NTC Fitness instructor and personal training course

chriity139

As above just booked the course for july.

I am just wondering has anyone on here done the course. If so what did you think of it ?

Dermighty

I did it in Cork.

It's basic but a necessary building block if you want to be a fitness instructor/personal trainer without going to college, as far as I've heard.

You would not be an expert, having completed the course.

It's very expensive, I felt.

Burkatron

chriity139 wrote: »

As above just booked the course for july.

I am just wondering has anyone on here done the course. If so what did you think of it ?

Get your money back & go to LAI or Image Fit, far more up to date courses, the NTC need to overhaul their course at this stage!

Hanley

Burkatron wrote: »

Get your money back & go to LAI or Image Fit, far more up to date courses, the NTC need to overhaul their course at this stage!

Full agree. Heard some shocking things from NTC trainers recently.

Dermighty

Hah, I was going to lambaste the NTC but I said I wouldn't, seeing as other people have I have to agree with the other posters.

The course is ok but the instructors (that I had) ranged from decent to moronic in their approach. In particular one of them in Cork was just a c*nt.

I am sure there's better courses out there, the NTC course might look good on paper but it's worth **** all to you in the actual job, with the exception of designing programs for complete beginners.

Hanley

Also not sure about the NTC course, just make sure any one you do has a EQF accreditation (ie REPS). I'm obviously biased when it comes to these things but I really believe in the LIA course, its content and the other tutors.

chriity139

Cheers lads will looks up LIA and image fit

Will Heffernan

chriity139 wrote: »

Cheers lads will looks up LIA and image fit

I bet you those posts were just what you wanted to hear

I will defer to the experience and knowledge of others who seem to know exactly what is what when it comes to courses on the ground/

I will offer you the stock standard advice I give to anyone that asks regarding courses and training...that being...get whatever qualification that you can...the fastest and cheapest way possible...that enables you to work and most importantly to get insurance of the personal indemnity and public liability variety.

Good luck. I don't think you will you find anyone that will be able to tell you honestly that any single course that they've done be them in or with independent bodies or government institutions prepared them completely for personal training or strength and conditioning in general.

Burkatron

Will Heffernan wrote: »

I bet you those posts were just what you wanted to hear

I will defer to the experience and knowledge of others who seem to know exactly what is what when it comes to courses on the ground/

I will offer you the stock standard advice I give to anyone that asks regarding courses and training...that being...get whatever qualification that you can...the fastest and cheapest way possible...that enables you to work and most importantly to get insurance of the personal indemnity and public liability variety.

Good luck. I don't think you will you find anyone that will be able to tell you honestly that any single course that they've done be them in or with independent bodies or government institutions prepared them completely for personal training or strength and conditioning in general.

Will, I've given that advice myself before...probably because I saw you do it...Monkey see monkey do & all that :cool: The problem is for the price you pay the NTC to get your basic Gym instructor & PT cert from VERY average lecturers in image fitness you get all of the above qualifications with workshops in Kettlebells,TRX,Strongman & a few others from better lecturers.

Hanley can sell LAI, but the lads I know that have come out of the courses there are better prepared then the guys I know coming out of the NCEF courses or the NTC (that's just my observation)

Will Heffernan

Burkatron wrote: »

Will, I've given that advice myself before...probably because I saw you do it...Monkey see monkey do & all that :cool:

Like I said in other threads 'the right advice is right no matter who it comes from'. I tell the same thing to people here in Australia. I have a couple of businesses now in the area and even have employees and their qualifications don't bother me and or excite me me in any way shape or form. I want you to have a basic qualification and be insurable...and whether that comes from a private course or a university I couldn't care less....you just 'tick' that box...what is far more important is your personality, experience and your attitude. I don't think it would be any different for prospective employers in Ireland and I know for sure that if you are looking to get into personal training...then your clients absolutely don't give a crap where you got your quals from....as they will be far more interested in your abs or lack thereof.

The problem is for the price you pay the NTC to get your basic Gym instructor & PT cert from VERY average lecturers in image fitness you get all of the above qualifications with workshops in Kettlebells,TRX,Strongman & a few others from better lecturers.

Hanley can sell LAI, but the lads I know that have come out of the courses there are better prepared then the guys I know coming out of the NCEF courses or the NTC (that's just my observation)

I don't have a clue about ANY of the organisations or quals in Ireland.

polly20

Did you decide to go ahead with the NTC for your course? Im an NTC graduate since January this year and to be honest i couldnt fault it, Iv set up my own fitness studio since March and its going strength to strength (literally ) your course is only a foundation as im sure any of them are, you really need to put in the work yourself outside it - Best of luck with it, I hope you enjoy working in the industry as much as i do.

chriity139

polly20 wrote: »

Did you decide to go ahead with the NTC for your course? Im an NTC graduate since January this year and to be honest i couldnt fault it, Iv set up my own fitness studio since March and its going strength to strength (literally ) your course is only a foundation as im sure any of them are, you really need to put in the work yourself outside it - Best of luck with it, I hope you enjoy working in the industry as much as i do.

Yes I start on the 29th of july Its great to hear of a success story like yours hope it keeps getting bigger and better for you

Heat_Wave

Awful course.

Very expensive.

Tutors were shocking.

As a previous poster said, Image Fitness.

gillyhug

HI Guys,
Would love to get any more recent information with regards what course i should do. I am looking to do a personal training course part time, this is mainly for my own learning and benefit as i love working out and what to get a a better understanding of what i am doing, but if i am going to invest a huge amount of time and money to doing this i want to make sure i walk away with the best qualification out there.

At the moment i had shortlisted it down to doing the NCEF course in Dublin with Motions.ie at Palmerstown Sports Complex. From research i got the impression this is a better accredited course and more widely recognised than ITEC.

I had received information from ImageFT but wasn't convinced, would love to hear more about LAI and Image Fit from anyone here, also how does a NTC qualification compare to NCEF.

cheers
Gillian

Will Heffernan

Maybe if all the other schools were allowed to advertise here like LIA were then we could have a proper discussion about their merits and the individual strengths and weaknesses of each of the organisations. As it stands you have boards allowing only one organisation...the LIA and one of its instructors...Hanley to have a complete free for all here to promote and advertise their own organisation while heaping scorn and ridicule on their competitors.

Mate100

chriity139 wrote: »

Yes I start on the 29th of july Its great to hear of a success story like yours hope it keeps getting bigger and better for you

Hey, I'm doing the course right now, have my exams shortly, any tips on passing?? How did you find the course? Personally I'm loving it but a bit nervous about the exams!

chriity139

Mate100 wrote: »

Hey, I'm doing the course right now, have my exams shortly, any tips on passing?? How did you find the course? Personally I'm loving it but a bit nervous about the exams!

Found the course alright man, I wouldnt really be worried the exams handy enough. For the mcq exams dont focus too much on 1 area its a few questions on each section of the course. As for the practicals just learn your muscles, joints and be confident and you should be fine

Mate100

Mate100 wrote: »

Hey, I'm doing the course right now, have my exams shortly, any tips on passing?? How did you find the course? Personally I'm loving it but a bit nervous about the exams!

Thanks, that gives me hope! Was there a good pass rate?? There's lots of talk about the exams since we got back! Did many of the people on your course get jobs after? Thinking of setting up on my own but would love some gym experience too.

chriity139

Yeah few got jobs. We wont get our results until the 25th of jan I think. Gym experience is handy to get, just email a few gyms and you should get something

Mate100

chriity139 wrote: »

Yeah few got jobs. We wont get our results until the 25th of jan I think. Gym experience is handy to get, just email a few gyms and you should get something

Sounds good! I might have been in your split and teach! Best of luck with the exam results!

chriity139

Cheers, yeah you might have been. When do your exams start

Mate100

chriity139 wrote: »

Cheers, yeah you might have been. When do your exams start

They start Feb 10th, not long now!

bredacq

Just wondering about the insurance that is needed for a fitness instructor? It's for my husband who did the NCEF and has had lots of requests to start Bootcamp classes in the locality.
Is it Personal Indemnity and Public Liability or just Public Liability that he would need to take out?
Any ideas what the average cost of this insurance would be? I've made a few calls on his behalf and some insurance companies are to get back to me with a quote, it doesn't seem to be like any other insurance where they can give you the quote straight away, and not all insurance companies seem to do it.
Any ideas on what the most competitive insurance company for this type of insurance might be?

Burkatron

bredacq wrote: »

Just wondering about the insurance that is needed for a fitness instructor? It's for my husband who did the NCEF and has had lots of requests to start Bootcamp classes in the locality.
Is it Personal Indemnity and Public Liability or just Public Liability that he would need to take out?
Any ideas what the average cost of this insurance would be? I've made a few calls on his behalf and some insurance companies are to get back to me with a quote, it doesn't seem to be like any other insurance where they can give you the quote straight away, and not all insurance companies seem to do it.
Any ideas on what the most competitive insurance company for this type of insurance might be?

Do the NCEF not have a preferred provider?? If not Call Balens or FitPro in the UK, far cheaper!!!

chriity139

Burkatron wrote: »

Do the NCEF not have a preferred provider?? If not Call Balens or FitPro in the UK, far cheaper!!!

Yeah its Balens in the UK

Mate100

bredacq wrote: »

Just wondering about the insurance that is needed for a fitness instructor? It's for my husband who did the NCEF and has had lots of requests to start Bootcamp classes in the locality.
Is it Personal Indemnity and Public Liability or just Public Liability that he would need to take out?
Any ideas what the average cost of this insurance would be? I've made a few calls on his behalf and some insurance companies are to get back to me with a quote, it doesn't seem to be like any other insurance where they can give you the quote straight away, and not all insurance companies seem to do it.
Any ideas on what the most competitive insurance company for this type of insurance might be?

Hey, I'm only half way through the course but I'm told we'll be covering insurance over the next few weeks so will post the name of the insurance company the college recommend. I'm told its necessary even if you work in a gym as you can be personally liable aswell.

Mate100

Mate100 wrote: »

Hey, I'm only half way through the course but I'm told we'll be covering insurance over the next few weeks so will post the name of the insurance company the college recommend. I'm told its necessary even if you work in a gym as you can be personally liable aswell.

We were also told its €125 per year.

Glowing

Just in case this is helpful to anyone, I'm halfway through a PT course with ImageFT. My overall impressions are good. The quality of the instruction is overall high, the content is up to date and the tutors are all successful, very knowledgeable and helpful (some more than others though). I use it as an opportunity to pick their brains, make contacts, and gain as much information and answers as I can in the short time, rather than just sticking with the course content as that's literally just skimming the surface of what we need to know.

I've done 3 or 4 of the workshops so far. The Kettlebell one was pretty poor imo and would not set you up for even basic instruction (the main idea being 'give everyone the lightest kettlebells possible so no matter what they do with them, they can't possibly injure themselves'). I've got a few years of (proper) KB training under my belt and I still wouldn't be qualified to teach, so it's very annoying to hear them pushing this workshop as anything more than just a basic introduction! Most of the class couldn't even do a basic swing correctly at the end of the day. Anyway, the bootcamp and strongman ones were brilliant and though I didn't make it to boxercise, I heard good things afterwards. I think you do need to be realistic however about how useful these workshops actually are - they shouldn't be the only reason you choose this company over another. If you really have an intention to teach bootcamp/KB/suspension training, it's going to take a lot more than a day to learn what you need to know - all you're getting here is an introduction.

Would be happy to answer any questions...

bredacq

Thànks Mate100, chriity139 and Burkatron, I got onto the NCEF and their preferred provider is Holistic Insurance Services,
http://www.holisticinsurance.co.uk/.

NCEF actually state it in on their website on the FAQs which I should have looked at before.
http://www.ncefinfo.com/faqs/q16-i-am-looking-to-set-up-my-own-exercisefitness-classes-in-my-community-hall-can-you-please-advise-me-on-how-i-go-about-obtaining-insurance-cover/.
Anyway, Holistic Insurance Services offer a discount of about €25 euro if you're a registered member of FPI so €98 if your a member €123 if you're not, but it costs €45 to register as a member which wouldn't really be of any benefit to my husband.
I also called Balens out of curiosity and they quoted me €116. We havent decided who to go with yet, I need to read the info that they are going to email me first.
Thanks again for your suggestions guys.