Are you a Zumba instructor looking to boost your skills and guide your clients toward better health and fitness? Exploring nutrition certifications could be your next big step. Picture this: not only can you offer customized workout plans, but you can also provide expert advice on diet, helping your clients achieve lasting results. In this article written by Insure Fitness Group, a well-known zumba instructor liability insurance provider we’ll walk you through four top nutrition certifications tailored to meet various client needs. From the well-established ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist to the modern NASM Certified Nutrition Coach, there’s a certification for everyone. Invest in your education and become the ultimate fitness and nutrition authority today!
ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist Certification
This is a classic certification that not only comes from a well-respected and well-recognized certification brand but also one that stands the test of time because it’s based on the foundations and essentials of nutritional science. No fad diets, no lose-weight fast tips, no weird calorie-cutting tricks—instead, this ACE cert teaches you, the personal trainer, how to teach your clients about how to change their nutritional behaviors, better understand their specific nutrition needs, and how to help them put what they learn from you into practice.
There are several different options for purchasing the materials needed to test for this certification, but typically the overall cost is no more than $300.
AFPA Weight Management Specialist Certification
Often, people choose to work with a personal trainer because they’re hoping to cut calories, achieve a healthier weight, and work toward better overall wellness. As you know, when it comes to weight loss, fitness and nutrition go hand-in-hand. That’s why specializing in this type of nutritional cert can be incredibly useful. If you have clients who need your nutrition help to promote weight loss, the Weight Management Specialist Certification could be the perfect cert for you!
This cert helps you learn how to advise your clients on healthy weight loss, lifestyle changes, and achieving goals through behavior modifications. Further, it takes a holistic approach to weight and health management, which (though it’s becoming increasingly popular) is still often considered a unique take on nutrition in the sports and fitness world.
ISSA Sports Nutrition Certification
Though this cert program is still considered fairly new in the cert world, it’s a fabulous program for personal trainers who want to teach their clients nutrition with a focus on muscle development, athletic ability, and fitness.
This program is all about how to train athletes, sports enthusiasts, and fitness fanatics in their nutritional realm—you’ll learn about concepts like carbohydrate loading, dive into sports-related supplements that could aid in your clients’ nutritional regimens, and even learn the best (and healthiest ways) to advise your clients to lose fat while building muscle. Typically, this program costs about $699.
NASM Certified Nutrition Coach Certification
If you want a nutrition certification that’s all about modernity and hot topics in nutrition, look no further than the NASM Certified Nutrition Coach Cert. A new cert in the NASM repertoire (seriously, it just came out in 2019), this program is all about the cutting-edge technology that’s related to overall wellness, burning fat, and gaining muscle.
Much of this program is based on newer additions to nutrition, like macronutrients, dietary patterns, discussions of fad diets, and much more. The overall goal of this program is to provide you with a modern take on what nutrition has evolved to, how you can advise clients on breaking and healing from mental plateaus with diet and nutrition, and how to teach your clients the skills to combat behavioral eating with nutritional science.
While the price is set to vary, this NASM is typically listed at about $899. This one is pricy, for sure, but it’s also a well-rounded and modern approach to what fitness and nutrition have evolved to. No antiquated nutrition tips here, friends.
Remember, there are so many different certifications out there—don’t be afraid to do a little research on your own.
No matter what cert you go with, take a moment to pat yourself on the back and be proud—you’re continuing your education one step at a time, and with every passing day, you’re becoming the best personal trainer and coach you possibly can be!
