I looked into it before, but the cost stopped me. Now I'm re-looking into it (amoungst other things) and ended up at the ISSA's website. The ISSA being pretty respected in the states, their course is very thorough and costs a mere 306 pounds. However when I look at uk providers (futurefit, premier, ymca) their prices start at 1K going up to nearly 4K!!!!!!!!!!!

For those that are trainers, and work in gyms, what difference does it make if I walk in with an ISSA certification as opposed to an over priced, inflated certificate from the Uk that says 'NVQ' on it somewhere?????????????

Seems ridiculous to me that uk companies charge so much for something that costs them so little. And its not even like you can make 20K doing the job.

Yet more proof we get scammed in this country every day!

its an utter joke isnt it

best bet is to to states and do them all there and come back and also maybe do the poliquin training as well as that is getting alot of respect in Europe now

Be worth asking health4ni about the poliquin certs and im sure he probably knows what is and isnt a waste of money

Shicky wrote:Be worth asking health4ni about the poliquin certs and im sure he probably knows what is and isnt a waste of money

BUMP! to get h4ni's opinion

Hell you can do Dave Palumbos S.M.A.R.T certification for 70quid which earns you points towards your ISSA and is recognized in america!

Sickening thing is I have all the future fit workbooks, however they still want to charge me 1K just to sit the exams!!!! freakin homos!

nrage04 wrote:BUMP! to get h4ni's opinion

Pretty sure hes buggered off to London today mate and Im not sure when hes back, long weekend I'd imagine

nrage04 wrote:Sickening thing is I have all the future fit workbooks, however they still want to charge me 1K just to sit the exams!!!! freakin homos!

Its like most things whenever there's a monopoly or something close to one, people pay ridiculous prices because the market for the service is so small. It really is sickening whenever you see the prices elsewhere simply because they're more marketable and theres more competition. Hope you're able to get sorted somehow

bump

PM this topic url to Health mate - im sure he just busy but will def reply if he see's it

ISSA or POLIQUIN certificates are the only ones that I'd consider. The ISSA would be far cheaper and the course is constructed by a wide spectrum of respected coaches (staley etc).

NVQ is shite, I've got the personal trainer qual but apart from anatomy/physiology it's redundant info for the most part.

Orinoco wrote:ISSA or POLIQUIN certificates are the only ones that I'd consider. The ISSA would be far cheaper and the course is constructed by a wide spectrum of respected coaches (staley etc).

NVQ is shite, I've got the personal trainer qual but apart from anatomy/physiology it's redundant info for the most part.

Yeah I was considering doing with ISSA as for us its quite cheap and the course seems to cover alot. Just dont wanna walk into a gym and for the to say 'oh you need an nvq' or 'who are issa?' lol

Yeah, I know what you're saying there!

But I couldn't see any gym arguing that ISSA isn't a recognised body...as long as you have that and your insurance (shouldn't be more than £40 a year) then I reckon you'd be seen as an asset.

I was going to do the ISSA course myself and move to London, but moved to spain instead. Dumb move in retrospect.

EDIT: you could always phone up a few gyms saying your an ISSA qualified PT looking for work and see what the response is...

Orinoco wrote:Yeah, I know what you're saying there!

But I couldn't see any gym arguing that ISSA isn't a recognised body...as long as you have that and your insurance (shouldn't be more than £40 a year) then I reckon you'd be seen as an asset.

I was going to do the ISSA course myself and move to London, but moved to spain instead. Dumb move in retrospect.

EDIT: you could always phone up a few gyms saying your an ISSA qualified PT looking for work and see what the response is...

Good idea! Will ask at my gym 2mrw!

Why was moving to spain a bad idea? I'm hoping to move there in a few years, then on to Oz

Skip Spain and go straight to OZ. My wee bro moved out there a couple o months ago and from the reports I'm getting probably won't be coming back!

nrage04 wrote:

Orinoco wrote:Yeah, I know what you're saying there!

But I couldn't see any gym arguing that ISSA isn't a recognised body...as long as you have that and your insurance (shouldn't be more than £40 a year) then I reckon you'd be seen as an asset.

I was going to do the ISSA course myself and move to London, but moved to spain instead. Dumb move in retrospect.

EDIT: you could always phone up a few gyms saying your an ISSA qualified PT looking for work and see what the response is...

Good idea! Will ask at my gym 2mrw!

Why was moving to spain a bad idea? I'm hoping to move there in a few years, then on to Oz

Just personal stuff mate....plus I couldn't stand the weather lol....or the lack of greenery, and proper trees...y'know....with leaves that fall off in the winter.........oh, and living 24/7 in a non-english speaking country had alot to do with it!

It wasn't all bad, I made a killing personal training - all tax free , and met some great people...and had a relationship with heidi klums slightly more-ordinary-looking-spanish-sister-from-another-mother . She was awesome.

Go straight to Oz mate....I don't know a single person who regrets emigrating there, whereas I know stacks of people who regret moving to Spain (and plenty who want to come back here but are now stuck out there as their economy is worse than ours.)

Orinoco wrote:Go straight to Oz mate....I don't know a single person who regrets emigrating there

Definately, I know 3 more people that have decided to head out there this year, one was a year long trip, its been made permanent since. I also know another 3 that have done long holidays there this year, they're all looking to go back perhaps permanently. To be honest I'd love to get out there myself

I don't have any experience with ISSA stuff so cannot comment on that.

All I'd say is that I learnt more (about training & nutrition) on a 5 day Poliquin course than 3yrs at Loughborough Uni (plus my A Level & GCSE PE courses). Whatever you may think about Mr Poliquin he knows more about strength & conditioning training than anyone... I truly believe that. He learnt a lot from the Eastern Bloc coaches when he went over in the 80s. And yet many internet coaches still try to come up with "new ways to get bigger". Well, imo Poliquin knows.

Anyway, he's courses are amazing. But bloody expensive.

If you train with the best you will become the best.

You can be be a successful PT (money wise) by doing any of the standard courses... but imo that won't make you great PT / strength coach.

Unfortunately to get insurance through someone like FitPro you need a recognised qualification. Maybe ISSA is fine; I honestly don't know. I was lucky (in a way) as they purely accepted by degree from Loughborough as enough. So the Poliquin course wasn't necessary (for me).

One thing tho: if you don't have PE & Sports Science qualifications (GCSE, A Level &/or degree) then really you should do a course that will teach you about anatomy & physiology for example. Poliquin courses do not do that cos they attract people that have all; this already. There are "entrance exams" for Level 1 & Level 2 that require 92% pass rate! Not easy tbh.

---

Personal Trainer Certificates - Scam? - well, guess it depends who you show them to. You NEED insurance. No gym will allow you to work without it (they'd be made otherwise). To get that you need some qualifications. You do the math

health4ni wrote: Whatever you may think about Mr Poliquin he knows more about strength & conditioning training than anyone... I truly believe that. He learnt a lot from the Eastern Bloc coaches when he went over in the 80s. And yet many internet coaches still try to come up with "new ways to get bigger". Well, imo Poliquin knows.

Totally agree with this, he's assimaliated so much info over the years...he's probably more borg than human Some people think he rips off ideas from other people, or just tries to hawk his own range of supps. I'd dissagree with these views...in fact I'd say he's meticulous in namechecking everyone he learns stuff from...which is scarce in the supp/training industry where the pilfering of ideas/concepts and then taking the credit is the norm. Also his supp range was for many years a small part of things, as they were primarily developed for his athletes.

Yep, Mr P didn't invent everything; I don't think he's ever claimed to have. He learnt a lot from some of the world's top strength coaches from Canada, Germany, Russia, Bulgaria etc etc. He then tried it all and came up with what he believed was the best ways to get stronger (& bigger), having successfully used such techniques on his athletes. As well as learning & then tweaking testing methods for new clients.

nrage04 wrote:

Orinoco wrote:Yeah, I know what you're saying there!

But I couldn't see any gym arguing that ISSA isn't a recognised body...as long as you have that and your insurance (shouldn't be more than £40 a year) then I reckon you'd be seen as an asset.

I was going to do the ISSA course myself and move to London, but moved to spain instead. Dumb move in retrospect.

EDIT: you could always phone up a few gyms saying your an ISSA qualified PT looking for work and see what the response is...

Good idea! Will ask at my gym 2mrw!

N, did you suss out the score on this after?

Orinoco wrote:

nrage04 wrote:

Orinoco wrote:Yeah, I know what you're saying there!

But I couldn't see any gym arguing that ISSA isn't a recognised body...as long as you have that and your insurance (shouldn't be more than £40 a year) then I reckon you'd be seen as an asset.

I was going to do the ISSA course myself and move to London, but moved to spain instead. Dumb move in retrospect.

EDIT: you could always phone up a few gyms saying your an ISSA qualified PT looking for work and see what the response is...

Good idea! Will ask at my gym 2mrw!

N, did you suss out the score on this after?

the few gyms I spoke to said they'd accept it. not sure about the insurance and that though. I spoke with thetrainingroom about doing a course. they're quite flexible with the monies however it is still 3K.

I am going to do the ISSA course, for my own knowledge more than anything. And it gives me something that sounds good-ish on my CV - currently there isnt alot. Its only 300quid which is cool.