In order to help raise the standards for
the fitness industry, the IFPA became members of the National
Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) and is the National
Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) accreditation process. The
NCCA process requires a certifying organization to meet 21 exacting
standards.
It is important for Personal Fitness
Trainer (PFTs) and all fitness professionals to understand that these
standards, while difficult to meet, will help to improve our industry
and increase the reliability, validity and credibility of the
certification organizations that become NCCA accredited.
In order to meet NCCA standards the IFPA
will no longer offer the Distance Learning (DL) Personal Fitness
Trainer Certification Course. The DL-PFT Certification course was a
very demanding course and all those who went through the course felt
they learned and retained more information than those who went through
the closed book certification test. This has been an extremely viable
educational tool, highly regarded in the fitness industry and while
the IFPA intended to drop this course completely, the demand remains
extremely high. In order to satisfy the demands of the fitness
industry, the IFPA has developed a new Independent Study (IS) program
that is an enhanced, revolutionary version of the discontinued DL
version.
The Independent Study (IS) program will
offer a revised IFPA Personal Fitness Trainer Manual “The Book on
Personal Training”, the IFPA Study Guide, a newly developed work-book
“The Book on Personal Training Workbook”, the newly revised videos
“The IFPA Personal Trainer Certification Video”, and most importantly
you will receive a free copy of the “Rules of Engagement for PFTS”,
the “checklist” for Personal Training.
The students will still be required to
complete and pass the Independent Study Test, but passing the test
will result in the student receiving a “Certificate of Completion”.
NCCA standards require all Personal Fitness Trainer Certification
Candidate to pass a proctored, IFPA closed-book exam. All students
enrolled in the Independent Study (IS) program will receive a free
admission ticket to an IFPA testing site at a date and location of
their own choosing.
In order to help you understand the need
for these changes, you must understand that NCCA standards require
that the IFPA guarantee that every candidate awarded an IFPA
Certification – pass the certification test without any outside
assistance.
The IFPA-DL open book test was designed in
the same format used by over 1,000 of the world’s finest universities
including Yale and Oxford. Though the former DL PFT course was
extremely demanding and no clear thinking, honest candidate would
utilize unfair advantage; the IFPA could not guarantee the process.
For those organizations and individuals
that feel strongly that the IFPA – DL Personal Fitness Trainer
required more study, more learning and more effort and resulted in
more retention of valuable information than the typical “cramming”
that takes place prior to a candidate taking the typical closed-book
test, the new IFPA Independent Study (IS) Program will be a vast
improvement requiring the completion of an equally demanding program
to attain the “Certificate of Completion” and offering the candidate
the opportunity to complete the IFPA Certification test at no
additional cost.
The IFPA, for over a decade, has lead our
industry with the most practical and best educational programs and
certifications testing. The new IFPA Independent Study (IS) program is
the latest innovation in a long line of superior education and
certification programs. The Independent Study (IS) program will be
in effect on or before September 30, 2004.
Nutrition News
New research from London shows people on
the Atkins diet have more headaches, muscles weakness and digestive
disorders and claims that the Atkins diet may not be healthy in the
long run.
I know that this will come as no surprise
to those of you who have been reading FitBits regularly, however, I
need to warn you once again of the potential liability any
Personal Fitness Trainer (PFT) faces when recommending diets without
having proper credentials (i.e.; RD, Registered Dietician) behind
your name. Rule number ONE for IFPA Certified PFTs is “Do No Harm”!
Recommending food diets, regardless of how popular, can cause harm!
