need to get a study guide to pass their exam, then you probably aren't qualified to work there.

Unlike the ACE exam where one only needs to be at least 16 years old with a GED, the NHE programs are aligned with collegiate standards of education. So the question of legitimacy really depends on the individual. If you are not an advanced personal trainer, are not an astute exam taker or simply have not fully grasped the fundamentals of exercise physiology than acquiring an NHE certificate is not a legitimate possibility. There exists no ‘legitimate’ opportunities when the requirements far exceed ones capabilities. I spent a few moments on their website and clicked on some of the links. From what I saw, and from some Linkedin comments online, they are very legitimate. I read some guy’s post somewhere and he rants on about how he cheated on the NHE exam [so he was 100% confident he would pass] and NHE failed him because they ascertained his answers were plagiarized from the study guide. He believed NHE was ‘unethical’ and illegitimate because they refused to accept his ‘perfect’ answers. How many more idiots out there who possess a similar rationalization process, and are out there training people and offering opinions, I can only imagine but I am confident they are not all people I would normally take advice from if I knew their true academic background. If a poster begins with.. ‘I have a master’s degree, 10 years personal training experience and multiple national certifications’…..the person’s probably an 18-year old high school graduate with two community college courses under his belt. He probably couldn’t pass an ACSM, NHE or CSCS exam with the book in front of him.

[QUOTE=zalesguy;1168434493]Unlike the ACE exam where one only needs to be at least 16 years old with a GED, the NHE programs are aligned with collegiate standards of education. So the question of legitimacy really depends on the individual. If you are not an advanced personal trainer, are not an astute exam taker or simply have not fully grasped the fundamentals of exercise physiology than acquiring an NHE certificate is not a legitimate possibility. There exists no ‘legitimate’ opportunities when the requirements far exceed ones capabilities. I spent a few moments on their website and clicked on some of the links. From what I saw, and from some Linkedin comments online, they are very legitimate. I read some guy’s post somewhere and he rants on about how he cheated on the NHE exam [so he was 100% confident he would pass] and NHE failed him because they ascertained his answers were plagiarized from the study guide. He believed NHE was ‘unethical’ and illegitimate because they refused to accept his ‘perfect’ answers. How many more idiots out there who possess a similar rationalization process, and are out there training people and offering opinions, I can only imagine but I am confident they are not all people I would normally take advice from if I knew their true academic background. If a poster begins with.. ‘I have a master’s degree, 10 years personal training experience and multiple national certifications’…..the person’s probably an 18-year old high school graduate with two community college courses under his belt. He probably couldn’t pass an ACSM, NHE or CSCS exam with the book in front of him.[/QUOTE]

Got certified a few years ago through NHE, back when absolutely no one knew who they were. They were much more expensive than the traditional programs mot everyone gets, your NASM, ACE and so on.

The gym I used to work as a personal trainer actually recommended them to me, I believe it was one of the assistant managers. I never before appreciated the differences between one certification program from another but after that experience I get it. Brilliant certification program. I only wish more people knew about them and more gyms recognized them too. The study guide was very comprehensive... still use it. I don't think they sell the one I have any longer. The newer study material is all digital.

I submitted my resume for an exercise course instructor position with NHE back in February and I have just recently got approved for each of the requirements. The first thing that anyone should know is that their recruitment process is stringent to say the least. If you have minimal professional experience or if you are relatively new to the industry it would be tough to get hired there. They do a good job of screening and evaluating for a certain level of fitness expertise and so if you come up short in any particular area, it will come out eventually. I was originally reluctant to apply there after a colleague of mine went through the same process as well. She applied for a personal fitness specialist position [PFMS] and they offered her a part time position last December. She told me that it's a good group of people to work with and the hours are very flexible. I did a ton of reading online with 90% of the posts and comments being favorable, many seemly impressed with NHEs overall concept and exam quality. The couple of negative comments I read were not as coherent and somewhat misleading. People complained after learning they failed the exam which they tried to plagiarize?? Case in point, I guess. If you feel you may need to copy the exam answers directly from the study guide, you really should not apply there... or anywhere for that matter. Overall, I was impressed with the experience which is rare for this industry.

Lastly, there are no monetary requirements, sales pitches or any type of pressure to purchase either the certificate or the study guide and so that rumor needs to be put to rest. I think some people think they want you to buy the certificate program and that is not the case. They didn't mention any of their certification programs with the exception of the master trainer exam requirement during the entire interview process. That particular requirement is free of charge and so is the retake if needed. If there were any sort of strings attached that required any type of fee, I would not have applied or continued with the process.

[QUOTE=Conseila;1096897103]Recognition is not the standard true professionals use when determining legitimacy, research and due diligence are. I roll my eyes each time I read somewhere.. 'I've never heard of it before so it must not be any good'. A few weeks back I had never heard of them either. I believe I'm looking at the same position too, along with two others from different organizations. The NHE Position you are referring to pays the least of the three I'm considering. The NHE position is a part time for 2900/mo, which is roughly $35/hr. This is hardly breaking the bank for the level of expertise they require and the amount of work the job entails. I make almost twice that with just my ACSM credential. That said, they do have the most stringent and thorough recruitment process compared to any company I've ever applied at. You are required to pass their exam, which is a reasonable request seeing that you would be associated to their academia but there are no required fees. You can get a study guide if you want or you can use the one you already have but that is a separate deal that you are left to decide on your own. They don't care about how you prepare. I've been on Google every week for the past several weeks and have read countless posts with just about everyone saying the same things:

1) the nhe exam is like the bar exam for pt's.
2) they are very selective in who they hire.
3) you must have at least five years experience to get considered.
4) all recruitment requirements are free, no fees.

A few disgruntles say negative things about the NHE process, but in each case it appeared that person either failed the exam, had insufficient expertise or were under-qualified for one reason or another. Some of them wanted to work for NHE so badly they took the exam two or three times. I am going to apply there after the summer for my own personal reasons. You have to basically do your own research but its all basically in favor of NHE. Their reputation is very good. The only downside is that they are not as recognizable in the gyms. Some people say that's a good thing because there hasn't been one certification program that has not been utterly destroyed at the gym level. Remember how awesome ACE, AFAA, and ISSA used to be? Now people are embarrassed to say they have that certification. Those who aren't haven't visited enough forums. Personally, I like ISSA. In any case, I'm not saying they will be a good fit for you, no one can say that. If you're looking for a job though, I found them on Indeed. Surprisingly, there were quite a few good jobs on the Indeed site.[/QUOTE]

Don’t bother unless you have an exercise science or exercise physiology degree. The exam is pre-med and way over the top for an average trainer. The reason no one has this cert is because only elite trainers can pass the exam and most chain gym trainers are worthless... plus their program is very pricey. There are some really good trainers working inside chain gyms but that is only because they do not have any viable options available to them. Given a better option, they'd be gone in a heartbeat.

[QUOTE=penafitness;1250342321]Don’t bother unless you have an exercise science or exercise physiology degree. The exam is pre-med and way over the top for an average trainer. The reason no one has this cert is because only elite trainers can pass the exam and most chain gym trainers are worthless... plus their program is very pricey. There are some really good trainers working inside chain gyms but that is only because they do not have any viable options available to them. Given a better option, they'd be gone in a heartbeat.[/QUOTE]

They have these sales people who hound you by phone each week until you finally give in and set up one of their ’verified membership’ meetings. This is where a gal shows up with this huge brochure presentation package and walks you through each of the NHE certification programs. Frankly, it’s quite impressive. The sales pitch, which ironically doesn’t actually make you buy the membership, is about two hours long. The sales guy, Michael something, did a decent job explaining how NHE does its research, how they sell the certification programs though FCA and WCA centers and so on. The short of it is it’s a very well done presentation which in the end kinda makes you feel like an idiot if you don’t at least sign up temporarily with no long term commitment. It’s free and they pay you for each certification you sell out of your place, which is what makes it a deal worth trying. NHE has a stellar reputation for being a hard core program and so it’s an easier certification to promote. So far, we’ve done pretty well. We only have to be the host, NHE handles the exam proctoring and processing. If it continues to be profitable we’ll sign an extension, if not then no harm no foul. The most impressive part is the respect their program get online with seemingly well qualified fitness trainers. So, we don’t have to worry about doing a ton of refunds because people were sold a program that they later learned was a joke. The one complaint is the difficulty of the exam itself. We’ve had trainers who were just under-prepared and failed their first exam miserably. My advice would be to set up the sales pitch with one of your managers and make him or her sit through it, instead of sitting through it yourself. They don’t tell you the meeting will take half the morning and so if you’re an owner don’t commit yourself, refer one of your managers to hopefully endure.

i know this thread is old but what was your outcome? I have a test this weekend and I'm a little apprehensive after so many negative comments on every board.

[QUOTE=sharebear8686;1518416021]i know this thread is old but what was your outcome? I have a test this weekend and I'm a little apprehensive after so many negative comments on every board.[/QUOTE]

Yet you took the time to join a site just to ask for even more comments and are still taking the test after 'so many negative comments on every board.'

The reason is because the negative comments never make any sense and they are always from people who failed the exam. Stop acting like someone is twisting your arm. If you want to go somewhere else, simply go. Otherwise, take their exam and see if you are smart enough to pass it.