General question about obtainin a certification

[Heisman2]

Hey all,

First time posting in this section.

Quick background: I'm a general pediatrician who wants to educate the broader medical community on nutrition and exercise. I've been a regular member on this forum for >15 years, I've read thousands of papers on exercise/nutrition, and I feel like I already possess the general knowledge I need to accomplish the above goal. While I don't think becoming certified as a personal trainer is necessary, I do think it would perhaps give me more credibility and make it easier to reach more people.

Specific question: are there any certifications I could obtain that do not require in person training? I could spend as much time as needed reading a textbook(s), reading/watching online articles/videos, or even doing online course work, but working full time as a pediatrician there's no way I'm going to be able to attend in person classes anywhere on a regular basis. I could do so for the purpose of taking an exam. If there are any options out there, which would be considered the "best" from a fitness/marketability standpoint? I'm in no rush to get this done, just curious if any are actually feasible. Thanks a bunch for any input.

[etet1919]

What's up Doc? I believe the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) is the most advanced, and thorough, online certification.

You're on spread, as usual. Happy Holidays!

[MCrow]

There are a lot of certifications out there right now.

ASCM has really good programs.

If you are looking for one that is much more recognized in the industry NASM is probably the one gyms look for the most in trainers.

You may also want to get a separate certification in nutrition.

For nutrition, Precision Nutrition is one of the best. John Berardi runs it and he has PhD in kinesiology with a specialization in Exercise and Nutritional Biochemistry. Not many out there better than him and the course for Level 1 certification is not overly expensive.

[Heisman2]

Thanks for the responses you two. I reached out to ACSM and NASM and they both have self study options. Additionally, NASM offers a certified nutrition coach training as well, so I could do both with them. If NASM is the most recognized I will probably go with them. It is a bit pricier but I am thankfully in a position where I can afford it. If anyone has additional thoughts please chime in but this seems like the best option to me.

[johnnydeep1]

Hey all,

First time posting in this section.

Quick background: I'm a general pediatrician who wants to educate the broader medical community on nutrition and exercise. I've been a regular member on this forum for >15 years, I've read thousands of papers on exercise/nutrition, and I feel like I already possess the general knowledge I need to accomplish the above goal. While I don't think becoming certified as a personal trainer is necessary, I do think it would perhaps give me more credibility and make it easier to reach more people.

Specific question: are there any certifications I could obtain that do not require in person training? I could spend as much time as needed reading a textbook(s), reading/watching online articles/videos, or even doing online course work, but working full time as a pediatrician there's no way I'm going to be able to attend in person classes anywhere on a regular basis. I could do so for the purpose of taking an exam. If there are any options out there, which would be considered the "best" from a fitness/marketability standpoint? I'm in no rush to get this done, just curious if any are actually feasible. Thanks a bunch for any input.

NASM only requires that you meet in person once a week. I would do that. The rest is online/test

[getbigordie18]

Thanks for the responses you two. I reached out to ACSM and NASM and they both have self study options. Additionally, NASM offers a certified nutrition coach training as well, so I could do both with them. If NASM is the most recognized I will probably go with them. It is a bit pricier but I am thankfully in a position where I can afford it. If anyone has additional thoughts please chime in but this seems like the best option to me.

I took the NSCA exam. I believe they have the option to do tutoring with a strength coach which sounds like what you are looking for. Overall, since you are a pediatrician you shouldn't have any issues passing the exam. With 6 months of studying the materials, I passed the exam with ease. Based off your knowledge being a doctor, I would say most of the information you probably already learned in medical school. The areas you would probably need to focus on would be the nutritional science area in the book and the program design portion of the test. Hope this helps. Good luck! You can go to school to get certified, but it wouldn't make sense. Getting an in-person certification would be a few thousand dollars. After that, you would still have to do continuing education as well. Also most schools use the ACE book anyway. You are much better off hiring a person who is certified to tutor you once a week. However, it ultimately is your choice. MTTI is a school that offers the certification depending where you live.

[JoeCannonMSCSCS]

[QUOTE=Heisman2;1596685661]Thanks for the responses you two. I reached out to ACSM and NASM and they both have self-study options. Additionally, NASM offers a certified nutrition coach training as well, so I could do both with them. If NASM is the most recognized I will probably go with them. It is a bit pricier but I am thankfully in a position where I can afford it. If anyone has additional thoughts please chime in but this seems like the best option to me.[/QUOTE

For what its worth, I'd suggest ACSM over NASM if it's less expensive. With your medical background, it doesn't matter who you are certified by. If it helps you, I have reviews on many certs on my website
https://joe-cannon.com/category/certifications/

Joe

[Heisman2]

Just giving an update, I went ahead and chose to do NASM as they had the combined CPT and nutrition certification package. This was 100% self-study and done online. I read through all the nutrition material in one week and passed that exam without issue. I did the full personal training online book/modules/etc in about 2 weeks and passed the CPT exam this morning. With my background in medicine and then also being on these boards for 16 years now and staying up to date on nutrition literature these were easy to do; I can definitely see why it would be more challenging for someone going in blind.

Hopefully I'll find a way to incorporate these into what I want to do. Thank you to everyone above for the feedback and advice, I really appreciate it.

[getbigordie18]

[QUOTE=JoeCannonMSCSCS;1597775351]

Thanks for the responses you two. I reached out to ACSM and NASM and they both have self-study options. Additionally, NASM offers a certified nutrition coach training as well, so I could do both with them. If NASM is the most recognized I will probably go with them. It is a bit pricier but I am thankfully in a position where I can afford it. If anyone has additional thoughts please chime in but this seems like the best option to me.[/QUOTE

For what its worth, I'd suggest ACSM over NASM if it's less expensive. With your medical background, it doesn't matter who you are certified by. If it helps you, I have reviews on many certs on my website
https://joe-cannon.com/category/certifications/

Joe

I agree there are several different options. If you have any questions reach out to me.