The Weekend Certification
The fitness industry certainly has many facets to it and the activities that promote health and well-being are numerous. This diversity provides different outlets for an assortment of goal oriented behaviors, some which are as easy as basic locomotion to others that require high levels of strength and coordination. Although there is an inordinate amount of fitness information available online and in the media, there still is a learning curve to getting started in a comprehensive fitness routine. This being said, most people can enter a fitness facility and through a combination of trial and error, imitation, basic inquiry, and some fundamental instruction learn to use an exercise bike, leg press machine, or perform a shoulder press exercise. Even more complicated devices like a physioball or TRX suspension system can be mastered by a fitness enthusiast through observation and some trial and error. Now with YouTube and programs like P90X, after only a couple of months a person can actually develop quite a repertoire of movement skills and exercises; and many actually use their proficiency to demonstrate the “how to’s” when working out with friends or family members. But does that make them qualified to be a personal trainer?
There are weekend courses that are offered in the fitness industry that present a certification exam at the end of the weekend and instantly certify persons as personal trainers with little to no background or experience. Certifiers of this nature suggest a fitness enthusiast can experience a twelve-hour tutorial and pass an exam to be a “certified” personal trainer. Although this may sound suspect, this may not be unlike the marketing ploys of other professions. In a recent marketing campaign, KFC advertises that every single restaurant they own has a certified chef, trained to produce their award winning recipe. These professionals are also likely trained in a weekend and as expected, have the same affinity to the profession of a restaurant chef as a fitness enthusiast has to being a certified personal trainer in a weekend. A twelve hour exposure would make a KFC chef qualified to prepare fried chicken but would not equate to the rigors or qualifications of a Certified Executive Chef (CEC) credentialed by the American Culinary Federation. The training to make KFC fried chicken is specific to a task, not a whole profession. In the worst case scenario, a bad KFC chef will not create the ideal crispiness of the chicken or the taste may not be perfect, but the outcomes are certainly not catastrophic.
Personal training is not a specific task, but rather a profession compiled from multiple domains with subsets of skill specific tasks related to each domain. Taking a physioball course makes sense in a weekend timeframe as it is a single modality. So like the KFC chef example, a task specific training is very different than the qualification development of a whole profession. Legitimate assessments cannot be passed without adequate exposure to the discipline and competency preparation. For instance, a test preparation workshop is not the same as a “weekend certification” the purposes are completely different as are the outcomes.
In the fitness industry, lack of knowledge and skills can affect the decision making process which may lead to a lack of results at a minimum, or injury or death as an extreme. When working with people and guiding their health and well-being it is important that the exercise leader understand all of the dynamics that are involved with the human body during exercise participation as well as the needs for proper recovery from training after the bout has ended. Selecting the wrong exercise may lead to a back injury; placing an exerciser with hypertension on a heavy leg press can cause vascular insult; a predisposed client participating in exercise without adequate cool down can experience blood pooling, leading to a low cardiac return and a consequent heart attack after the session. Therefore to assume anyone can be a personal trainer in a weekend would be unreasonable at best. In addition, any certification that can be earned in a weekend certainly questions the integrity of the program and the organization offering such a credential.
Although certification may have different levels, a professional certification or one created to qualify a professional for a role listed by the department of labor has specific rigors set to protect the consumer, particularly for one that affects a person’s safety and well-being. In some cases, professional certifications are backed by task certifications which have a completely different purpose. Professional certifications address multiple domains, whereas a task certification has a single domain and it is often narrow in scope. For instance a CPR/AED certification does not qualify anyone to perform a profession but rather is part of an emergency plan to help others who may experience a cardiovascular injury. It can be learned in a relatively short time and expires in one year as people forget things they do not use. A professional certification requires competency development in several areas and each are related to a possible task experienced on a job. These domains must reflect on going education to ensure the person remains qualified. The role of a personal trainer comes with significant responsibility as stakeholders place considerable trust in the decisions of the professional and the worst outcome is severe.
Based on this information suggesting a person can be certified as a personal trainer in a weekend would be irresponsible. An easy litmus test is to ask “would I want a person with a weekend experience to make decisions for the health of my mom, dad, brother or grandmother?” When it comes to a professional credential look for rigors not shortcuts – the outcomes are better for everyone.
