CFT

I signed up for the ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer program on July 9.  I didn't really share the information with many people.  I did a lot of research prior to signing up.  ISSA is one of the relatively cheaper certifications and is self-study.  I spoke to the owner of my gym and she has her certification from ISSA and told me as soon as I was done I could work there as much or as little as I wanted.  Some of the other courses are extremely expensive and while very in depth, were said to go over a lot of things that aren't necessarily "useful" in daily fitness training.  If I was going to spend the money and dedicate the time to studying I wanted to be studying what would actually help me.  I've always done research for fitness....running, weight lifting, dieting, macros, I'm always reading up on new things and watching YouTube for new ideas and topics.  I learned a lot from this certification.  The course guide is definitely something I will keep on hand for reference.  ISSA gives you 4 months to complete the course and exam.  I wanted it complete prior to my Hawaii trip.  I happily hit submit on my exam yesterday after working on the actual exam portion for about 3 weeks.  The multiple choice portion only took about an hour and a half.  The six essays and two case studies took a good 12 hours. I got the email last night that I passed and was super excited! 

Today I had to get CPR/AED certified in order to send in my certification and get my actual ISSA certificate mailed to me.  The cheapest CPR/AED course I could find was through the Fire District.  I showed up this morning to the fire district headquarters and pulled around to see all sorts of EMT and FEMA vehicles in the lot.  There were not many places left to park but I found one.  Many of you  know that I do not like parking next to anyone and will gladly park a mile away if necessary. I did not have that option today.  When I walked into the classroom area there was equipment and EMT personnel everywhere.  I found my classroom and was told by my instructors, Bryan and Shaun, that I was the only one in the class.  My first thought was "good, nobody else will park next to  me then."  Bryan told me all the EMT/FEMA people were there for a training drill.  I mentioned seeing all kinds of equipment and he said there was 2.5 MILLION dollars of equipment out in that hallway.  That is some serious training right there.  My CPR training consisted of using about $1,000 worth of equipment in the form of an AED machine.  I had been a bit nervous about the course but it went great.  Bryan asked me if I had taken CPR before and I said I thought so around ninth grade.  He responded "So about 5-6 years ago then."  Bryan we are going to get along just wonderfully. 

When Bryan first demonstrated compressions he made it look so easy.  I was all ready to go and it didn't go quite as easily as Bryan made it look.  He pointed out he weighs a bit more than I do.  I had to put quite a bit of weight into it.  Those compressions get exhausting quickly.  Also, since I had drank about 10 oz. of water prior to going in, every compression I did also delivered a sloshing sound of water in my stomach.  Not embarrassing at all. 

I got to put the pads on the dummy and yell clear and use the AED machine to deliver a shock. Bryan gave me his card and said if I ever have to use my new skills he expects a call to let him know how it went and how I feel.  He really impressed me.  As did Shaun as he was learning to teach the class/just me and he gave me several good tips.  I was pretty fascinated by all the medical photos and equipment laying around and wanted to ask Shaun a lot of questions but just asked him if he had to guess how many times he had done CPR what he would say.  He said he lost count a long time ago. 

My three hour course only took half the time and I got a face mask as a going away gift in case I ever need it. I hope to never have to use it.  I also hope that if I do, it isn't a use it or lose it skill that I learned today. 

So we will see where my new certification takes me.  I would love to do some training/online training and already have a connection that came up today with Gold's Gym.  So....who knows but the possibilities are exciting!