Powered by Google
Home
Listings
Editors' Picks
News
Music
Movies
Food
Life
Arts + Books
Rec Room
Moonsigns
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Personals
Adult Personals
Classifieds
Adult Classifieds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
stuff@night
FNX Radio
Band Guide
MassWeb Printing
- - - - - - - - - - - -
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Work For Us
Newsletter
RSS Feeds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Webmaster
Archives



sponsored links
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
PassionShop.com
Sex Toys - Adult  DVDs - Sexy  Lingerie


   
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend

A little better all the time
Personal growth is a growth industry — for everyone involved
BY BRIAN E. O’NEILL
Shaping up the details

• Aerobics and Fitness Association of America Primary Group Exercise Certification exam at World Gym, 85 Mill Street, in Brockton, on September 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. $289. Call (508) 588-8816, or visit www.afaa.com.

• Basic certification at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, in Lenox, from September 10 through 19; November 5 through 14; and January 21 through 30. $2889 to $6075, depending on room choice. Call (800) 741-7353, or visit www.kripalu.org.

• Certificate program at Fitness Resource Associates, 74 Crescent Road, in Needham, October 5 through December 16, on Tuesdays, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. $429. Call (781) 449-7327, or visit frausa.com.

• Certificate programs at the Cambridge College of Management, 1000 Mass Ave, in Cambridge. Schedule and pricing information for upcoming semester to be determined. Call (800) 877-4723, or visit www.cambridgecollege.edu.

• Home-study program with ImageMaker. $3050. Call (888) 845-5600, or visit www.imagemaker1.com.

• "So You Want To Be a Personal Trainer," at the Boston Center for Adult Education, 5 Comm Ave, in Boston, on August 11, from 5 to 8 p.m. $42 ($38 for members). Call (617) 267-4430, or visit www.bcae.org.

— Brian O'Neill

There’s potential in other people’s potential. By helping others reach their goals, whether it’s to look better, feel better, or perform better, there’s significant potential to develop your own career — or start a new one. Never mind the cliché images the term "personal growth" brings to mind. We’re not talking about a motivational speaker doling out silly self-help slogans. We’re talking about embracing the skills you may already have, or the activities you may already perform, and taking them up a notch: getting trained or certified as an official practitioner. It’s often not as difficult or as expensive or as labor-intensive as you might think. And around here, there’s no shortage of options.

PERSONAL-FITNESS TRAINER

Forget what you think you know about personal trainers. They’re not all twentysomething hard bodies with bulging biceps and taut tummies. They don’t necessarily even work in a gym, for that matter. Helping people lose weight, tone up, and get excited about living an active life can happen just about anywhere. And as people continue to live longer and healthier lives, there’ll be substantial increase in the need for people of all ages, shapes, and sizes to step in. Many trainers hold four-year degrees in exercise science, and that might be something to pursue. But you can kick off your life as a personal trainer by taking a basic certification course.

For starters, you might take the introductory seminar "So You Want To Be a Personal Trainer?" at the Boston Center for Adult Education. Taught by David Maloney, a certified trainer and fitness-center manager, this three-hour workshop explores the fitness industry in general, the ins and outs of training and certification, and building your business.

If you decide that getting certified is right for you, then check out Fitness Resource Associates, Inc., in Needham, which offers a 10-week, research-based certificate program that provides a primer on the exercise sciences as well as the behavioral and psychological objectives of fitness counseling. FRA’s training program was adopted by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (a national organization) in 1990 as its official training and certification program for personal trainers and fitness counselors. (Note that CPR certification is required before a training certificate can be issued.)

YOGA INSTRUCTOR

Though the heyday of yoga’s popularity might be coming to an end (it seems like yoga studios were the mid-’90s answer to the frozen-yogurt shops of the ’80s), it still remains a top-drawing class at fitness clubs, and studios across the city still pack students in mat-to-mat. The very idea of certifying yoga instructors is something of a hot-button issue in the yoga community (how do you certify someone in some of the more spiritual or esoteric areas of the practice?), but for creating a recognized standard of competence, it makes good sense.

The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, in Lenox, is the country’s largest center dedicated to yoga studies, and offers one of the most respected certification courses. (And, to boot, it’s nestled in the heart of the Berkshires, just steps away from the Tanglewood Center for the Performing Arts.) The most popular of Kripalu’s 200-hour basic certification options is the series of three nine-day sessions, as opposed to the month-long training. (All of Kripalu’s trainings are residential.) Applicants to the program are required to write an admission essay, and Kripalu requires a minimum of six months of training in an ongoing yoga class (as opposed to studying books or videos, or taking workshops).

PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL COACH

The New York Times reported in 2002 that up to 25,000 people classified themselves as personal or lifestyle coaches — a two-fold increase over three years. Because the industry is in its infancy, people are only beginning to consider the idea of hiring someone to encourage them in various areas of personal or professional development. What’s more, there are no nationally recognized guidelines dictating who can coach, and who can’t. Just about anyone can hang a shingle and call herself a "peak-performance specialist" or "personal-development coach."

It’s clear that as this industry continues on its upward path, those with proper credentials will fare best. (H.R. Monthly recently reported that business and executive coaching are the most effective ways to achieve professional development, and will see rising popularity among senior managers, not to mention those with management ambitions.)

The Cambridge College School of Management offers several graduate-level certificate programs (with transferable credits) in personal and professional coaching, with titles like "Introduction to Personal and Professional Coaching," "Applied Coaching Tools and Techniques," and "Advanced Coaching Tools and Techniques." All are focused on getting the beginning coach up to speed.

IMAGE CONSULTANT

Here’s another one of those high-growth-potential areas that’s starting to catch on among executive-level professionals looking for ways to make an impression at networking events, achieve the right look for media and public appearances, and just plain look good. It’s also one of those areas where just about anyone can claim the required skill set. More than simply telling clients what to wear, qualified consultants create the "full package" for their patrons — everything from fashion to verbal and nonverbal communication skills to good posture. (It’s a bit like finishing school.)

While you may have luck finding a related program here in Boston (such as beauty-consultant or fashion-designer training), there are no major educational programs dedicated to image consulting. However, a rather reputable home-study course could at least get you started. The ImageMaker, Inc. offers a comprehensive program, addressing the business and marketing of image consulting, as well as the all-important topics of color analysis, makeup and skin care, fashion and style, and etiquette. The program includes unlimited mentoring and coaching from the program’s developer.

AEROBICS INSTRUCTOR

The neon leg warmers and "unitards" might be a relic, but aerobics is alive and (literally) kicking, taking the best of its Jane Fonda glory days with it, and leaving the spandex behind. And it’s not all college girls and soccer moms filling classes. Take a look at the smash success of Punk Rock Aerobics, and you’ll see that this stuff can attract even the most ardent anti-gym-goer.

The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, a national association and certifying body, makes frequent stops in town to provide its Primary Group Exercise Certification exam, and test-prep classes that cover basic exercise standards and guidelines, anatomy, exercise science, exercise evaluation, and exam criteria. (You must have current CPR certification before you can receive a certificate.)

Brian E. O’Neill can be reached at brianeoneill@hotmail.com.


Issue Date: August 6 - 12, 2004
Back to the News & Features table of contents
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend
 









about the phoenix |  advertising info |  Webmaster |  work for us
Copyright © 2005 Phoenix Media/Communications Group