Periodically some list members ask for advice about which certification to
seek – well, the following research study showed that NSCA and ACSM appeared
to be the best options and recommended that higher levels of formal
educational training should be regarded as highly advisable for all fitness
certification schemes.

—————-

J of Strength & Conditioning Research: Vol 16, No 1, pp. 19–24

Malek, MH, Nalbone DP, Berger DE, Coburn JW Importance of health science
education for personal fitness trainers.

ABSTRACT

Using a questionnaire developed for the current study, the Fitness
Instructors Knowledge Assessment (FIKA©), we examined relations between
commonly used indicators of knowledge (training and experience) and actual
knowledge in the five areas of (a) nutrition, (b) health screening, (c)
testing protocols, (d) exercise prescription, and (e) general training
knowledge regarding special populations. FIKA provided reliable measures of
knowledge in these areas, which are of critical importance in developing an
optimal fitness program for the client and for avoiding unnecessary injuries.
A survey of 115 health fitness professionals revealed that a bachelor’s
degree in the field of exercise science and possession of American College of
Sports Medicine or the National Strength and Conditioning Association
certifications as opposed to other certifications were strong predictors of a
personal trainer’s knowledge, whereas years of experience was not related to
knowledge. These findings suggest that personal fitness trainers should have
licensing requirements, such as a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and
certification by an organization whose criteria are extensive and widely
accepted, before being allowed to practice their craft…….

Discussion

The findings of this study address a number of issues raised by the ACSM Code
of Ethics. The health fitness professional, by definition, is a professional
who uses an individualized approach to assess, motivate, educate, and train
clients regarding their health and fitness needs. However, to realize these
objectives, the personal trainer must have a strong foundation in exercise
science. This can best be accomplished through formal education.

The fact that an individual has worked for years as a personal trainer or has
met a minimum standard for passing a certification exam should not be
misconstrued as proof of competence in designing a safe and optimal fitness
program. As such, using years of experience as a barometer of the
capabilities of potential hires in the health fitness industry may need to be
reconsidered. Although many in the health fitness industry believe that
practical experience is key, the results of this study show that formal
education is a far better predictor of personal trainers’ health fitness
knowledge than years of experience.

In addition, when it comes to certifying organizations, all certificates are
not created equal. Certification by ACSM or NSCA was associated with much
higher levels of health fitness knowledge than certification by any other
certifying organization, or even certifications from several other certifying
organizations.

Most certifying organizations do not require a personal trainer candidate to
possess a college degree, or even to have completed college courses in
exercise science. In fact, many organizations promote 7-day or weekend
workshops in preparation for their examination. It seems unlikely that an
individual will learn even the basics of this discipline in such a short
time. Perhaps, in an effort to bring more credibility to the profession,
certifying organizations should require a minimal number of core
college-level courses completed, as identified by Fuller et al. (4) , for
their personal trainer certification.

At McGill University’s athletic department, in Quebec, Canada, a 14-week
course that covers topics in anatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology,
exercise design and analysis, injury prevention, nutrition, and weight
training has been offered to those who want to pursue a career in personal
training; perhaps such a program should be implemented by 2- or 4-year
colleges throughout the United States….

Practical Applications

Individuals seeking the assistance of personal trainers deserve to have a
health fitness professional who possesses a proper level of knowledge,
skills, and abilities in exercise science to design a safe, injury-free, and
optimal fitness program. The results of the current study suggest that a
person or health fitness club seeking to hire a personal trainer would do
well to ask 2 key questions: (a) “Do you have a college degree in exercise
science?”; (b) “Are you certified by ACSM or NSCA?” In our sample,
respondents who answered ‘yes’ to both of these questions scored an average
of 85% on the FIKA questionnaire, compared with only 36% for those who
answered ‘no’ to both questions, and 55% for those who answered ‘yes’ to only
1 of the 2 questions. These findings suggest that personal fitness trainers
should have requirements such as a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and
certification by an organization whose criteria are extensive and widely
accepted.

In 1994, California Assembly member Vivian Bronshavag (D-Haywood) proposed a
bill that would require fitness instructors in California to pass an
examination issued by the state to train clients. However, given a lack of
statistical data (e.g., injury rates) and lack of support from professional
associations (e.g., ACSM) on the effectiveness such a measure might have, the
proposed bill was defeated.

Many other health-related professionals (e.g., nutritionists, certified
athletic trainers) are required to earn a degree that imparts necessary
health-related knowledge and an appropriately rigorous certification before
practicing their craft. It is the authors’ contention that such standards
should be given serious consideration for personal fitness trainers as well.
In recent years, the number of lawsuits brought forth as a result of alleged
negligence on the part of fitness professionals has dramatically risen.
Inadequate screening and premature certification of unqualified candidates
can expose both health clubs and certifying organizations to liability should
clients suffer injuries due to the negligence of an unqualified personal
fitness trainer. Thus, it is in the best interest of all parties involved -
clients, personal trainers, health clubs, certifying organizations, and
society as a whole – to implement standards that may reduce the incidence of
such injuries and the resulting legal entanglements….

*** One further comment is necessary – many degrees in exercise science,
kinesiology, exercise physiology, physical therapy, chiropractic and even
medicine do not provide sufficient, in-depth formal education in strength
science or its applications, so that any accreditation scheme also has to
take into account the curriculum covered by any graduate.

While I fully agree that many years of practical experience is no substitute
for a combination of appropriate university education and practical
experience, I have encountered numerous graduates (even PhDs) in exercise
science, medicine, physical therapy and kinesiology who cannot demonstrate
some of the most basic strength training exercises or who do not know the
difference between a deadlift and a clean, between the different types of
squat and between the different types of standing press (mind you, I have
come across many personal trainers who also demonstrate similar ignorance).

It is clear that we have fingers to point in both directions and that a far
better certification approach needs to be created by all parties who are
involved in the profession. For example, very few certifying organisations
apply a thorough hands-on practical examination. Imagine awarding
qualifications in surgery to a doctor or a mechanic who has never attempted
the relevant procedure in person!

————–

*** Another comment in response to the input that McGill University’s
athletic department in Canada, offers a 14-week course covering topics in
anatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology, exercise design and analysis,
injury prevention, nutrition, and weight training to those who want to
pursue a career in personal training:

At the University of the Witwatersrand (“Wits”) in Johannesburg, S Africa,
where I taught all of my adult life, I ran similar certification courses like
that for many years in all of those subjects, plus much more, over a period
of 6 months. In fact, through the Centre for Continuing Education there, we
offered certification in strength & conditioning, personal training, aerobics
instruction, sports restoration & massage, and seated fitness (for special
populations, with my disabled wife as course manager). All courses were
offered at Basic (6-month), Intermediate (6-month) and Advanced (12 month)
levels, with practical training every Saturday (4 hours) in all aspects of
the strength training world. My “Supertraining”, “Facts & Fallacies of
Fitness” and “Sports Restoration & Massage” (with Dr Yessis) books all were
born as part of the input for those courses, so that you may gather some idea
of the level of input by paging through those texts.

At one stage I even coordinated and offered S African membership of the NSCA,
but that came to a rapid halt when the Executive stated that I could not do
offer that sort of service in any formal way because I “was not a CSCS”. As
a result several dozen S African NSCA members just faded into history.

As part of their formal evaluation, my students all had to execute two major
written projects analysing and designing fitness or strength programs (50-100
pages long), pass a multiple choice and short essay examination, pass a “viva
voce” (oral examination) on all course content, attend all practical sessions
(only excuse was a valid medical certificate) and pass a 4 hour long group
practical examination. In the aerobics course, students had to design and
teach a condensed 20-30 minute class. In the Sports Massage course, I had a
few Romanian and Bulgarian graduates and top coaches as guest teachers.

All academic input was offered only by those with a PhD and 10 years of
teaching experience, with medical related topics being handled by well-known
medical practitioners and physiotherapists who had been in practice for many
years. At one stage I also had well-known Russian scientist, Dr
Verkhoshansky, stay with me for about 5 weeks and teach on the course. Another
one of my overseas expert guest lecturers was Dr Michael Yessis. I
even had TaiChi and other martial arts experts, as well as dance
professionals, as guests to teach human movement and motor control from other
points of view. I also required that delegates from the worlds of strength
training, aerobics, special fitness and massage attended at least one basic
class in one another’s disciplines.

Unfortunately, all of those Wits University Fitness Certification courses
ended when I moved to the USA and American universities do not really seem to
be all that interested in running that sort of extensive certification
scheme, so I have chosen to offer some of the same input via my current
Supertraining Camps. Those who attend these will now understand why I may
end up teaching for over 18 hours a day on those Camps – there is just so
much to learn! Anyway, who knows if something will materialise so that I can
facilitate offering the same sort of high level training in all aspects of
strength training? The market needs it, but as the above research paper
shows, many fitness organisations are offering inadequate training in this
regard.

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

Dr Mel C Siff

“By focusing on your the transverse abdominis when you move, you can
improve your core control during exercise”, says NY City physical therapist
and personal trainer Suzanne Countryman. “Plus you’ll suffer less wear and
tear on your back, neck and knees”.

***Comment. Activation of transversus abdominis (TA) appears to be the
latest “hot” advice for core stabilisation and training among PTs and
fitness instructors. While voluntary activation of TA sometimes may be
useful in contributing to trunk stability in fairly static postures before
a dynamic multi-dimensional movement occurs, it becomes impossible and
unwise to mentally involve yourself in any dynamic training or sporting
tasks which activate numerous different patterns of contraction and
relaxation of many stabilising and moving muscles.

Moreover, the more rapid, more forceful or more complex the activity, the
less able one is able to focus on controlling the moment-to-moment action
of any given muscle. The inadvisability of doing this to TA or any other
muscle for that matter has often been fondly referred to in exercise
physiology as “paralysis by analysis.”

So, while you may be able to activate TA at the start of a squat, press,
jump, clean or deadlift, the moment that complex dynamic action begins, the
neural programs that control the pattern of movement will set off a series
of involuntary reflexes and motor actions over which one has little or no
control. In fact, deliberate attempts to activate TA often tend to
activate abdominal contraction and lumbar spinal flexion, which is the last
thing that you want during a heavy lift or complex action.

It is unnecessary to try to intervene in controlling in any given single
muscle once you are an experienced exerciser, because the correct
repetition of any exercise will ensure that your neural programs activate
or relax the necessary muscle in the most effective and safest manner. The
very reason that we practise technique is to create automatic neural
programs that we don’t have to ever think about during an exercise or
sporting action.

I leave the comment about TA control helping to protect neck and knees to
others for their scrutiny.

————————————

ISOLATION PHILOSOPHY

Dr Mel C Siff

The therapeutic and fitness training worlds still seem to place a heavy
emphasis on an isolationist approach to physical testing and conditioning,
without carefully identifying the situational limitations and scope
whenever such as approach is used.

Attempts are made to test and train muscles individually. Few days pass
without comments being made on isolating the upper or lower abdominals for
training, selectively training the core of the body, activating
transversus abdominis to ’stabilise the trunk’, testing for weaknesses or
imbalances in certain muscle groups or explaining poor performance or
injury on the basis of imbalance in some isolated system of the body.

The body constitutes a linked system and, unless the scope and limitations
of any given isolationist approach is meticulously identified, it is
misleading and unwarranted to use and extrapolate findings based on
isolationist methods. If one unquestioningly applies isolationist methods,
then it is being assumed that the isolated area concerned constitutes a
closed system. This implies further that this isolated system is not
affected by or does not affect what happens in adjacent or other linked
systems, or at least that any such interaction with other systems is
insignificant.

The trunk, abdominals, lower extremity, knee and so forth are not closed
systems and any action involving these subsystems influences what is
happening in all parts of the body and the body as a whole. It is vital
that the body be regarded in terms of a systems theoretical approach,
rather than one which makes very tenuous assumptions about the closedness
of conveniently isolated subsystems whose apparent isolation from other
systems invariably is based entirely on convenience or convenience.

Even if one attempts to apply a systems theoretical approach, it may still
be inadequate to regard the entire body as the superordinate closed system,
as is implied, for instance, by the current somewhat simplistic emphasis on
so-called “core training”. The limitations of the latter concept may
readily be noticed if one observes that it is very rare in land-based sport
for core stability to be manifested in the absence of contact with the
ground or external objects. Peripheral stability, which usually is reliant
on solid contact between the extremities of the body with some surface, is
essential before core stability becomes implicated in a given sporting
action on land.

Without adequate peripheral stabilisation, the functional capabilities of
the “core” are meaningless. The entire body or the body-surface constitutes
the appropriate closed system for our attention. Thus, if terms such as
“core stabilisation” are to be used, then they need to be carefully applied
within the appropriate context.

This is not to negate the value of approaches that use isolationist
approaches for valid therapeutic or analytical reasons, such as those
involving EMG mediated biofeedback, “Kegel” exercises, and post surgical
respiratory exercises, but it is to stress that the unqualified application
of isolationist approaches to sports conditioning needs to be viewed with
careful circumspection.

If we do so, then we may also become far more careful to avoid referring
rigidly to certain muscles as stabilisers, movers, agonist, antagonists,
flexors, adductors and so on, instead choosing to refer to the stabilising,
moving, agonistic, antagonistic, flexor and adduction roles of a muscle
during any given phase of a specific motor action.

————————————

Someone from the original group which initiated the discussion on a
squatting article in that bodybuilding magazine reminded me that I also
sent in these comments about belt wearing and squats. Here it is, just in
case some folk feel that the critique may be incomplete without inclusion
of this aspect.
———————————-

Dr Mel Siff