Personal Fitness Professional - March 2009 - (Page 15) being concerned with results.” “‘Certified’ is a buzzword for most clients; they don’t have any easy way to research the rigor of any particular certification. In this case, fitness pros are like doctors: If you are ‘certified,’ you must be okay [to them].” “No, they don’t know anything about them. They want you to be certified but all they really care about is the friend of theirs that you helped out, and they want those same results.” “I have been training for over a decade now, and I have only been asked three times during that period what certifications I hold. It appears that the only real concern folks have is that they get a good ‘workout’ in.” “Initially, yes. It provides a sense that your trainer has taken the time to acquire knowledge and has backing of an organization. Later, no, provided the trainer has clients with positive results without injury.” “Just as cooking can be done in different styles, I believe personal training can be done in different styles, such as being more functional, postrehab or bodybuilding-oriented. It is difficult to reach agreements on all training methods and what is best.” “I think this would drive the cost up to where many quality folks wanting to instruct could not afford to be certified, and the industry would suffer because of a lack of instructors.” “I think it is a great idea. It would make it more challenging to become a personal trainer, which would weed out the people that are ‘less serious’ or ‘less qualified’ for the job, which in turn would [raise] the standards of our profession.” “I think it’s a joke. Anyone with interest in the industry knows which programs are good and which are just paper mills…. If you standardize the certification process, it will raise prices, restrict development of new ideas and force candidates to fewer choices.” “I think it’s a waste of time and money. Most trainers who are certified only do it to get or maintain their job as a personal trainer. Most trainers adapt their own methods of training and forget all about what they learned in the certification.” ➤ What are your thoughts on standardizing the certification process? For: 73% Against: 13% Indifferent/undecided: 14% Unlike the previous question, this one showed a majority, and the majority is for standardization. Many agreed that it would be useful, but some questioned about who would be the standardizing body. Credibility was a huge issue here, and some of you compared fitness certifications to the medical field, noting that doctors have minimal requirements — why shouldn’t trainers? “Whose standard are you going to use? As much science as there is in the profession, getting results is more of an art based on the scientific principles.” marcH2009 · www.fit-pro.com 15 http://nfpt.com http://nfpt.com http://www.fit-pro.com
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