By: Joann Bally CSCS
A world-wide survey of fitness professionals has come up with predictions for fitness trends for 2008. The no. 1 trend identified was “educated and experienced fitness professionals.” Why is this, you ask.
(I know you’re curious. The next four trends identified are: programs for children to fight childhood obesity; personal training; strength training; core training.)
You may have thought fitness professionals were already educated and experienced. Let’s just look at personal trainers. In most places, you can hang out your shingle, print up your business cards, and/or get your web site, whoever you are, no qualifications required, and call yourself a personal trainer. That may change fairly soon, as several states are considering requiring licensing for personal trainers. Until that happens, we depend on certification.
Certification is awarded by an outside agency, on the basis of examination, and means the trainer has at least minimum qualifications and presumed competence to work with apparently healthy clients. If you are thinking of hiring a personal trainer, ask him or her about their certification. There are, perhaps, hundreds of certifying bodies. Only nine have their programs certified by the agency that certifies certification agencies. You can find them at www.noca.org. Some of the others may be adequate, but some grant certification by mail order or Internet without ever seeing the applicant. I understand that someone got his cat certified.
Sure, there are some uncertified trainers who are good, but I think they owe it to the profession to get certified. If they can’t or won’t even do that, what will they do when licensing looms? It doesn’t seem out of line to treat personal training as a profession, when you consider that these individuals are working with you to improve your health and well being, and this is a serious obligation.
And here are trends 6-10: programs for older adults; pilates; functional fitness; Swiss ball; yoga.
Related using the H&F.com Search:
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HEALTHandFITNESS.com 
