| Let's go through the staff that you will meet on your | | | | educate and show you how to eat and exercise. The |
| first visit to a health club. | | | | following are the two most popular certifications. |
| The first person that you are going to meet at a health | | | | NCCA certification - NCCA is a 3rd party governing |
| club is a receptionist that will introduce you to a | | | | body whose function it is to impose certification |
| salesman. The job of the receptionist is to give any | | | | standards and identify quality programs to candidates |
| new visitors a introduction to the salesperson and to | | | | and the public that are in strict compliance and produce |
| set the tone of the conversation that you are about to | | | | valid, competent, and worthy personal fitness trainer |
| have with the salesperson you are about to meet. | | | | graduates |
| Health Clubs have staff that are usually cross trained | | | | ACE Certification - The ACE Personal Trainer |
| and because of the type of work that there is in a | | | | Certification is designed for trainers providing any form |
| health club it is probably OK to have trainers do | | | | of one-on-one instruction. Once you successfully pass |
| membership sales as well. Remember that if the | | | | the ACE Personal Trainer certification exam you will |
| salespeople are doubling up as trainers you want to | | | | have demonstrated your knowledge of basic exercise |
| make sure that the trainers are really trainers and not | | | | science, nutrition, fitness assessment, exercise |
| just salespeople that took a weekend course in how | | | | programming, and instructional and spotting techniques. |
| to train people. | | | | You should be asking about certifications and listening |
| Besides sales staff every health club has some kind | | | | carefully to the answers that you get about these |
| of training staff. Quite often with a smaller gym you will | | | | certifications. When I was younger certification was |
| find the staff that does the selling is also the same | | | | the first question that I was asked in applying for jobs |
| staff that does the training. Other staff at the Health | | | | at gyms so this should be important to you as well. |
| club may include a receptionist, juice bar staff, pro | | | | Lastly the staff that you will not see and should know |
| shop staff and equipment maintenance people. | | | | about is the person that is doing maintenance on the |
| When evaluating the staff at the health club, make | | | | equipment in the gym. I will cover this again but just be |
| sure that you are looking for credentials for the | | | | aware that if any equipment stops working in a health |
| trainers. There are two types of certifications. Health | | | | club or fitness center I have found that it will be fixed |
| Club trainer certifications are an important way to be | | | | either in one day or in six months, the gym has to |
| able to judge whether the trainers have the skills to | | | | decide how important it is for equipment to be fixed. |