Personal trainers sweat as Washington, D.C., readies new rules

[ripskater]

I thought I would post this here. Any thoughts f13?

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/personal-trainers-sweat-washington-d-c-readies-rules-110445263.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A battle is brewing in Washington as the capital city prepares to regulate personal fitness trainers in a move that could ripple through the country's booming $24 billion gym industry and its fight against flab.

The District of Columbia, whose residents are generally fitter than the rest of the country, is set to adopt the United States' first regulations on trainers, following a law passed by the city council last year. It named an obscure city regulatory panel, the Board of Physical Therapy, to develop rules for trainers who help guide exercise aficionados through their stretching, weightlifting and crunches.

The board is set to vote on the new standards on Sept. 22. After a 30-day period for public comment followed by possible revisions, the rules would take effect.

Backers of regulation say consumers need protection against unqualified trainers and problems that can range from injury to sexual misconduct. Opponents reject the move as government meddling in an innovative business.

The effort "is first in the nation and it's going to set precedent for the industry," said Phillip Godfrey, a medical exercise specialist who has long tracked the District law on trainers.

Opponents also worry that Board of Physical Therapy rules will drive up costs for clients and eat into health club profits.

 

[Tosa]

Regulation isn't a bad thing. But turning it into the College of Nurses, or Physicians is not really that practical. I'm with SteveX on this one.

How SteveX describes things working fits pretty well with what I was trying to get at.


I'll add that personal training, can, or could, potentially be about health, in a very serious way. For example, doctors will often tell patients to exercise, and now sometimes even as a written prescription. This would typically be due to some health issues, like CVD, and there could be other issues, like other health conditions (Eg. arthritis), as well as medication, affecting how they can exercise.

And it really isn't within the realm of most medical professionals to be designing an exercise program for someone like the above individual. Not that I would trust most personal trainers with it either. But if I knew that they had some years of specific education, had to demonstrate some specific skills, and engage in continuing education, then I might.

 

[KILL KILL]

That's super vague. What are the regulations going to be? Are they going to require trainers to carry specific certifications? How do they enforce something like this?

To me, it sounds like the government is meddling too much. It's up to the consumer to do their due diligence to decide whether or not the person they hire is qualified.

 

[roventu]

i agree with this. i mean, there should probably be a standard for martial arts instructors as well, but c'est la vie

 

[ripskater]

That's super vague. What are the regulations going to be? Are they going to require trainers to carry specific certifications? How do they enforce something like this?

I have no idea KILL KILL. Maybe someone here knows more. I'm typically for less regulation. That being said, it's a good idea to be certified and have some training on how not to hurt people.

I'm not sure how regulation stops sexual harassment. Creeps are gonna still try to hit on other dudes wives.

 

[SteveX]

I'll add that personal training, can, or could, potentially be about health, in a very serious way. For example, doctors will often tell patients to exercise, and now sometimes even as a written prescription. This would typically be due to some health issues, like CVD, and there could be other issues, like other health conditions (Eg. arthritis), as well as medication, affecting how they can exercise.

And it really isn't within the realm of most medical professionals to be designing an exercise program for someone like the above individual. Not that I would trust most personal trainers with it either. But if I knew that they had some years of specific education, had to demonstrate some specific skills, and engage in continuing education, then I might.

Not to mention some insurances are starting to cover full or partial cost of gym membership and/or personal training since it is way cheaper to prevent chronic diseases through exercising than it is to pay for medication for the remainder of a person's life. So I can see why they may want to push to make sure they are getting their money's worth

 

[Badger67]

^ They enforce it similarly to Nurses, doctors, PT's, OT's, Chiro's and (in Canada Kinesiologists). This isn't inherently any different than these, they have a board you apply to, if you don't meet their criterion, you don't practice as a trainer. I'm all for this, so many idiotic trainers out there and weekend crossfit style certs.

My only concerns is/are what are the qualifications?
Do they need to acquire CEU's?
How much more will this cost individuals to practice and for individuals to seek out trainers?
Are they being given insurance now?

 

[NurseKnuckles]

How SteveX describes things working fits pretty well with what I was trying to get at.


I'll add that personal training, can, or could, potentially be about health, in a very serious way. For example, doctors will often tell patients to exercise, and now sometimes even as a written prescription. This would typically be due to some health issues, like CVD, and there could be other issues, like other health conditions (Eg. arthritis), as well as medication, affecting how they can exercise.

And it really isn't within the realm of most medical professionals to be designing an exercise program for someone like the above individual. Not that I would trust most personal trainers with it either. But if I knew that they had some years of specific education, had to demonstrate some specific skills, and engage in continuing education, then I might.

Not to mention some insurances are starting to cover full or partial cost of gym membership and/or personal training since it is way cheaper to prevent chronic diseases through exercising than it is to pay for medication for the remainder of a person's life. So I can see why they may want to push to make sure they are getting their money's worth

Maybe members of the College of Kinestheologists can take this on in their scope of practice if they want to refer patients to seek gym help. Especially if insurance is involved. Its already established and its members can fit into the model I think they're looking for. Instead of reinventing the wheel, so to speak. in order to be eligible for insurance coverage, you have to be referred to a member of the COK. I dn't know, just a thought.

 

[lts5025]

CrossFit contends the city's new standards would strip its ability to certify its own trainers.

"You're just looking at a land grab by a few agencies who are really struggling with being competitive," said Nicole Carroll, the company's director of certification.

That's not a bad thing for trainees, it's only bad for CrossFit coffers.

 

[DoomPatrol]

I'm all for some sort of regulation regarding when it comes to identifying health risks to your client. If someone runs a business, they have a duty to keep their client safe.

I hope the regulation doesn't extend into training philosophies.

 

[nostradumbass]

I have no idea KILL KILL. Maybe someone here knows more. I'm typically for less regulation. That being said, it's a good idea to be certified and have some training on how not to hurt people.

I'm not sure how regulation stops sexual harassment. Creeps are gonna still try to hit on other dudes wives.

Probably something in the training mentioning how unnecessary it is to grope women so they can "feel" the muscle contracting. Seems like they don't find constantly touching so beneficial to men.

 

[Shokushu Goukan]

I disagree with Kill Kill and A Psych Major with that point, but perhaps because i come from a rehab background where i see the end result of "due diligence" by the client. Qualified in what? Canfit pro? Crossfit? CT Fletcher's cert? Are these as good as NSCA, ACSM, ISSA or a degree status with a board cert? Not likely. But people see a cert and assume it means qualified.

Just do what BJJ did to prove it was the best and make an MMA organization and let fools fight it out.

 

[Badger67]

I really have a hard time believing rip is a real person some days.

Having training in place and education about barriers prevents a fair amount of sexual assault and misconduct to those who may not fully understand what is and isn't allowed. It's been a part of my diploma and degree and as part of the board certification.

 

[nhbfan8080]

Just do what BJJ did to prove it was the best and make an MMA organization and let fools fight it out.

You're joking but IBJJF belt rankings are a good way to look up if a black belt is at least semi legit. No white->brown->black promotions allowed because of mandatory minimum time requirements.

 

[ripskater]

I really have a hard time believing rip is a real person some days.

Having training in place and education about barriers prevents a fair amount of sexual assault and misconduct to those who may not fully understand what is and isn't allowed. It's been a part of my diploma and degree and as part of the board certification.

I could see it helping someone. Especially if your instructor talks about morals and ethics in the fitness industry. Also the consequences for violating those morals and ethics.

Some people know right and wrong and do it anyway.

But drawing boundaries is an important thing when you're working very closely with the opposite sex.

 

[ripskater]

I'm all for some sort of regulation regarding when it comes to identifying health risks to your client. If someone runs a business, they have a duty to keep their client safe.

I hope the regulation doesn't extend into training philosophies.

Unfortunately, that would probably happen.^

 

[Islam Imamate]

That's super vague. What are the regulations going to be? Are they going to require trainers to carry specific certifications? How do they enforce something like this?

To me, it sounds like the government is meddling too much. It's up to the consumer to do their due diligence to decide whether or not the person they hire is qualified.

Agreed, just seems like such a trivial thing to have to regulate.

 

[Shokushu Goukan]

You're joking but IBJJF belt rankings are a good way to look up if a black belt is at least semi legit. No white->brown->black promotions allowed because of mandatory minimum time requirements.

What is "more" important is that you have a black belt vouch for your skills. A black belt should be skilled and for the most part they are. Even though there are cases of belts being sold.

 

[Badger67]

Especially vulnerable populations. Reading my last work place mandate entirely before beginning, the book was about 350 pages thick, of which a good two chapters were devoted to this exact subject, along with others in privacy and confidentiality.

Most trainers have very little concepts of these because it is rarely or only briefly mentioned in their certs.

 

[PCP63]

I hope the regulation doesn't extend into training philosophies.

This is what I fear. And, outside of me being an anarchist, my main reason being against this proposal is that I feel it WILL extend to regulating training philosophies. No longer will I be able to create customized training programs with certain philosophies. No, I have to do bosu ball squat-to-curls because of an overzealous government.

 

[Badger67]

I disagree with Kill Kill and A Psych Major with that point, but perhaps because i come from a rehab background where i see the end result of "due diligence" by the client. Qualified in what? Canfit pro? Crossfit? CT Fletcher's cert? Are these as good as NSCA, ACSM, ISSA or a degree status with a board cert? Not likely. But people see a cert and assume it means qualified.

 

[PCP63]

^ They enforce it similarly to Nurses, doctors, PT's, OT's, Chiro's and (in Canada Kinesiologists). This isn't inherently any different than these, they have a board you apply to, if you don't meet their criterion, you don't practice as a trainer. I'm all for this, so many idiotic trainers out there and weekend crossfit style certs.

My only concerns is/are what are the qualifications?
Do they need to acquire CEU's?
How much more will this cost individuals to practice and for individuals to seek out trainers?
Are they being given insurance now?

And what about someone that has a lot of knowledge in the field, and has experience in it?

I mean, I personally do not have a degree or a certification. I did go to school for Exercise Science, but that's not the point. It has no bearing on my ability to train people.

Should I not be allowed to train people simply because I sought self-education over biased learning?

 

[ripskater]

That's super vague. What are the regulations going to be? Are they going to require trainers to carry specific certifications? How do they enforce something like this?

To me, it sounds like the government is meddling too much. It's up to the consumer to do their due diligence to decide whether or not the person they hire is qualified.

I agree. I just saw the edit.

 

[Badger67]

A simple board exam open to trainers who wish to challenge it and meet it should suffice. Along with a practical, preferably.
Some of the best trainers i know are self taught and i'd happily recommend them. But, this isn't true as a whole generally. And even these ones go out and get some form of cert (ACSM/NSC) for insurance and updating reasons, later on.

 

[Islam Imamate]

I disagree with Kill Kill and A Psych Major with that point, but perhaps because i come from a rehab background where i see the end result of "due diligence" by the client. Qualified in what? Canfit pro? Crossfit? CT Fletcher's cert? Are these as good as NSCA, ACSM, ISSA or a degree status with a board cert? Not likely. But people see a cert and assume it means qualified.

Maybe I'm underestimating how bad an unqualified trainer can fuck with someone but to me they're just not comparable to a doctor or nurse or chiro who is providing a much more valuable, and dangerous if administered incorrectly, service.

As far as the sexual harassment thing, that just comes down to the individual. Everyone has their own boundaries and its up to each individual to draw them.

 

[PCP63]

A simple board exam open to trainers who wish to challenge it and meet it should suffice. Along with a practical, preferably.
Some of the best trainers i know are self taught and i'd happily recommend them. But, this isn't true as a whole generally. And even these ones go out and get some form of cert (ACSM/NSC) for insurance and updating reasons, later on.

I agree that most trainers SHOULD get degrees/certs, I just don't like the idea of being REQUIRED to get a degree/cert.

I was once very interested in becoming NSCA and/or NASM certified, until I read their material and realized I simply disagreed with their training methodologies. I could not consciously get certified by NASM and teach their OPT model. It is not the style of training I believe is optimal. I have yet to find a certification whose ideology I agree with.

If Mike Tuscherer or Boris Sheiko came out with a certification, I might consider it.

 

[ripskater]

I disagree with Kill Kill and A Psych Major with that point, but perhaps because i come from a rehab background where i see the end result of "due diligence" by the client. Qualified in what? Canfit pro? Crossfit? CT Fletcher's cert? Are these as good as NSCA, ACSM, ISSA or a degree status with a board cert? Not likely. But people see a cert and assume it means qualified.

You have a point. I guess I would say even some licensed and certified trainers are poor trainers. Just like their are poor physical therapists, and poor doctors out there practicing.

The problem is also money. Trainers don't make much money. They do it cause they love it. I'm not sure how they can charge dues to an industry that has a hard time making it. That's just the nature of personal training very often. It's a side job and a hobby for most. Many times they have another job to help support themselves.

 

[Badger67]

There's lots i disagreed with also, i'd just get the cert to say i had it for hiring purposes then implement strategies i felt were best in given scenarios; i already do this as a Kin/PTA, as i've noticed a ton of odd bias from profs. Luckily, i haven't met too many Physios etc that subscribe to these dogma's.

 

[ripskater]

Maybe I'm underestimating how bad an unqualified trainer can fuck with someone but to me they're just not comparable to a doctor or nurse or chiro who is providing a much more valuable, and dangerous if administered incorrectly, service.

As far as the sexual harassment thing, that just comes down to the individual. Everyone has their own boundaries and its up to each individual to draw them.

Even physical therapists (highly educated) are unable to help people's injuries some times. They don't have all the answers.

 

[PCP63]

There's lots i disagreed with also, i'd just get the cert to say i had it for hiring purposes then implement strategies i felt were best in given scenarios; i already do this as a Kin/PTA, as i've noticed a ton of odd bias from profs. Luckily, i haven't met too many Physios etc that subscribe to these dogma's.

Yes, I would agree with this. Not getting the certifications and afterwards doing my own thing is mostly stubbornness on my part. In an ideal world, there would be reputable certifying bodies that subscribed to nearly anyone's favored form of training, but I find that most certifications that are widely-accepted are geared towards the general population, rather than serious lifters.

That's great for trainers that want to train that demographic, but for someone like me, that runs a powerlifting gym geared towards serious lifters, it is essentially useless. That's not to say that I do not train general population clients, because I do, but they are not my target demographic.

Don't get me wrong, some of these certs, like NASM, do have some pretty good information. The physiology and anatomy section of the NASM textbook is pretty solid. But how they implement it is not optimal, in my opinion. I am not a fan of their OPT model at all.

 

[Badger67]

They can harm someone quite greatly like herniated discs, rhabdo, slap lesions, rotator cuff injuries from terrible benching etc. First rule in rehab and in personal training is do no harm.

Guidelines help understanding of what is appropriate. A Worthy module (of the several they already have) any training cert should have included.

Slightly true there rip but remember, during that time, they are responsible for the health, safety etc of the individual they are training.
By having an overseer board, they can help with understanding this, and provide insurance for trainers to cover their ground. It generally comes with the price of the board cert. If it doesn't, this would concern me because then nothing of value is being offered than perhaps some needed education on boundaries, which could simply be done by providing a training module on it.

 

[Islam Imamate]

You have a point. I guess I would say even some licensed and certified trainers are poor trainers. Just like their are poor physical therapists, and poor doctors out there practicing.

The problem is also money. Trainers don't make much money. They do it cause they love it. I'm not sure how they can charge dues to an industry that has a hard time making it. That's just the nature of personal training very often. It's a side job and a hobby for most. Many times they have another job to help support themselves.

And that's a good point. Who even pays for personal trainers? I wouldn't know but I imagine its mostly the affluent middle class. Its not a necessary service and its already a luxury not many pay for, regulating it like this seems like it'll pu an unnecessary burden on the profession.

Even physical therapists (highly educated) are unable to help people's injuries some times. They don't have all the answers.

And personal trainers aren't providing a service nearly as valuable as therapists are.

 

[LatFlare]

Traininh poorly can lead to long term chronic injury so of course they should be certified.

 

[LatFlare]

Probably something in the training mentioning how unnecessary it is to grope women so they can "feel" the muscle contracting. Seems like they don't find constantly touching so beneficial to men.

There's evidence that touching can in fact increase muscle activation.

 

[Tosa]

I think some kind of standardized certification, education and regulation, could benefit the profession, and its members. Lots of professions set a standard for their members with regards to education and good practice, and in turn, it results in better pay and working conditions, and more respectability. Although having a unified professional organization plays a big part in that. However, for that to happen, it'd be necessary for members of the fitness industry to play a strong, active role in the process of regulation. Basically, if you can exclude people who know nothing, and only have some crappy weekend cert, it'd elevate the entire profession.

A bigger issue is how exactly do you regulate such a fractured industry? Sufficiently defining something like good practice seems like a monumental task, and I'd be concerned that the end result would be crap. But it would definitely be possible to at least establish some minimum standards with regards education and experience.