First, you should read “How to Use Search,” which explains how to use the search function and further hone your search using the word or phrase search. Use our search function to find an article on the topic you are looking for. If you do not believe there is a topic, please email your question to our Research Corner. This can be done by clicking on “Contact Us.”

How to Use Search

Choose specific searches topics by: author, category, or keywords or use our word or phrase search. 

Our content search works in a similar way to other search engines.

To get the best out of your search, we suggest you:
• Refine your search term to one to three words
• Do not include words that will appear many times in the content (e.g. fitness, training, personal training, etc.)
• Be sure to spell the terms correctly

Our search works like this:
• Results are displayed in date released order
• You can change the order on the search results page by sorting alphabetically or by top rated
• Results are displayed as “Articles + Q & As”, “Audio Interviews” and “Videos.”

Example: the term "Power Training" would look for terms, "Power" and "Training." As Power Training is a term in the keywords, it will display those results first (in date order released) and then look for term in the title and then in the text of the content and display those results.

Yes, the articles are for your personal use and for use with your clients. Please remember that you cannot share articles or any other information on the PTontheNET.com web site with non members, other than your clients.

To protect the copyright of our content, we must give you approval to use our content for this purpose. Click on “Contact Us” and send us a short email detailing the article, etc. you want to use and the planned use of this content.

If you are an individual member, you can only use articles and exercises that you add through our Client Content feature. Logon to your membership page and click on “My account”, then select the “My Website” box. You cannot use PTontheNet.com articles, exercises or any other content in any other way. To do so is a breach of our international copyright.

Go to the Research section of the web site and select the “Category” drop down menu in the blue search box. In the drop down menu, select “profile & assessment forms”.

When your file has completed downloading, you should follow the instructions in your MP3 player's manual in order to copy the interview to your MP3 player.

You will see a little window pop up asking what you want to do with the MP3. Note that this window is browser specific and is beyond our control. Each browser operates slightly differently, but all ask the user if they want to open or save the file. Usually you will click on SAVE, but it will depend on the browser you are using.

The audio interview files are quite large so they will take a time to download. This is especially the case if you are a dial up user. If you do not have high speed access we suggest your download the audio interviews on a computer that has high speed access.

• Ensure you have your computer speakers plugged in and turned on. Are you able to listen to other sounds on your computer? If not, this might indicate you have an issue with the sound hardware on your computer.
• In order to listen to the audio interviews, you need to download Microsoft Silverlight.

You are not able to print the exam questions prior to taking the CEC exam. We have introduced new functionality to introduce a higher standard and integrity to the online exam process for the accreditation organizations. Exam questions are randomly generated, the exam is timed and each question is presented on a separate page.

This means you are seeing the visitors version. You need to log on to your membership and your will see this link Click Here when you are ready to take the CEC exam.

We have introduced timed exams to increase the integrity of the exam process. The time is displayed in the top right hand corner of each question. The exam questions answered by you are automatically sent for grading after the time has expired. If you are on one of the question pages for more than 20 minutes, the page will time-out and your exam session will be cancelled. This is a constraint of the internet on secure web sites. Please DO NOT use the back button on your internet browser while you are taking this exam. – this will cause an error.

These are added three times a year on January 1, May 1 and September 1.

When you are logged on to your member’s page, click on “My CECs” (under My Account), then click “Print” beside the exam title and then choose the certification (ACE, NSCA, etc) you want to print the certificate for. You can print a Certificate of Completion for more than one certification.

You cannot view your certificate because Active Scripting is disabled in your “Internet Zone” security settings for the Internet Explorer browser. To allow the certificate to show, please:

1. Open the Internet Explorer browser and select the menu options Tools > Internet Options. Select the security tab.
2. Select the trusted sites icon and then click the Sites button.
3. Do you have any other sites listed in here? If no, proceed to step 4. If yes, proceed to step 5.
4. If you have no sites currently in this list, please uncheck the option "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" and add the site www.ptonthenet.com to the list of your allowed sites. This is done by typing in www.ptonthenet.com and pressing the “Add” button. Click “OK” at all screens to save your changes and return to the browser. Please close your browser and reopen, logging onto the PTontheNet.com site and then access your certificate.
5. If you have other sites currently listed in the allowed sites list and you have the option "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone,” and you require this option enabled, please do the following:

• Cancel out of the Sites dialog and select the “Internet Zone” icon.
• For the purposes of printing the certificate, you should click on the “Custom Level” button and in the list of options, find the one that says “Active Scripting.” You should Enable this feature. Click “OK” at all dialogs to save changes and return to the Internet Explorer browser. Please close your browser and open again, logging onto the PTontheNet.com site. You should now be able to view and print your certificate. Once you have viewed and printed your certificate, you can go back and Disable Active Scripting.
  

There are two ways to obtain your CECs on the site: through the CEC exams, which are free as part of the PTontheNET.com membership, and through our Online & DVD Courses section - we have over 100 courses available from leading fitness educators. To purchase courses, go to ONLINE and DVD COURSES and browse the courses available.

Use the SEARCH CEC function under the CECs section to find Courses and Events that have been approved by your Certification.

You are able to print a generic Certificate of Completion. This is called: 

•  “Personal Training on the Net” for CEC Exams
• “Print CEC Hours for Other Certifications” for online/DVD and Video courses.

The Certificate of Completion shows the number of hours to complete the course/exam. The Certificate of Completion is designed to satisfy most organizations where the course or exam has not been officially approved. You send in the certificate to your accreditation agency and petition them for your CEC hours.

It is advisable to check with the accreditation agency first to make sure this is okay. Some organizations have the petition form available for download on their web sites.

The approval process with NATA is quite difficult because they approve courses and content that is directed at athletic trainers. Most of the exam content we have on PTontheNET.com is focused on personal trainers. To approve articles we select for CEC exams, NATA require a change to the focus of the content.

We realize that NATA certified professionals look for courses that have NATA approval for CECs. To search for NATA BOC approved for courses on PTontheNet.com, go to SEARCH CECs under CECs.

For those who are ACSM certified, continuing education credits from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) may be applied toward the ACSM continuing certification process.

As soon as you have completed the online CEC exam, it will be graded automatically. Your results will appear on a web page. You will also receive an email to confirm the result. You can print your Certificate of Completion by going to “My CECs” under My Account on your member’s home page.

Yes, you print the Certificate of Completion from your My CECs page and then send it to your Certification with your application to renew your Certification. Please check with your Certification organization for the process to do that.

If this page does not load properly, it may be because you do not have Silverlight installed onto your computer. Please use the following link to determine if you have Silverlight installed, http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/resources/install.aspx.

Silverlight is a Microsoft download that is free and easy to install. This is necessary to view the "Prepare" section of the site as well as view all of our videos.

To create a program, select the create-a-program button on the right side of the screen.

To start, give your program a title. Then select “get started”. You will then receive a pop up message that says the “program was created successfully and will automatically save as you make changes”.

PLEASE NOTE: This program will now be automatically saved as a template and will be stored in the “my templates” section of the site.

To edit the introduction, warm up and cool down section of the program, simply select “edit program details”.

PLEASE NOTE: The print options are also located in this area. You can choose to include pictures, descriptions and your notes on your printed program. Then select update to save your changes.

To edit the cardio section of the program, select the “edit cardio” program. You can either choose a cardio activity in the drop down box, or type in your own activity in the box below. In this section you can also make notes on intensity, duration or just leave a general comment. Once you are finish, select the green “add” button to the right and the select close. Underneath the cardio program, it will now say “this program has 1 activity associated with it.

To add or delete exercise variables (sets, reps, etc on a program)
•Select the green pencil icon to make changes to the sets, reps, tempo, intensity and rest and notes.
• Once a note has been added select update and a note icon will be added to the exercise.

There are three ways to add exercises to your program:
• Select the “+” button on the exercise.
• Drag and drop the exercise into your program.
• Select the “Add to program” button on the detailed view of the exercise.
You will receive a pop up box that says “the activity was successfully added”.
If you would like to delete the exercise, simply select the “x” icon on the exercise.

Select the “my custom activities” tab.
You can add your existing custom activities two ways:
• Selecting the blue “+” sign next to the exercise.
• Drag and drop the exercise in to your program.

• Select the “create a new custom activity” link under the “my custom activities” tab.
• Fill out the “New Activity” box accordingly.
• You can add up to two images. You can do this by selecting the “browse” button on the New Activity screen.
PLEASE NOTE: Keep images to a maximum of 230w x 150h (pixels) and file size as small as possible. If you don’t do this it will not render correctly in the printed version.
If you do not know how to resize your pictures: There is a lot of software you can use to reduce the size of your picture (e.g. Photoshop). You would have probably received software that can do this when you purchased your digital camera. If you are unsure how to reduce the size of your digital picture, please contact your camera manufacturer.

You can change the order of the exercises by selecting the up or down arrow on each exercise.

• Once you have finished making changes to the program, you can then add the program directly to a client by selecting the “+” sign next to the client.
• You will receive a pop up that says “the template/program was added successfully.”
• Please note that a copy of the program will be saved as a template under “my templates”.

• Go to your client’s programs by selecting you client’s name on the right side of the screen, under the “my clients” tab.
• This will display all of the programs associated with your client.
• Click on the “email client” link on the program.

Your client must have Internet Explorer version 6 installed to view the program.

On the Email it says:
Please Note : The printing layout of the fitness program relies on technology that is only available in the latest Web Browsers. Please Click Here to download the latest browsers.

Select the “view/print program” link on the program.

PLEASE NOTE: The print options are located under program details. You can choose to include pictures, descriptions and your notes on your printed program. Then select update to save your changes.

Select "create a new client" link at the bottom of the "my clients" tab.

Click on the gray “x” button next to your clients name under the “my clients” tab on the right.

PLEASE NOTE: If you delete a client with programs attached to that person, the programs will also be deleted, and the information cannot be retrieved. If you wish to keep the program for future use with other client and it has not already been saved as a template, select the “save as template” button at the top of the program.

• Click on your client under the “my clients” tab on the right.
• Select the gray “x” button to delete the program.
PLEASE NOTE: Once you have deleted a program, it is not retrievable. Do not delete a program which you have added as program of the month in client content.

• Click on your client under the “my clients” tab on the right.
• Then select the “client details” tab in the middle of the screen.
• Enter your clients email address in the give field.

The Gray Institute has given new nomenclature to exercises to provide a consistent naming pattern to over 6000 exercises that can be used by a range of “movement” specialists. The name is the description of the exercise or movement and, once understood, makes exercises easy to search.

The first drop down
• Where exercise is taking place
o Anterior – movement in front
o Posterior – movement behind
o Rotation – rotating
o Lateral – side to side
o Vertical – up and down

The second drop down
• The movement of the exercise (isolated/integrated)
o Isolated – focusing on one joint or muscle group
o Integrated – using multiple joints or muscle groups

The starting position drop down
• Where you want the exercise to start (kneeling, standing, sitting, etc.)
• See the nomenclature sheet for definitions of the following terms: LF(4)X. LNX, LWX, LXI(R), LXX, RD(-4)X, RNX, RWX, RXI(L), RXX, XNX, XWE, XWX, XXI

The driver drop down
• The movement that drives the exercise
• Select the body part you wish to use

The action 1 drop down
• The movement during the exercise
• Choose movement

The action 2 drop down is used when an exercise includes dual movements
• Functions the same as the action 1 drop down, but you’re able to select a second movement
• Choose movement

XNX= Narrow Stance
XNI= Narrow Stance/Toed In Stance
XNE= Narrow Stance/Toed Out Stance
LNX= Left Stride Stance/Narrow Stance
LNI= Left Stride Stance/Narrow Stance/Toed In Stance
LNE= Left Stride Stance/Narrow Stance/Toed Out Stance
RNX= Right Stride Stance/Narrow Stance
RNI= Right Stride Stance/Narrow Stance/Toed In Stance
RNE= Right Stride Stance/Narrow Stance/Toed Out Stance
XXX= Standing
XXI= Toed In Stance
XXE= Toed Out Stance
LXX= Left Stride Stance
LXI= Left Stride Stance/Toed In Stance
LXE= Left Stride Stance/Toed Out Stance
RXX= Right Stride Stance
RXI= Right Stride Stance/Toed In Stance
RXE= Right Stride Stance/Toed Out Stance
XWX= Wide Stance
XWI= Wide Stance/Toed In Stance
XWE= Wide Stance/Toed Out Stance
LWX= Left Stride Stance/Wide Stance
LWI= Left Stride Stance/Wide Stance/Toed In Stance
LWE= Left Stride Stance/Wide Stance/Toed Out Stance
RWX= Right Stride Stance/Wide Stance
RWI= Right Stride Stance/Wide Stance/Toed In Stance
RWE= Right Stride Stance/Wide Stance/Toed Out Stance

Go to the “my account” section of the site. Click on the “My Payment History” box and then on “Print” beside the transaction for which you want a receipt.

When you are signed on to your member’s page, you will be able to access discounts on Courses and Box Office events. The discount available to you will be shown on the page that contains the course or event description. Make sure you are signed on to your members’ page before you access this page.

Log on to your member’s home page and click on “Change My Details” under My Account.

Your credit card will be charged with the monthly fee when you join and then each month afterward until you advise us by email that you wish to cancel your membership.

PTontheNet will charge your credit card for the instalment amount each month until you advise us in writing (or by email) to cease doing so, at which time your membership will expire.

Click on the date you want to modify. To remove an activity, Control Click the activity so that it is not highlighted. Click SAVE at the bottom.
To add another activity on that day, Control Click the second activity so it is highlighted in blue and SAVE.

Make sure you have created the program for your client. If you have a template you want this client to access, you must first convert that template to a program for your client – Design a Program from a template. You can only add programs listed under the client’s name to a training calendar for that client.

Images are the still pictures for this exercise. Image 1 is usually the start movement for the exercise, Image 2 is usually during the exercise movement and Image 3 is usually the end of the movement. Image files are optional - you do not have to provide images if you don't want to. If you do provide images, you do not have to provide two images - if one image illustrates the exercise adequately, then you only need to provide Image 1.

You can name your files whatever you like, BUT please do not use spaces in the filenames. Use underscores instead. So use "my_exercise.jpg" instead of "my exercise.jpg." Exercise images must be in jpg format.
Exercise Pictures – What is the best size for the images?
Images must NOT be more than 230 w x 150 h pixels. You can use imaging software such as PhotoShop to modify image sizes.

Click on “Browse” beside the image input area to search for the image files on your computer. When you click on SAVE, your browser will upload the images automatically.

• Lo Res (low-resolution) videos are those that are specifically designed for dial-up users. These videos tend to be lower in quality and generally have a smaller file size so that dial-up users can download them faster. A lo-res video is optional, though we do recommend you supply one. File size for lo-res video should be typically less than 120kb.
• Hi Res (hi-resolution) videos are those that are specifically designed for broadband (DSL/cable) users. These videos tend to be higher in quality and consequently have a larger file size, optimized for use in an environment where download speed is not an issue. A hi-res video is optional, though we do recommend that you supply one. File size for hi-res video should be typically less than 300kb.
  

You can name your files whatever you like, BUT please do not use spaces in the filenames. Use underscores instead. So use "my_exercise_video.wmv" instead of "my exercise video.wmv."

WMV is the only format accepted.

Please supply your exercises in WMV format, so that it can be played in Microsoft Windows Media Player. Your videos should ideally be the same size as the images (approx 230 (insert space here) w x 150 h) and no more than the following file sizes:

• Hi Res – 300kb
• Lo Res – 120kb
  

No, that is entirely at your option. You can use PTontheNet.com’s categories if you want, create your own names or have none! Creating categories helps you in looking for the right exercise if you have added many of these to your library.

This feature has been added to PTN Trainer Online so you can use our Exercise Library but change the descriptions and title to fit in with the way you trainer your clients. For example, many of our exercise descriptions are targeted at the trainer rather than the client – so this feature gives you the options to modify the descriptions.

We have created functionality in PTN Trainer Online that allows you to take any PTontheNet.com exercise and add it to My Exercise Library. This way you can change the exercise description, title and other details if you want to. So this functionality gives you more flexibility than the My Favorites option.

No – the reason for this is that if an exercise has been used in a program and it is deleted, an error message will result in the programs. For this reason, we don’t allow exercises to be deleted. If you have an exercise that you don’t want to use, we suggest you modify it to another exercise.

The Create-A-Program tool is designed to have two exercises display on each page. If the descriptions are too long or the exercise pictures you have uploaded are too big, it may result in some of the exercises being displayed over two pages. To fix this, reduce the exercise description and/or check the size of your images.

You have two options:

1. Go to My Clients, View Existing Clients, select a client and click Update. Then click on Fitness Programs and New Fitness Program for this client.
2. Go to Create a Program and go through the process of creating a program that way.

Either option will result in the program being listed in your client’s programs under the My Client section.

Your client needs Flash installed to view the PTontheNet.com videos. Please provide this link to your client to download the player: http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

If you have added your own videos, your client will need a later version of Windows Media Player. This is the link:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.mspx

The creation of Flash format videos usually requires the interface of a technical person to create these files. If you have Flash video files you want to upload, please contact info@ptonthenet.com