What are the laws or standards surrounding personal trainers with your organization recommending supplements to their clients
Hello Dianna,
A similar question was asked here months ago:
http://www.ideafit.com/answers/how-do-you-feel-about-selling-supplements…
I answered:
AFAA Supplement Policy:
http://pdfs.afaa.com/nps.pdf?SID=000181770455502550043621412467522970928…
Holding an AFAA Personal Training Certification, AFAA has a Supplement Policy which should be read.
I work in a facility that recently brought on board a supplement line which I do not actively participate in the selling of those products.
With thousands of supplements available, some clients will ask about a product they are currently taking or think about taking.
I simply quiz them on why they think they need supplementation and make sure they thoroughly read all the ingredients and let them decide for themselves.
I Hope This Helps!
Michael
Thanks Michael. There is a very lively discussion going on at Linkedin. However it has been co-opted by MLM salesmen pushing their products. The question was asked of fitness professionals, however only a handful of real fitness professionals are answering. And, the ones who are are into selling their beliefs and supplements to their clients. I find it frighting that in our industry there are those out there who go outside of their scope of training or knowledge.
Hi Dianna,
I know that some trainers feel differently about selling supplements, and they often do so with the best of intentions as they are repeating what the MLM companies tell them. Who knows; the ones on LinkedIn may all be licensed dietitians ……. Considering all the possible drug / supplement interactions, I would be too afraid to recommend any.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com
Hi Dianna,
I just went to this LinkedIn forum and read the discussion there.
The thing that came to my mind is that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It is easy to convince oneself that one acts in the client’s best interest even knowing at the same time that one stands to profit from the sale of a specific product. In the case of supplements, I find is scary to read how many forum participants think that it is perfectly okay to make such recommendations when they have done ‘their own experiments and research’.
All we can hope for is that nobody gets hurt ……
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com