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Hands up if you're a fitness guru

SIOBHAN MOYLAN

Australia's obesity epidemic, along with a growing pressure to look fit and fab, has seen more people than ever rush for gym memberships and personal trainers in the hope of getting thin fast, or at the very least, fitter faster.

Faster still is the growing number of businesses popping up hoping to make money out of people who want a career in the fitness industry.

Google 'fitness industry/courses/correspondence/personal trainer' and you will be hit with a barrage of businesses offering accredited courses in personal training known as a Certificate III. Some even entice with rewards like free iPods at the end of an eight-week correspondence course. What next - a free set of steak knives if you sign up today, maybe a free abdominal cruncher?

In all likelihood at the end of the above-mentioned course students will find themselves working as a personal trainer. The problem is how much these courses are actually teaching trainers and are the certificates worth the paper they're written on?

Mark McGaw, former rugby league player and founder of The Institute of Sports Science, is a personal trainer who says the level of knowledge from students completing these eight week courses is dismal and can be detrimental to a clients overall health and safety. "I have people coming into my courses who have supposedly done a Certificate III, most can't even take your blood pressure. They're probably ticking the boxes of what VETAB has set out for them to do but they do it in a very minimal way which at the end of the day jeopardises the standard of trainer out there and the way people view our industry."

The Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board (VETAB) has training courses for many industries and its job is to create standard training packages. Training outlets apply to VETAB to be able to deliver the training course, but not before becoming a registered training organisation (RTO).

Once these outlets receive RTO status they can administer VETAB's course in any way they like.

That is what's getting so many trainers in the industry hot under the collar and why they are asking how relevant these eight week courses really are if they are administered in such an ad-hoc manner.

The problem for a growing number of training institutions is that even though some of these RTOs are following the 'legal' guidelines, the guidelines are not strict enough. The result is that the standard of trainer out there differs so greatly from one institution to another.

Last year, my brother was keen to lose weight. He looked up a trainer on line and had a couple of sessions with him. The man weighed more than 100 kilograms and hadn't run for more than 15 years yet he found himself pounding around the lawns of the Domain in Sydney with a guy who didn't give him a proper fitness assessment beforehand.

And no, no blood pressure was taken. This could have resulted in major injury or something much worse.

My brother now has a well-qualified trainer who has crafted together a more suitable exercise regime to suit his personal needs. Results have come in a safe environment with people who have more than a 'cereal box' style qualification and a one-size-fits-all fitness program.

Most professional, experienced trainers will tell you a Certificate III doesn't guarantee the trainer you have chosen will be particularly competent. So why is it the qualification required to become a gym instructor?

With it, you can take initial health appraisals, write programs for gym members and supervise the gym floor. Certificate IV is the personal training qualification allowing you to train people one-on-one or in small groups.

You can work within the gym environment as well as outside at the park or beach. This

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qualification will allow you to work at any gym nationwide.

In this country you can't cut someone's hair or fix someone's toilet without having undergone an apprenticeship that takes years, but you can deal directly with a person's health.

In just eight short weeks you can get a qualification that will see you dealing with the foundations of someone's health.

Too many trainers know too little. Next time you find yourself being asked questions by your new trainer, make sure you throw a few back in their direction.

House Rules

 

jim :

i find it interesting reading all the comments by other "fitness professionals" and sport science majors, i personally believe that they are in the same boat as cert III and IV,but because they have a few letters next to the name that makes it sound alright. The truth be that few people in this country or the western world have a true grasp on physical preparation. Could an individual improve more effectively with a good trainer- yes of course, but what worries me is teaching the teachers.

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11 Aug 2010 2:36:35am

 

Brad Wilsdon-Smith :

This article is spot-on. I've recently completed a course with the AIF and was appalled at the 'accelerated learning techniques' they use (essentially they tick they VET requirements of 90% of the class and have a 5 minute talk to anyone who didn't pass the test before signing them off too). I went through in a group of less than 20; 4-5 of the kids were barely literate, had dropped out of high school and were processed straight through the course ready to dispense potentially damaging information to anyone that would listen in a gym near you. The response from the AIF is laughable and doesn't go anywhere near addressing the actual concern of an illiterate 18 year-old drop-out being responsible for someones health after completing only an 8 week course. Master trainer means nothing, cert 3 & 4 is heading the same way with no differentiator between a full year TAFE course and this farcical money-spinning venture spitting out 'graduates'. Don't spend money on a personal trainer; if you must please ensure they're qualified and experienced.

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20 Jun 2010 6:43:56pm

 

Romney Davis :

I agree that courses are churning out trainers with questionable qualifications. A personal trainer who only holds a Certificate 3 in gym instruction and is claiming to be a 'qualified personal trainer' should be avoided at all costs and their name reported to a governing body such as Fitness Australia. In the end it is these kind of people who end up giving the industry I love a bad name. The Certificate 3 in Gym Instruction is a merely a pre-requisite to do the Certificate 4 in Personal Training. This is the minimum standard a personal trainer should have, and I do stress minimum. I own a New Level Personal Training studio and currently engage the services of 5 trainers. All of my trainers must have the minimum qualifications but I personally look deeper than that. A commitment to on-going education through seminars, short courses etc with certificates as proof and the fact they are registered with a national body such as Fitness Australia (to be registered you have to complete accredited courses and Continuing Education Credits (CECs) by Fitness Australia). If none of these requirements are met then the trainer does not get a look in. There are places to search for qualified trainers AND businesses. Fitness Australia is one such organisation striving to improve the way in which the fitness industry is structured, run and perceived by the public. Given time the issues raised in this article will be a thing of the past.

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16 Apr 2010 11:03:59am

 

PT in the making :

Harsh article..I see cert 3 & 4 as a way to get you in the door, many job applications require you to have this as a minimum. Ive been going to the gym for just over 4 years and had 3 experienced PT and none of them has ever asked me anything about my medical history, they were more interested in chatting about rugby and their fees that actually giving me advice. Cowboys are in all industries in the workplace no matter how many years in uni/college or experience(Doctors, electricians, builders . This all depend person to person. Being promised that you are going to make $80 p/h after completing cert 4 is wrong, practical experience and continuing studying is vital. Im doing cert 4 in fitness not to make $80 p/h but doing it cause I love sport and also as a hobby, teaching and helping people to improve their quality of life. My goal after gaining my qualification will be to start of doing small things and learn how experienced PT do their job.(much as an apprentice)

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03 Apr 2010 12:33:12am

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lifeskillcounts :

Wow ! reading all the posts here has been very interesting ! Personally, I can agree with various points of view from most of you ! REMEMBER guys - a Cert IV Qualification is just that ... no one with a Cert IV is claiming to have a degree or diploma ! It is an entry point to working in the gym and as a PT - surely, even the 6 year degree qualified Gaenocologist/Obstetrician learns from a more senior partner with more experience ?? Having just completed an 8 week Cert III & Cert IV course - I guarantee only 20% of the participants will ever set foot in a gym (as a gym instructor or pt) let along actually run a PT business ! However, throughout the course the coaches have continually re-iterated that the qualification is the starting point for learning ... and that they continue to learn years down the track. I have no illusions, dont intend making my first million for a few years yet, but I am really passionate about my PT career and aim to assist a handful clients change their lifestyles and live better for longer ! Entertain the thought that I might just have the life skills (previous qualifications) to support my choice to be Cert IV qualified to achieve my goals ??? Reality is that, as in most other areas of society, the fruads will be found out and those who really have a passion will continue to learn and provide a valuable service to the community - complementing the higher qualifications of dieticians, GPs, sports physiologists, physiotherapists etc. who can focus on their specialities and leave the low risk clients to train with someone who cares, motivates and is enthusiastic about health & fitness in general.

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31 Mar 2010 9:20:16pm

 

Accredited Exercise Physiologi :

I too think this is a great article. As an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, I have completed a Bachelors Degree in Sports & Exercise Science as well as a Post Graduate Degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology. This training has allowed me the legal rights to call myself an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) which is the highest qualification you can obtain in Exercise Science. Accredited Exercise Physiologist are registered with Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA), which PT can not register with because they lack YEARS of training. Personal Trainers ARE NOT health professionals. Health professionals work in hospitals and medical centres, not gyms. They are not registered with Private Health Funds or Medicare Australia, Health Professionals are. They do not have follow continuing education protocols or show evidence of clinical best practice. They are fitness consultants. A health professional is someone who has completed a 4 year University Degree with majors in Health Science, not a 8 week, 16 week, 1 yr, or even 2yr diploma, certificate course. I also have a Post Graduate Degree in Human Nutrition and am currently studying a Post Graduate Degree in Strength & Conditioning and yet I still don't consider myself to be a fitness guru as there is so much to learn and understand when it comes to the human body and its physiological processes. If you have an appointment with an AEP and a PT, and compared, you will realise there is a MAJOR difference in methods, assessments, safety and knowledge. PT's play an important role in working with the healthy population, in gyms or PT studio's, but when it comes to special populations such as diabetes, heart disease, chronic disease, obesity, organ transplants, neurological conditions, musculoskeletal rehabilitation.... leave it to the experts... Accredited Exercise Physiologist's. For more information about Accredited Exercise Physiologist please see: www.essa.org.au

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07 Mar 2010 4:59:08pm

 

Kylie :

This article is brilliant!I run my own personal training business and studied 2 years full time at tafe for a Fitness Diploma amd am currently studying an Exercise Science degree. These 8 week courses are an embarrasment to the fitness industry. I have mentored quite a few students doing an 8 week course or even an online course and two couldn't take a blood pressure reading, one asked me if a pushup was a plyometric exercise and one couldn't show me a hip flexor stretch as he didn't know where the hip flexors were! And these are the idiots out there charging $100 a session, make up the program on the spot and pump the clients in and out only caring about their bank balance. I'm sorry Tyson Green but if you think you can learn anatomy & physiology, oh&s, screening assessment & programming, dealing with medical conditions, and instructing gym activity (just to name a few subjects) in 2 days and be able to competently perform a fitness assessment and write programs then you should have a nobel prize or something because that is just ridiculous. Personal Training is just a little bit more than nutrition, movement, rest & recovery.

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22 Feb 2010 3:59:52pm

 

Tyson Green :

The 'foundations' of peoples health, if taught correctly, could be learnt in just 2 days, not 8 or 16 weeks. Nutrition 4 hours, Movement 8 hours, Rest and Recovery 4 hours. Anyone can effectively change their own (or others) health if they learn these principals. We are not dealing with elite athletes performing at high levels so 5 year university degrees are certainly not required to help people lose weight!

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22 Feb 2010 2:19:27pm

 

Bruce Maddigan :

I own a Personal Training Business and agree that the quality now is substandard. Fortunately owning a proper studio allows me to pick and choose, eventually I uncover a good trainer. This allows me to have the best around. The unfortunate thing is that the ones that are no good start working out of backyards and parks and people go to them because it's cheaper. What they don't know is they are possibly working with someone that would never get a job a reputable studio such as mine. Something does need to be done about the way the system is running at the moment because we'll get a couple more years down the track and even I won't be able to find a trainer that's got a clue about anything. It is very much becoming a case of hire the right personality and then teach them properly yourself. Alert moderator

19 Feb 2010 10:30:40pm

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Scott Williams :

I own and run Australia's Current Personal Training Business of the Year and I totally agree with Mark McGaw that the quality of trainers coming out of these eight week courses is dismal!! It is becoming a rapid problem with far too many 'cowboys' doing an eight week course and they have some illusion that they can set up and run their own business and start charging $80 - 100 per hour straight away. You say there is a shortage of work in the health clubs, but this is certainly not the case. Here in the ACT, all centres are always looking for quality trainers to work, but unfortunatley many trainers fresh from the course cannot even take blood pressure or do correct assessment procedures, let alone be able to write a program to suit the individual. I believe the gym floor is a great place for all trainers to start (and I think it should be mandatory that ALL trainers serve an apprenticeship of sorts). All eight week course participants should be required to do X amount of hours of unpaid work both during the course and also at the completion of the course. They then move into paid supervised work for a period of time before they are cut loose on the Australian public. As a few others have mentioned I believed PT should be made part of a Degree or Diploma, not handed over after a few weeks in class (and they usually get a day off a week)... Yes we have a boom situation at the moment with people understanding the importane and benefit of having a trainer or undertaking fitness, but the industry is very quickly getting a bad name for the low quality of trainers running around trying to set up a Boot Camp or Personal Training session on every corner... I have been looking for two quality trainers now for two months and so far not one is suitable for employment. What does this tell you? Yes all my trainers start on $30 per hour, as I believe they have to gather time and experience under some of my senior trainers before they move to the next pay scale. I had one guy fresh from the course come to me and demand $80 per hour or he wasn't interested in the job??? Here was an opportunity to work under Australia's best fitness business and he wasn't interested at all if he didn't get $80 p/h (he doesn't work for me). If I was to ever look for a trainer I would be sitting down and interviewing them about who they are, what they have done, how long have they been qualified, a list of contacts of current clients I can call. When anybody calls me about personal training and say they are shopping around, I am always more than happy to speak with them and answer any questions they may have, but I always leave them with this one: Would you go t

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Richard :

Hey guys, After reading through this article I could not agree more with a lot of the points it makes. However I must confess I completed my Cert IV in 16 weeks through a course similar to the ones outlined. It's true that they don't teach you enough info; it's true that the courses are too easy to pass; it's true that there are plenty of "Health Professionals" who should not be in the industry at all. I did however get the impression that it implied that almost anyone who does one of these courses should not be in the industry (including me). You have to understand that there are a large number of people who enrol in such courses out of general interest for themselves with no intention of training others. There are also people who use it as a starting point and end up being excellent personal trainers after more education. Only 5-10% of all graduates of such courses end up staying in the fitness industry anyway (for a good reason), and those that do last longer than 2 years have built up enough work experience and knowledge to know what they are doing. I rocked up to a job interview a few days ago and when the employer read that I graduated from such a course he explained he found the quality of their graduates quite low (and I could tell he wasn't expecting much from me). He then went on to ask me about all the rotator cuff muscles, the landmarks of the scapula, all 4 quadriceps group muscles and lots of rehabilitation questions around them all...all of which I knew and answered back. I was offered the job in the end. My point is there is nothing wrong with one of these short courses as a starting point, as long as you build your knowledge and understand that it is only the very beginning of what you're going to learn in the industry and work with an open mind and a willingness to learn of other more experienced trainers. It's just that quite often most graduates think they know everything, get their minimum CEC's but don't do much self-study and that is where the industry starts to fall apart and that is why said courses are often frowned upon. I will say that I'm a current sports science student at uni and I have already covered a lot of the stuff that we are learning about at the moment through my "inferior" short course. There are some students (and recent graduates no doubt) who still have no clue what they are doing compared with people who have done shorter courses, yet been in the industry for a much longer period of time.

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18 Feb 2010 9:41:36pm

 

Vicki Tuchtan :

Let’s get it right for everyone’s fitness My hand is up high and proud Siobhan Moylan, as I am a fitness guru. And as such, I feel compelled to respond to your recent article surrounding the training of fitness professionals in Australia (Hands up if you’re a fitness guru, 1/2/10). Before we get to that, let me indulge with a brief history of the training system in Australia.

18 Feb 2010 12:44:09pm

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More than two decades ago, the national training reform agenda of the Labor years resulted in the birth of Vocational Education and Training (VET), from the previous Australian technical education system. This shift saw the replacement of accredited courses with Training Packages, across many industry sectors over a number of years. Significant in the shift to Training Packages was the move to student assessment directly against competency standards. So what is a Training Package? It is a set of nationally endorsed standards that describes the skills and knowledge needed to perform effectively in the workplace. These standards are developed by industry advisory panels, and must be endorsed by industry sectors and government before they are released for use in training the future workforce. Training Packages are kept up-to-date through a process of regular review and continuous improvement. Such reviews ensure Training Packages remain current to the needs of industry. Training providers (Registered Training Organisations) must implement Training Packages when they deliver qualifications for industry, and the content of the package as stipulated by industry informs the training provider on what should be delivered and how assessments should be conducted. So how are training providers monitored to ensure they deliver a quality product that meets the requirements of industry? The Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) was implemented almost a decade ago and serves to provide the basis for a nationally consistent VET system. As the quality system that underpins the Australian training market, it is compulsory for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to comply with the requirements of the AQTF. RTOs undergo audits to ensure they are compliant under the AQTF. Such audits are conducted by State and Territory Training Authorities, of which VETAB (the NSW Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board) is one. It is the responsible of authorities like VETAB to monitor and regulate the performance of RTOs operating in their State or Territory. VETAB do not however hold the job of ‘creating standard training packages’ as stated in your article, this role is performed by industry. Your article spoke of the growing consumer demand for fitness professionals and their services, and pointed out the perceived greater boom of fitness training providers. Any such growth in the emergence of training providers in the fitness industry would also be the result of a growing consumer demand for students wanting to fin

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Summer Nelson :

Well put Siobhan, and thank you for pointing out the comparison between the rookie trainer and the experienced one. As an employer of Personal Trainers in the fitness industry, I see more & more green trainers who have been sold the dream of a rewarding career through the short courses you mentioned. This has drastically worsened with the unchecked growth of training providers more interested in selling courses than suitability. As an industry we find many of these graduates lack the skills and aptitude required for meaningful employment, so they go into business for themselves! This is simply absurd. I definitely agree Certificate IV is just the start, and it should be noted that many students who undertake proper study of their course material are very good, but in my mind, no qualification or degree is a substitute for experience. The issue seams to stem from the fact that very few health clubs have gym instructor positions any more. This used to be the traditional "apprenticeship" you referred to. Once an instructor was experienced and good enough they then went on to be a PT. With virtually all clubs contracting or tenanting PT's now that vital step has been bypassed. I do not agree with some of the other comments though, the fitness industry plays a vital role in supporting people at all levels to lead a healthier life. Many of our clients simply would not exercise or eat well, without the guidance and encouragement of their trusted professional personal trainer.

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16 Feb 2010 12:51:46pm

 

ian arkell :

I reckon that outside of the bottled water business, the fitness industry would have to rank a close second as one of the great marketing cons of recent years. Gees, it ain't rocket science. If you want to lose weight and become healthier, first get a check up from your local GP. Then think about what you want. If you want to bulk up, go to gym, get them to work out a program based on your age, present fitness level and make a commitment to get there at least three times a week. Commitment is difficult, and when it gets too hard you can find a dozen reasons to miss training. But as one guy I run with said to me, 'losers make excuses'. If you're looking at just basic fitness, then start walking and build up to a run for a couple of ks and so on. If you hate running then grab hold of a good mountain bike, work out some circuits and get into it. Of course all this is a waste of time unless you combine it with a diet. Cut out things like cheese, alcohol, junk food or chocolate. Start eating more fruit, vegetables and if you work at it for a few weeks the new 'diet' becomes part of your routine and you don't think about it. I changed my way of viewing exercise and food and after about three months saw a significant reduction in my blood pressure, cholesterol levels and started feeling great. I ran my first twenty ks at 63 and while I'm still recovering from an accident a few months ago, hope to do my first marathon later in the year. When I'm training I alternate between running and cycling. And put in as many ks as I can. As I said it ain't rocket science and you don't need to lash out hundreds for all the fancy gear. And don't get sucked into the boxing thing either. You don't need it. It's for the show ponies. Like the boot camp circus. But spend as much as you can on a good pair of shoes, 'cause if you're going to be running a lot, it's a definite

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investment. I tend to agree with Blunt Pencil when he questions why the fitness industry exists at all. Alert moderator

 

DannyS :

While I agree that there should be a basic minimum standard for people to be able to advertise themselves as Personal Trainers, there should also be a minimum standard for prospective clients to engage them. That is, be tested for a minimum amount of intelligence before being allowed to go out the front door and interact with society in ways that may eventually prove harmful. For God's sake, who would be silly enough to start pounding on a jogging track while overweight and not have done any running for 15 years? Caveat emptor is a principle long established in British Common Law and here also, but it also presupposes a modicum of commonsense. Of course there are other various precepts enshrined in Common Law including the right to sue people for what amounts to modern day False Advertising. It could be a growth industry for Lawyers that is already growing for all I know. To really stretch the analogy, a person who wanders into a Used Car sales yard that is situated on the corner of an out of the way intersection that has 7 or 8 cars for sale at rock bottom prices is going to get a lemon. It's a given. We all know it, or we should all know it. For years now I've seen what I assume to be Personal Trainers at the local park with 3, or sometimes 4, clients who are at completely different fitness levels being exhorted to perform the exact same tasks. The clients are always women and the P.T.'s are always men. I wonder why this is? I've seen women being made to run 50 metres, stop, run back, run again, back again, ad infinitum. Then they put on boxing gloves and they are supposed to rain lefts and rights onto the large pads the P.T. has on his hands. Some of the women appear to be almost anorexic and the muscle tone of their arms would make it doubtful that they could fight their way out of the proverbial paper bag, even a wet one. And this is after running, exercising their LEGS, not their arms. Why do they put up with this? I can only assume that there are too many people out there who have been hoodwinked into the whole idea of Personal Trainers as the new Lifestyle Miracle that will transform them into something that the mags and TV shows promise them is just around the corner.

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01 Feb 2010 7:46:47pm

 

Blunt pencil :

This is an industry that I just do not understand. I cannot see why it exists. I can see a need for an elite athlete or a representative amateur sporting club but not the average Joe. To me the minimum qualification would be a Diploma, thats a proper Diploma that takes at least 1400 hours and not one of those private industry cornflakes packet things For mine, part of the deal of health and fitness is an understanding of some of the principles and how they apply to you. Unless you have a medical condition, you really should be able to manage yourself in this area. It is not hard and exercise equipment costs less then gym membership. On the broader issue of Private Accredited Courses, I did one 4 years ago and never, ever again. They love to TAFE bash but forget to look at their own woeful standards. Being handed the test along with the set of notes just after the here are the toilets speech is not my idea of learning. Then again if Julia gets her way with the league tables then teaching the test will be standard practice everywhere so everything will be a cornflakes packet effort.

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01 Feb 2010 4:31:09pm

 

Cap'n :

The problem is, who is willing to pay $100 per hour for a personal trainer? Because if someone puts themselves through a sports science degree, strength and fitness training courses, learns some psychology, plus all the ongoing education to stay abreast of the latest research and discoveries, why would they want to work for peanuts in a cheap suburban gym, or struggle to keep a PT business alive? And even then, I could not count the number of times that myself or one of my colleagues had their program sabotaged when the client decided to either supplant or replace it with something they'd read in New Idea. Training and experience costs money, which most people are unwilling to pay for. That's why you have 8-week course graduates, because they're the ones willing to work at the rates that most people are willing to pay.

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01 Feb 2010 3:00:53pm

 

Blunt pencil :

If someone takes the fitness advice from New Idea as gospel then they deserve what they get. Looking at it from another viewpoint, I would think most people just need some sort of strength, flexibility and aerobic fitness coupled with a half decent diet. Do you really need a personal trainer for that or just access to the local library, a pair of $40 shoes, some old shorts and a shirt, and a bench with some weights of various sorts adding up to about 50Kg. I once had someone come to me as a layman and ask where I got my running machine from as I said a ran a bit. My response was find yourself a piece of grass and some shoes. Stay off the bitumen because it is too hard on your joints. Dont pay much for the shoes as Mr Nike really could not care less about your footstrike and those nice clothes everyone seems to think they need do not help the process one iota. Why does everyone think they need a machine to exercise on and some uninterested Cert 3 trainer watching their uncoordinated movements?

01 Feb 2010 7:08:48pm

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Pyce :

I think the biggest benefit most people get from personal trainers is motivation. Yes people CAN go out for a run themselves, or a swim or go to the gym. But so often they don't. Having a prescheduled appointment with a trainer makes it that much harder to find a reason to put it off for another day and for many people that's a big difference.

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02 Feb 2010 10:29:21am

 

Blunt pencil :

Yes, I could imagine that as a problem for some.

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02 Feb 2010 12:24:03pm

 

Monica :

Exercising the brain isn't happening much either. I am charging $20.00 per answer for anytime someone asks me a question, hehe, and I don't even know the answer. Senator Fielding asked me about Global Warming, sunspots I said, sunspots. Maybe exercising your gluteus maximimus gives everyone a headache.

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01 Feb 2010 8:44:16pm

 

pigsmayfly :

Trainers not worth their salt Settle down everyone it doesn’t take much to ruffle the feathers around here the story on personal trainers and their qualifications or lack of, has raised some salient points but it also needs to be kept in perspective. Most people do not know how to eat for optimum performance and they certainly don’t know how to train effectively. Hence the need for trained personal to guide them in the right direction, one of the problems is that the fitness industry is fundamentally about making money. Fitness first one of the largest fitness chains is a business like any other they are, there to make money and riding closely on their back is the personal training industry. $80 dollars an hour isn’t chump change so it’s easy to see the attraction for these short courses that also line the pockets of the fitness industry like fitness Australia. I am a qualified (lapsed) fitness trainer but I don’t train clients I don’t like the way the industry is run i also believe that many PT are under qualified and give advice far beyond their knowledge base. So what should be done? For a start make PT part of a degree, make being a PT as any other professional person legitimate recognised qualifications. We need the fitness industry to lift their game before they start trying to lift that of their clients. Pigsmayfly Alert moderator

05 Feb 2010 4:46:11pm

 

cortney :

I think some of this is really harsh- I am currently undertaking my cert iii in fitness and it is a lot of work- way more than an 8 week course! Sure I think the industry has to be regulated but geez!

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01 Apr 2010 3:00:37pm

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