To find answers, you probably look in running or fitness magazines, read health newsletters, search the Internet or talk with friends. Another approach for answers is the increasing use of fitness experts or personal trainers. Some people need just the answers.
Personal training remains one of the fastest growing segments of the fitness industry.
However, the credentials to work as a fitness expert are not well defined. In fact, the academic training, experience and qualifications needed to designate someone a fitness expert vary greatly from individual to individual and organization to organization. Terms such as fitness specialist, fitness consultant, exercise specialist, exercise physiologist and personal trainer are commonly used and sometimes confuse the consumer. Adding to the confusion is the fact that dozens of organizations are available to certify an individual as a fitness consultant or expert. Those certifications that I recommend are a personal trainer or clinical exercise specialist through the American Council on Exercise, a clinical exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine or an exercise physiologist through the American Society of Exercise Physiologists.