NHE Certification

It depends on your background. The study guide covers the entire exam but I'm sure there are many other textbooks that would do the same.

AshleySullivan
To basically say that because someone who is 50+ and still training is pathetic, or shouldn't be cashing checks for giving someone their knowledge is pretty asinine.
Just as in many other fields, people hire trainers because the trainers have knowledge and a set of skills that they do not. The same reason people hire landscapers...it's not that they can't mow the lawn or dig up shrubs themselves, but someone who has better knowledge of it always does it better because they understand the true intricacies of it.
There are few fields out there where someone with extensive knowledge comes back, and gives out everything they've learned for free. In the business world those people who come back are called consultants, they've been around the block quite a few times, and make money hand-over-fist for coming in and sharing what they've learned - and even more money if it requires them to get involved hands on. So why on earth should training be any different?

If you have the skills and someone wants to pay you for using them, and you love what you do, then why not? Is Bob Barker some fool who planned poorly because he loved his job so much he worked into late age and still collected a check for it? Larry King?...the list goes on and on.

... Phil Jackson, Jay Leno, Nelson Mandela, Al Pacino.. what list are you talking about? It's obvious you are one of those poor planners. Don't compare yourself to someone who doesn't have to work. There is a huge difference between what Larry King or Bob Barker (does/did) and working in somebody's sweaty, dark gym, even if it's your own. Believe me or don't but I'm trying to tell you that trainers my age do not look up to you guys. As much as you might think you are our heroes, you are not. Don't take my word for it, ask a 20 year old exercise science major if he or she wants to be training people when they are well into their 50's? They are all going to say no! Old trainers have basically motivated them to go to college in the first place.

Why does every NHE-related forum include at least 1 or 2 people - like Ashley and Christina - who post responses to everything, refuse to answer particular questions, and end up berating and insulting people who disagree with them?

Here are the questions I'd like answered:

1) Why it's impossible to get in touch with anyone at NHE? I know, I know...they're running such a successful business that you just can't expect them to answer the phone, especially not for all these 'fools' who want to ask simple questions. Except, that's ridiculous. What kind of business becomes successful by refusing to answer people's questions and making you wonder whether they ever even check their messages.

2) Have you ever even heard of someone getting NHE certified outside of the job application process? Most people in the industry have never hear of them and I've never seen one poster on any forum who indicated that they decided to pay for the NHE certification. So why would they need so many exam processors? It seems that the only exams to process are the ones that applicants take...for free. In that case, the only way NHE is really making money is by selling study guides. That's odd and good reason for skepticism.

3) Why would every study guide be different? They're supposed to be testing your knowledge of a topic, yet you're made to believe that you need to pay hundreds for a 'unique' guide specific to your test? That just defies logic. I noticed that Ashley and Christina went from saying that if you know your exercise science then you should be fine...to saying that you really should buy the guide. Why?

4) Why is it necessary to insult people? Ashley, you really should be spending time completing your huge plans for the future instead of trying to rip holes in every argument that doesn't agree with your own.

People are asking legitimate questions here and if you don't want to give a legitimate answer then just don't post. As a side note, I've seen two of the study guides and they're crap - poorly written with numerous typos and errors and conflicting and useless information...and that's from a person who passed both the exams on the first try. Spend the money if you're not concerned, but don't do it if you have reservations. You have reservations for a reason - because NHE hasn't done anything to inspire any confidence in their organization.

I don't intentionally insult these people. This stuff just seems to write itself. They only joined to attack me. There is a diet and fitness forum on this site, but none of these so called 'experts' could spend a moment of their precious time and knowledge to try and help others out. They just come on this site, take a crap, and leave without flushing and I'm supposed to respect them? They are offensive to our profession.

But now let's talk about you for a moment...

Let me try to understand your position, if I could.... please indulge me for a moment...

1) You spend you time searching online, reading forums about NHE.
2) You constantly call them.
3) You purchase their study guides.
3) You take their exams.
4) You apply for their jobs.
5) You sit around wondering about their philosophies, protocols and business practices.

For goodness sakes.. you are obsessed!

If not hiring you is any indication of how they run their business, I'm very inspired. You sound like a psycho path. Why don't you buy a kitten or something to keep you busy and stop annoying everyone.

By the way, you got their study guides, took their exams and passed on the first try. That's a very good outcome. It tells me that the study guides served their purpose.

Ironic, isn't it? The whole reason you joined this forum was to tear them down, but instead, you have just proved to everyone, considering the study guides, that buying one is worth the investment. That's pretty funny!

Of course, you'll return and talk about how awful the study guides are and how you didn't even use them. Right... that is believable. Even if that was true, what does that say about them? Because even though you were horrifically disappointed with them, you still were eager to work for them. That tells me that they are a pretty awesome place to work, if someone with your professional status was so willing to overlook all of these things.

Take my advice and go to the shelter. There are a lot of deserving kittens that deserve a good home.

Hello everyone. I am not interested in any of this. I just know that I used to work for them and I loved their study guides, I still use them once in a while. I thought their exams were industry standard and the people where great people. I'm not sure about all of the trainers too old to train idea. It would depend on what type of trainer you were and where you actually worked.

It's possible because Richard Simmons is old and he still teaches classes. I think that is a better argument than Bob Barker, don't you? If I'm going to get a formidable challenger, I guess it'll have to be me!

Hey Cuda, I have an answer to all of your questions..... maybe they just aren't that into you.

I don't know anything about these free exams you guys keep talking about, I paid for mine. It was $1700! I don't care because it was better for me at the time. It was either NHE or NPTI and NPTI was $6000! NHE was a much better program and I learned a lot.

By the way, the NHE study guide beats anything I've seen. The only other one that comes close is the 2009 NASM program, they improved it a lot and it's pretty sweet. The ACSM one needs newer pictures, it looks like it was made in the 90's because the people in it are wearing outfits that were in style in the 90's. The materials is good though.

Hey Ashley- you make a really good point. I haven't tried to help anyone since joining this site but I'm going there now to see what kind of advice I can give.

I received a letter regarding the establishment of a proctor center for NHE Certification and signed up with one of their sales personnel. So far it sounds very promising and I have already lined up some trainers interested in the programs. I've read the posts here and I agree that NHE, although new, seems to be a well run organization. Everyone up to this point has been friendly and professional. Prior to last week I only accepted NASM, ACSM, NCSA and Cooper and now I added NHE to the list and I'm hoping to hiring a couple of the trainers that get certified at my center.

I've been going back and forth with these guys for an interview for over a year now. I finally stopped replying and then a month later I would get another email or phone call saying they wanted to interview me for a management position.

I have both an undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology & Nutrition as well as a master's degree in Exercise Physiology. In addition, I hold multiple nationally accredited certifications ( which NHE is not by the way ).

Three times their national director asked me which method of interview I preferred, either in person or web/telephone. Three times I gave him my preference and then didn't hear back for weeks.

Finally, he flat out told me he wouldn't interview me or schedule an exam until I purchased the study materials for $150 ( the NHE employee discount ) even though it clearly states purchase of the study materials is not required to take the exam. I finally caved and purchased them, only to never hear back from them again. I've called the national director, I've talked with his administrative assistant, and I've emailed. No reply.

Sorry, going to have to go with scam on this one.

Anyone really wondering about the NHE Certification? Why spend so much time; you could just go to the official website (http://www.ifpa-fitness.com/) and pursue the real thing. That's my opinion....

I learned about NHE through colleagues of mine, who each went through the NHE recruitment process. My experience was similar to theirs, in that, we were not pressured to purchase anything. In fact, the cost of their study books never even came up. They didn't insist that I purchase their book. There's a whole list of books that you can use to prepare for the exam, posted on their website. Any legitimate exercise science major would have, in their possession, one or more of the books on their list. Besides, why would they hire you, just because you bought a book? I think they need you to pass the exam, not show that you are willing to buy something. The question I would ask is why would someone who has spent his life paying for a higher education need to purchase a study book to pass an exam that was based on that education or if so desired, hesitate to do so? I, too, have a MS in exercise science from Iowa State and applied for a exercise instructor position at NHE. I spoke with the program director and had an interesting conversation about their company's vision and mission statement. She asked that I take an exam (probably to check to make sure I wasn't lying about my credentials or to make sure my degree wasn't forged or counterfeit.). It was free, so I agreed. The question about how I was going to prepare for it did come up and she told me I could get a study guide, use books from my personal collection (for which I have a dozen or so) and she also directed me to that list of other related books that were relevant to their exam. We agreed that since I already had some of the books on their booklist that I should just use mine, instead of purchasing theirs.

I took the exam last month and passed. It was very challenging, but not overly difficult, as I was expecting (there are plenty of horror stories online about how their exams are like the bar exam for law graduates.) The exam was free and I was not pressured to pay for a study book or any other type of materials.

They wanted to interview me earlier this month, but I had prior commitments, however, I secured an interview for this upcoming Thursday and we'll see how it goes. All in all, they've been a professional group to work with and I like what they are trying to do to improve the personal training industry. I particularly like how thorough the hiring process is at NHE. Their whole testing requirement is exactly what the industry needs. If each and every gym tested each 'certified' trainer, before it hired, they would discover that many of them were under qualified, despite having a recognizable credential.

I've never heard of IFPA. Are they new? Hey CSCS, the only NHE cert that requires a study guide is the level one. With your credentials, I'm assuming you are taking the Master trainer program? Here's the book recommendation list for that program. NHE doesn't really help you with any sort of discount, but you can get used ones online for pretty cheap. Their guides are much better, but these books are pretty good too.
http://www.nhecertification.com/MasterTrainerTBReclist.html

NHE is a much better program thean IFPA. A lot of trainers have NASM, but the NASM exam is nothing compared to the exams you have to take in college.

I signed up for their verified location program and it's been a perfect fit for our clubs. They seem to be a very well run organization. Every question has been responded to with enthusiasm for the industry. I was introduced to them by my PT manager and so I signed up and will begin implementing their PT level 1 and two programs this month. I'm also considering the fitness nutrition program, as I've heard it is very good.
I've never heard of IFPA. Do they also have a VF program? I wouldn't mind having my guys possess as many credentials as possible.

ChristinaM
I have been out of the business for a while and getting back in. I just got my letter telling me to set my exam date. I have an old ACE manual. Do you think that is good enough or is the study guide worth the money for a refresher?

I want to talk to someone who is really working for NHE.

They will give you a list of books that you can use for the exam. You can use whatever you want, even your ace manual.

SCAAAAAAAM! This is a thread of emails, companies don't operate this way. Define scam however you want. The end game here is to get to buy study materials. I can not find a single person, other than Jessica and John at this company. What a total waste of time. Someone find a college they are affiliated with, I would love to be proven wrong.

Can I take the exam today
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Today? I would advise taking the exam a bit more serious. It is rather challenging and you should at least prepare in some fashion. Regardless, of how seriuosly you take the exam, you can't take it on a weekday. You can take it tomorrow.
There are important exam instructions

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I have some questions and would like to speakl with someone. Could you please call?
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Can you articulate your questions in writing? It will be faster.
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What are the exam topics, is it timed, how long do i need to block out.
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Did you open the link I sent you? Everything's there.
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I would like to speak to one of your current mentors and ask them about the program. Can you please forward some contact information for them? Also, is there a student I could speak with that has used the Mentors, I would like to get their feedback on the value of the mentoring program to them.
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Calling random mentors and/or students to ask them questions is highly unusual and inappropriate. Your email responses make it seem as though you are not sure what is going on or you are not sure you can do the job. No problem. Sounds like you need an investors packet. We have a 'downgraded' version of one, we send to affiliates. It contains everything about NHE, including our history, management team w/ backgrounds, location addresses, and a full company registry w/phone numbers. Also, there's plenty of information regarding our educational standards, like CEU information, associated college programs and most upcoming programs and curriculum improvements. The only thing you won't have access to is our annual sales figures, which is only provided in the full version. I believe you'll be impressed.

I'll have it sent to the address on your resume.

Hold off on taking the exam until you have received the information you need. I'll also need to take your uncertainty into consideration, as well.

Jessica
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Jessica,

Thank you for your concern. I have an extensive background in the sciences, more than is on the resume you have on file. I also have a son, and another job. I am concerned that my attention go to a program that I believe in. It seems as though you do your research on your candidates very well, I am only doing my due diligence. It is quite common for potential employees to research the company they want to work for, as I imagine you did before going to work for NHE. I would hate to engage in something and find out it was not the right fit for me or you. It would be a waste of both our resources, wouldn't you agree? Even after I pass the test, these are still things I would like to consider and people I would like to talk to.

It was my impression that the Mentors were hired to help coach people through the process of certification, starting their business...etc. I am sure they would not mind speaking to a potential colleague and inform them about their experience. I apologize if I came off as "not sure". I am, in fact, sure I can do the job. You can see from my resume that I have several years of teaching sciences at the college level in my background, I was a certified instructor for ACE at one time, and I have successfully started 2 of my own companies. Given this, you can see why my time is valuable. I think the mentoring process is invaluable, and without many of the mentors in my life, I would not be where I am today. I do not need the income, I would be doing this to help others that were in my shoes many years ago, because I enjoy the industry and want others to experience it in a positive light.

Feel free to send the documents if you would like, although I am not challenging your legitimacy, just trying to get an idea from someone who has performed the position, what it is like.

If you are able to forward some contacts to me, or forward my contact to them so they can call me, I would greatly appreciate it. I think it great that you have integrated into college programs. If you could, send me the links to the colleges using your programs, I would like to see how they represent your programs.

If we could, let's change my test date to Sunday, I will have more time to complete it, being that I only have a few hours tomorrow morning.
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I can see that getting you through this basic recruitment process is going to be very difficult.

Don't worry. I have many candidates to contact and we will be introducing expansion programs for years to come. I'm sure we'll make a fit eventually.

Good luck!

Jessica