General Knowledge - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[bigcountry89506]

Hi Ya'll,

I'm currently studying for the ACSM cert exam for personal trainers and beginning classes to become a dietetic technician. I have a few questions for ya'll.

1. After I become a DT, I will be moving on to become an RD. In the meantime, after I have become an DT, will this be enough to prescribe diets or should I still be working with an actual RD? What is the scope of a DT?

2. I want to work on my general knowledge while I'm studying for the ACSM cert exam. I also want to work on putting together routines for my future clients as well as keep up to date on any type of fitness news out there. I assume that I should be reading articles, but are the ones in magazines such as Men's Fitness and such, ok? How do I know that what I read in an article from one of those mags is sound and not just some fad? Also, would it hurt to take other people's classes to get an idea of different exercises I can put together for my own clients down the road?

Thanks for the input folks!

Adam

[Christina]

Hi there and welcome,

After I become a DT, I will be moving on to become an RD. In the meantime, after I have become an DT, will this be enough to prescribe diets or should I still be working with an actual RD? What is the scope of a DT?

I have never heard of a DT. Sorry I cannot help you with this one.

I also want to work on putting together routines for my future clients as well as keep up to date on any type of fitness news out there.

Check out the human kinetics website for some good books on strength training. If you don't have a lot of money consider an interlibrary loan.

I assume that I should be reading articles, but are the ones in magazines such as Men's Fitness and such, ok? How do I know that what I read in an article from one of those mags is sound and not just some fad?

I always look at the author's credentials. If they have a MS and their CSCS chances are pretty darn good that they know what they are talking about. I recommend you become a member of the ACSM because they have a really good journal for personal trainers. The NSCA does too. I am sure ACE and NASM do too. IDEA is a good one. Check out their website. In general, look for industry trade journals when looking for information.

Also, would it hurt to take other people's classes to get an idea of different exercises I can put together for my own clients down the road?

That's fine. Things like P90X has some good exercises, too. Try exrx.net too.


Hope this gets you started,
Christina

[bigcountry89506]

Thanks Christina,

This site is a treasure chest of knowledge and the more I read it the more inspired and motivated I am to go through with my plans of being a trainer and running my own business.

DT was to stand for Dietetic Technician. I believe they are to a registered dietician as a nurse is to a doctor. I'm sure I can answer my own question I posted earlier about prescribing diets as a DT. There's just so much info on here that I got a little overzealous, maybe. Anyways, thanks for your feedback!

Adam

[Penny1015]

Adam,

Check the website: ADA - Students (American Dietetic Association).
This site provides information on becoming a dietetic technician. Also, information on employment opportunities for
a DTR.

Good Luck

Penny

I'm currently studying for the ACSM cert exam for personal trainers and beginning classes to become a dietetic technician. I have a few questions for ya'll.

1. After I become a DT, I will be moving on to become an RD. In the meantime, after I have become an DT, will this be enough to prescribe diets or should I still be working with an actual RD? What is the scope of a DT?

2. I want to work on my general knowledge while I'm studying for the ACSM cert exam. I also want to work on putting together routines for my future clients as well as keep up to date on any type of fitness news out there. I assume that I should be reading articles, but are the ones in magazines such as Men's Fitness and such, ok? How do I know that what I read in an article from one of those mags is sound and not just some fad? Also, would it hurt to take other people's classes to get an idea of different exercises I can put together for my own clients down the road?

Thanks for the input folks!

Adam[/QUOTE]

[Chris_78]

Hi Ya'll,
2. I want to work on my general knowledge while I'm studying for the ACSM cert exam. I also want to work on putting together routines for my future clients as well as keep up to date on any type of fitness news out there. I assume that I should be reading articles, but are the ones in magazines such as Men's Fitness and such, ok? How do I know that what I read in an article from one of those mags is sound and not just some fad?

Actually, I think that Men's Health is probably better than Men's Fitness. I think that many of the top dogs in the industry are now writing for that "lay" publication. Plus, the Men's Health Fitness Editor, Adam Campbell, possess an MS in Ex Phys from U of Kansas and is a CSCS.

Honestly, if you surf the web, many top fitness gurus have blogs and they offer a lot of great information on a regular basis. I probably have 20-25 bookmarked that I check regularly. Here are some of the folks that I read on a regular basis. You can go do a search in Google to find their site. Many also have YouTube sites where they post videos of exercises, etc. Some of these folks are more sport-performance oriented, but a lot of the info could be applicable to normal clients. Or, if you happen to end up training an athlete or someone's kid who plays sports, possibly. Also, some of these individuals are PT's/Chiros/Dr's that offer valuable insight into a true understanding of functional anatomy, injuries, other medical issues, etc. Some of the folks are more "meatheads," but they still put up some good info from time-to-time. I browse it all and pick and choose what I desire to read.

Eric Cressey
Mike Robertson
Bill Hartman
Mike Reinold
Michael Boyle
Alwyn Cosgrove
Nick Tumminello
Mark Young
Dr. Evan Osar
John Berardi
Dr. Eric Serrano
Brett Contreras
Patrick Ward
Vern Gambetta
Tony Gentilcore
Joe DeFranco
Jason Ferrugia
John Izzo
Lyle McDonald

This should get you started. You can usually look to the side and see links to other folks' blogs. You can browse some of those individuals and pick and choose what you like. The top 3 that I read are Cressey, Gentilecore (who works with Cressey), Robertson, and Hartman as it pertains to exercise, etc. For nutrition, Berardi is my go-to guy.

[Christina]

For nutrition, Berardi is my go-to guy.

No kidding! I bought Precision Nutrition and I am a member of the site. Great stuff. I recommend all trainers look this guy up. Most of my nutritional learning comes from Dr. Berardi as well as Nancy Clark, RD.

Christina

[Christina]

Here is the list that we used to have on the old site.

Higher Education

Dr. John Berardi

Dr. Tudor Bompa

Dr. Lawrence Golding

Dr. Edward T. Howley

Dr. Fred Hatfield

Dr. Len Kravitz

Dr. Stuart McGill

Dr. Steven Fleck

Dr. William Kraemer

Dr. Shirley Sahrmann

Strength and Conditioning Coaches, Personal Trainers, Physical Therapists, Dietitians

Kelly Bagget

Michael Boyle

Nancy Clark

Gray Cook

Alwyn Cosgrove

Eric Cressey

Jason Feruggia

Vern Gambetta

Brian Grasso

Gary Gray

Bill Hartman

Dan John

Ian King

Annette Lang

Evan Osar

Glenn Pendlay

Charles Poliquin

Mark Rippetoe

Mike Roberston

Robb Rogers

Martin Rooney

Greg Roskopf

Juan Carlos Santana

Christian Thibaudeau

Pavel Tsatsouline

Chad Waterbury

Chuck Wolf

Mark Verstegen