**The Natural Fitness Trainers Association

Table of Contents

1. About The NFTA Free Membership.

2. Why should I choose the NFTA?

3. What are the NFTA training principles?

4. Are NFTA members subject to drug & polygraph testing?

5. How long will it take me to become Certified?

6. Why is Free Re-testing important?

7. When do I test?

8. What is the difference between membership types?

9. Can I print a copy of the NFTA study guidebook?

10. Where is my certificate and the other materials that you promised?

11. Why haven't I been sent a password to the members' area?

12. I want to support Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness. How can I help the NFTA?

13. I am a health and fitness expert. How can I become a member of the NFTA Health & Fitness Advisory Board?

14. What is your refund policy?

15. What is your privacy policy?

About The NFTA Free Membership.

Join the NFTA and your first year's membership is *Free. This includes all the standard benefits of membership: access to the members' area, online study materials, free business documents & forms, continuing education, and more: excluding only testing and certification. We will not ask you for credit card information and you pay only when you want to become certified. You have much to gain and nothing to lose by taking advantage of this unique opportunity.

Add "A member of the Natural Fitness Trainers Association" to your Résumé, today!

*This offer is for new members only, is non-transferable, has no cash value, cannot be combined with other offers, subject to our membership requirements, may be withdrawn or extended without notice, is for a limited time only and may be subject to other restrictions or modifications as deemed necessary by the NFTA.

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Why should I choose the NFTA?

A new member recently remarked that you should join the NFTA, "If you're tired of having to bite your lip when answering the other associations' questions..." This excellent insight was the very reason that the NFTA was formed. Join the NFTA, if you want real results using the most realistic and down-to-earth training methods.

There are also many other great reasons to join:

• NFTA methods are approved by an Expert Board of Health Professionals. If you find another association with a larger, more diverse, more experienced, and more educated group of health professionals - please let us know.

• Our staff and our board members are unpaid volunteers. There is no other PT certification association that receives this level of unpaid/unbiased support from heath professionals and the health & fitness community.

• Affordable Membership Fees: This is made possible because the NFTA is run similar to a Non-Profit organization. We do not use paid advertising. Our site is advertising supported. And as stated above, our staff are unpaid volunteers. We are happy to pass this huge savings on to you. The only reason we haven't filed for non-profit status is so that we can maintain complete control over the operation of the NFTA.

• International Sanction & Accreditation: We have members in every state and throughout much of the world.

• Realistic Natural Training Programs and Methods: {Programs and Methods that, when slightly modified, will also work great for steroid users. Although we strongly recommend against drug use.}

• Fair Testing, which includes Free Re-Testing, if necessary.

• Convenient Online Study and Testing.

• No Waiting Period and No Time Limits. Let us know when you want to test and we will send you a link to your online test.

• Free Business Documents & Forms to help you get started in your business. Plus, we will be adding more A.S.A.P!

• Impressive Certificate & I.D. Card.

• Access to our growing Members' Area.

• Publication of your Articles and Research.

• Superior Testing Format: An applicable test that covers the knowledge needed to work as a Personal Fitness Trainer, not an M.D.

• Small Yearly Dues: to pay for continuing and upgraded service for our members.

• A Genuine Opportunity for advancement within the Association. Get on board now and grow with us!

Important Notes: Unlike certification programs sponsored by medical organizations that emphasize the chemical changes that exercise has upon the body and the treatment of athletic injuries; The NFTA emphasizes training strategy & technique and the prevention of injuries.

Furthermore, we believe that the use of complex theories, formulas, and fancy terminology is not only (largely) unnecessary but its very focus is damaging to the personal trainer profession. A personal trainer simply does not need to learn how to read "blood gas profiles" or to learn about other highly technical medical procedures. Requiring a personal trainer to spend the majority of their time on such material is not only unnecessary and distracting, but plainly - it is ridiculous. A personal fitness trainer’s education should focus on “exercise”.

If you agree, then join the NFTA, where you will learn what you (really) need to know to be an effective and successful personal trainer or fitness enthusiast. Using no unnecessary medical jargon, or inapplicable study material, we plainly tell you what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and why to do it. And we do this using a "personal" tone. After all, you are learning to be a "personal" trainer. Right?

We think and hope that you will like the unheard of, refreshing, open, and down-to-earth (real world) way that our organization is managed and our material is presented. At the NFTA, we put the "personal" back into "personal trainer".

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What are the NFTA Natural Training Principles?

As there is some confusion among the public as to the meaning of training "Natural", it is important that we first explain our use of this term. In general, when weight lifters say they train "natural" or "naturally", they mean that they train without the use of Steroids or other Physique Enhancement type drugs. Additionally, many "natural" fitness enthusiasts also use over-the-counter supplements. Now with that understanding, please read on about our training principles.

To completely explain our training principles (in this FAQ), would take too much space. Briefly, we believe that those who train naturally cannot safely & effectively train as frequently, as intensely, or for as long per workout session as those who train using drugs. We also believe in the use of safe and proven supplements. And if you liked the magazine Muscle Media 2k^®, before it became Muscle Media^®, or Bill Phillips and the Body-for-LIFE^TM exercise principles, then you should like our exercise principles and our down-to-earth writing tone.

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Are NFTA members subject to drug & polygraph testing?

No, the drug & polygraph testing requirement has been dropped. It was too expensive and too difficult to enforce. The best we can do is to spread accurate and reliable knowledge to those who desire optimum fitness through weight training and dietary supplementation.

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How long will it take me to become an NFTA Certified Trainer?

It depends on your present experience level, your ability to learn and absorb the material, and most of all, on your initiative. Study in our online members' area and submit payment when you are ready to test. We will respond with a link to your online test.

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Why is Free Re-testing Important?

We believe it is an unethical conflict of interest for a certifying organization to profit from failing its students.  A more in-depth explanation follows.

The International Dance Exercise Association (IDEA) once admitted that their pass rate was only 64%. And they were proud of it, remarking that it reflects on the toughness of their testing. We disagree and think that instead of it being a positive, it reflects on the quality of their expensive, haughty, and unnecessarily technical testing materials, seminars, and programs.

Some other certifying organizations have failure rates that run over a whopping 80%. One popular association we investigated had a failure rate of 84%. And that's after their clients had taken and paid for travel, study materials, and a "stuffy" weekend long seminar. Furthermore, some of those clients were taking and failing the test for the third time. What happens next is that they (more than 8 out of 10) have a terrible choice to make. Either pay the association yet another $100-$300 dollars, to be tested yet again, or lose all of the time and money that they had already invested.

We question the integrity and goals of such associations and we want you to know that the NFTA is an association that you can trust. *We do not charge re-testing fees. We don't have to; our goal is not to generate income through failing you.

*Eligible members can test free as often as necessary; however, we reserve the right to withdraw this benefit, if we deem it is being abused.

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When do I test?

Whenever you're ready. Just go to our sign-up/payment page and submit the appropriate payment. We will generally respond within 24 hours with a link to your online test. Please keep in mind that our offices are closed on Holiday's and Weekends. We ask that you allow 4-6 business days for us to grade and return your test results.

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What is the difference between membership types?

A Certified Natural Fitness Success Coach^TM - must pass an online exam with a minimum grade of 85%. No experience required. Choose this to learn the safest and most efficient & effective Natural training methods for your own personal knowledge/benefit or to add, as extra clout, to your existing personal trainer certifications. Age 18 & Up.

A Certified Natural Strength & Conditioning Trainer^TM - must pass an online exam with a minimum grade of 90%. No experience required. This is our most affordable personal trainer level certification. Age 18 & Up.

A Certified Natural Fitness Trainer^{® -} must pass an online exam with a minimum grade of 90%. Requires 1 year of exercise or fitness related work experience or 1 year as a Certified Natural Strength & Conditioning Trainer^TM. Age 18 & Up.

A Certified Master Fitness Trainer^® - must pass an online exam with a minimum grade of 95%. Requires 3 years of personal training experience, an associate's degree in a health & fitness related field, or 1 year as a Certified Natural Fitness Trainer.  Age 18 & Up.

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Can I print a hard copy of the NFTA study guidebook?

All active members are Authorized and encouraged to download and print one personal copy of our book, The No Nonsense Guide to Natural Bodybuilding. Available in the members' area.

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Where is my certificate and the other materials that you promised?

A certificate and I.D. card will be sent to you promptly after passing the certification test. The other promised materials are available in the members area. Your password to the members area will be sent to you within 24 hours of your completed membership application, excluding Holiday's and Weekends.

Please let us know when you're ready to test and we will quickly begin the process of setting it up for you.

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I want to support Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness. How can I help the NFTA?

The first and most important thing that you can do is to become a member of the NFTA. Membership is Free, so everyone that wants to learn about or support Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness can do so. If you're seeking employment or currently working in the fitness field, you can support the NFTA by obtaining an NFTA Personal Trainer Certification for a small fee.  And lastly, please spread the word. Add a link on your website and tell everyone you can that you support the Natural Fitness Trainers Association.

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What is your privacy policy?

Privacy Policy: Your privacy is important and our privacy policy respects that. We do not sell, lease, loan, or rent, our member's personal information. We do not use propriety software to collect email addresses. We do not spam. We will not publish our members contact information, unless given specific member authorization for inclusion in our planned online database. At this time, those wishing to locate and hire an NFTA certified trainer are welcome to contact us. Please provide your name, your location, and a way to contact you, and we will forward that information to NFTA trainers in your area. Cookies: Our site uses cookies to track users clicking through to the site via affiliate links so that the affiliate may be credited with the sale. Other features of the site also use cookies for functionality but these are not linked to personally identifiable information. Logging & statistics: Our web site records logs of users visiting the site in order that these may be analyzed for statistical purposes. As with most such stats systems, information on IPs of users visiting the site, referrers and other such data is recorded and stored. Additionally, due to threats and harassment that we occasionally receive from angry drug users and their supporters; we must include the following privacy policy exceptions: All e-mail received by the NFTA is considered intended for publication unless otherwise indicated in the initial message from the writer. Furthermore, by submitting or communicating anything to us (that we consider to be harassing, threatening, or abusive in any way) via email, U.S. mail services, fax, telephone, or other means - you are giving permission to the Natural Fitness Trainers Association to use the information for promotional, business, or informational purposes. To be used as we deem appropriate. Submissions or other communications may be edited due to space considerations and for clarity, form, and content, Your submission or communication may be published, including your identity, email address, any other personal or business information, including an editorial on this website. THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY BEFORE YOU COMMUNICATE WITH US. We suggest that if you choose to use drugs that it is your personal choice. Please allow the NFTA and our members the same consideration to choose not to use drugs.

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**For permission to access this website you must agree to the NFTA disclaimer and terms of service.

Muscle Media 2k ^® and Muscle Media ^® are registered trademarks of Muscle Media, Inc. Body-for-LIFE^TM is a trademark of EAS, Inc. The NFTA website and its contents are Copyright © 2002-2013 by the Natural Fitness Trainers Association. All rights reserved.