getting the ACE cert a bad idea?

[Matt Lawson]

you guys rock!

[Dave Paton]

There's also many other places to learn O-lifting than Mike's Gym. Check with USAW for a local club.

[Anton Emery]

I recently had another thought with regards to getting the ACE cert. This may kind of far fetched, but i believe in covering all my bases.

In the ACE textbook and in the code of ethics, as i seem to recall, they recommend against giving nutritional advice. They say refer to a qualified nutritionist or dietician. True, i guess, but what if i my clients just want somewhere basic to start, or have zone or paleo questions. Say i have the ACE, give them advice, then they get sick or something and decide to sue me. In court the lawyer looks at the ACE handbook and asks why did i give nutritional advice when it says not to. Perhaps a far fetched situation i know, but it could happen and i seem to recall reading it somewhere.

Should this be reason enough not to get the ACE cert. I was seriously considering the NSCA CPT anyways, no serious trainers seem to have the ACE. I did spend a few months studying for the ACE exam, so i would hate to have wasted that time, but i did learn stuff, and in reality i cant really start trying to train others until i get my Crossfit cert in May. So starting to work towards the NSCA CPT would not be to big of a deal.



Anton

[Mike ODonnell]

By national LAW you can NOT give anyone specific nutrition advice unless you are a licensed dietician. You can give someone a zone book and let them figure out what to eat on their own or tell them what foods they "should" enjoy and ones to "try to avoid", but you can not tell them what to eat specifically. So it doesn't matter what CPT you have, you are not a licensed dietician. How you tap dance around that subject is up to you as many people seem to ignore it....but doesnt mean it wont come back to bite you in the ass later. Think of it in terms of presenting nutrition for "educational purposes" only....not a specific individualized plan.

[Patrick Donnelly]

Originally Posted by Anton Emery

no serious trainers seem to have the ACE.

No serious trainers take their cert seriously.


Speaking of which, I just finished my ACE-GFI cert, so I'm selling the materials... $135 shipped anywhere in the 48 states. You've got the manual, with highlighted annotations (helped me a lot while reviewing), the study guide (did most of it lightly in pencil, but erased it for you), anatomy and human movement guide, and the practice test. All in great/perfect condition. It cost $157 including shipping originally. I scored an 88% on the test, easily, with just those materials. Email patrickhdonnelly@hotmail.com if you're interested.


Okay. Ad's over.

[Patrick Donnelly]

It just occurred to me...

Even the official CrossFit Level 1 certification is BS. The only reason you'd ever want to get it is if you're affiliating. At this point, with all the different things included in CF, all the certifications can offer is a general knowledge of how to perform the movements correctly yourself, and not instruction on how to coach them. You can get the same teaching at an affiliate gym for a lot less than $1000 and traveling expenses.

[Kevin Perry]

Originally Posted by Patrick Donnelly

It just occurred to me...

Even the official CrossFit Level 1 certification is BS. The only reason you'd ever want to get it is if you're affiliating. At this point, with all the different things included in CF, all the certifications can offer is a general knowledge of how to perform the movements correctly yourself, and not instruction on how to coach them. You can get the same teaching at an affiliate gym for a lot less than $1000 and traveling expenses.

This is kind of one reason why I have been putting a cert off for a while. MY school has a personal training program andI get plent of instruction from my own coach so the only time to really get a CF cert would be like you said. Durring affiliation.