When you’re ready to take the next step in your nutrition or fitness career, most likely that will involve some advanced education through a certification program. But how can you discover which one might be right for you?
Fortunately, you’re not the first one to ask this question. That inquiry has prompted the creation of some robust certification review sites that can help you make some crucial program comparisons. Check these out:
1. Nutrition Certification Reviews (NCR)
Despite its name, this site offers information on both nutrition and fitness certifications—mainly through the lens of how fitness and sports professionals can add nutrition to their client services. NCR also points out that some of the best sports nutrition certification programs and fitness nutrition certification programs can include change psychology, coaching practice, and business development sections to help you apply your new knowledge.
To come up with comparisons, NCR asked an expert panel to share their opinions based on the question “What’s the best fitness and sports nutrition certification?” Not surprisingly, the answers varied significantly, but NCR does a great job of summarizing each program and explaining why it might be among the top choices.
2. Nutrition Certification Program
Beneficial for a side-by-side type of comparison, this website breaks down the basics of several top nutrition certification options, and includes factors like program duration, cost, exam style, prerequisites, board certification or accreditation, and whether classes are offered online.
{{cta(‘88521e09-56d3-45cf-ad30-1bdabd026e18’)}}
Unlike NCR, these choices aren’t presented as part of an expert panel of picks, but the site does note that its options have “proven themselves over many years to be among the most distinguished and reputable in the entire online educational industry.”
3. SpotRunner
If you’re looking for just a fitness certification that leads to a career in personal training, this site reviews three of your top choices and then offers an extensive compare-and-contrast commentary on each factor. Having it broken down this way can be very helpful because it’s such a direct comparison among just a trio of standout choices.
The factors that SpotRunner highlights are likely the ones that most potential students would have questions about, including requirements, study materials, recertification fees, and additional certification options.
4. LIVESTRONG
A fitness and health site, Livestrong has a wealth of information available on fitness trends, and its post on Top 10 Best Personal Trainer Certifications is a good starting point for anyone beginning to contemplate this career choice. The post doesn’t compare programs directly—instead offering just a paragraph on each—but it does help to winnow down the programs based on some requirements, and whether programs are accredited.
What you’ll likely discover with any nutrition and fitness certification review site is that there’s no clear answer about which program everyone should choose—after all, what works for you might not be ideal for someone else. But they will give you a larger basis of comparison than trying to compare certification programs on your own.
To learn more about AFPA certifications, including specifics on coursework, visit the AFPA website.
{{cta(‘2f860aa1-da01-436e-8083-b1f691dc05fb’,’justifycenter’)}}
