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

  • Thread starter Thread starter ripskater
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Tosa said:
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.
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Some good points Tosa.
 
Don't need government regulation. It will just turn into a useless racket that wastes tax money. Besides, I think the training scene in D.C. is in pretty good shape -
obama_gym1.jpg
 
The biggest problem imo is that it is PHYSICAL THERAPISTS doing the regulating. So long barbell squats, deadlifts, snatches, clean and jerks, presses, probably bench presses, and anything else remotely useful. Maybe even barbells themselves may be banned from gyms. Actual training will be further marginalized.
 
ripskater said:
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.
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A good trainer can make over 100k easy. I've known many of them.

The problem is these box gyms that charge peanuts and hire any Joe shmoe off the streets. The last gym air worked at charged anywhere between $69-$99 an hour for personal training and would bring in over 120k a month between the group of us. This allowed the gym to hire the most competent and qualified trainers as opposed to the shitty LA Fitness down the road.


I see where Badger is coming from. However, I do not think the government needs to get involved. It's bad juju.
 
I could see the government playing a role in providing some kind of official recognition to something like a professional association and working with that organization. Without that, I don't see how it would be possible to push crap trainers out of the market.

The government directly regulating personal trainers themselves doesn't seem reasonable. At least not in present day North America.
 
KILL KILL said:
A good trainer can make over 100k easy. I've known many of them.

The problem is these box gyms that charge peanuts and hire any Joe shmoe off the streets. The last gym air worked at charged anywhere between $69-$99 an hour for personal training and would bring in over 120k a month between the group of us. This allowed the gym to hire the most competent and qualified trainers as opposed to the shitty LA Fitness down the road.


I see where Badger is coming from. However, I do not think the government needs to get involved. It's bad juju.
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Like you, I want the government to stay out of it. They will screw it up and it will raise the cost of doing business among other things.
 
raptorjesus29 said:
The biggest problem imo is that it is PHYSICAL THERAPISTS doing the regulating. So long barbell squats, deadlifts, snatches, clean and jerks, presses, probably bench presses, and anything else remotely useful. Maybe even barbells themselves may be banned from gyms. Actual training will be further marginalized.
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What shotty PT's are you around? :eek:
 
The happy medium Tosa is suggesting is a good idea. Seems more feasible also.
 
AtlSteel said:
There is no happy medium once the government gets involved.
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You're right, we should all panic over a city that most of us don't live in that can't even approve it's own budget tentatively launching a regulation that we don't know the content of that won't effect the vast majority of posters on this forum. Doom is the only outcome.
 
Badger67 said:
^ 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?
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Regulations don't protect you from stupid.
 
Badger67 said:
What shotty PT's are you around? :eek:
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Of the ten or so I have personally seen in practice, a grand total of 0 have been even decent at their job. If DC does it, they are likely to pick it up elsewhere. There is a good thread about this on Rippetoes website. Whatever, fucking government can't regulate what I do in my own garage.
 
I guess this begs the questions, will I be able to continue to train without one? Will they make it illegal to have friends over and train with me? Will there be raids on back-room gyms, now? Example, if my friends and I are training, wil they raid my house and make sure no one solicited the servies of anyone in the room, and that no monetary exchange happened? Does a case of beer count as currency? And finally will Hollywood make a great sci-fi movie with Tom Cruise about the future of fitness?
 
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selfcritical said:
You're right, we should all panic over a city that most of us don't live in that can't even approve it's own budget tentatively launching a regulation that we don't know the content of that won't effect the vast majority of posters on this forum. Doom is the only outcome.
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Hmm, false premise, hyperbole, ridicule consequences...democrat much?
 
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