Licensure for Personal Trainers
Licensing of personal trainers is a hot topic these days. It is important to understand the full implications of supporting licensure before any decision is made to support it. Licensure may sound appealing when looked at from simply one perspective. However, there are very real and likely consequences that will accompany such a major shift in your industry—consequences that may adversely affect you. Some of you may even be put out of work by such a move.
While some believe that a state license will make the personal trainer appear more credible in the public, it is important to ask yourself if you feel less than professional or credible now. In my pursuits as a certified personal trainer, I have not encountered any obstacles to gaining public acceptance or respect as a professional. In truth, the average client does not even know the real difference between a license and a certification--they are more concerned in your knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide them with the service that they seek. Seeking credibility and a professional acceptance is something that can and should be pursued through your own efforts; it is not something that will magically appear with a license. Knowing your job well and doing it with complete dedication, passion, and professionalism will suffice in producing a wonderful public image for yourself and our industry as a whole.
As a certified trainer, I have had phenomenal success in networking with, getting referrals from, and even gaining clients themselves from within the allied health care and medical professions. As certified fitness trainers, you currently hold the ability to market to, network with, and work for anyone out there, including health care professionals. I have even achieved a trusted relationship with state worker’s compensation agencies, receiving payment to a client for sessions invoiced with me. There are no mechanisms or obstacles preventing anyone from achieving this level of respect and trust in the industry as it currently is. I have, and have had, clients who were M.D.s, urologists, general practitioners, attorneys, prosecutors, state officials, police officers, stock brokers, and on and on. I have often trained the spouses and children of these professionals also. If you are not achieving this now, do not think that a license will suddenly make this happen. A license would not remove any obstacle or negative image from you as a trainer. I can tell you that a single board examination or license will not raise an eyebrow on someone who has spent 8 years or more in college and graduate school to gain their credentials. It will not change your skill level or ability to gain clientele. Those achievements are up to you and are completely at your access NOW.
One approach to the subject of licensing is to suggest that a national board standard should be used in the criteria to obtain a license. While this in itself sounds reasonable, the facts remain that: we do not currently have licensing, licensing may not be what is best for our industry, and finally, we do not have to accept it as our only option. So, to put it into perspective, this approach borders on being a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we blindly accept that licensing is a mandatory upcoming event, then of course we would support a national board for that licensing. However, licensing is NOT at this time a mandatory upcoming event. You can still support a national board, but don’t forget that you do not have to accept licensure as your only option. Of course, without licensure, a national board can not be mandatory industry wide.
There are many great certifying organizations out there, as well as some not so great. One of the great things about our industry is the diversity of it. While some have worked to expose and capitalize on the bad side of this aspect, the good side is that we all have options, and they are very good options. There are certifying organizations that have been the gold standard in university programs, athletic programs, and allied healthcare fields for years. These can not be denied or discredited. While they all may differ in approach, it has been found that they do contain a standard core of requirements and objectives common amongst them.
The biggest argument that seems to induce the trend toward licensure is the argument that different states will mandate different rules and standards for trainers. While this is a valid concern, once again licensure does not have to be the answer to this problem. This problem can be approached and resolved by any group representing the best interests of the personal training industry. Remember, industry problems are better solved when the results are inclusive, rather than exclusive. In other words, you do not want to fix a problem by taking away from yourself when there are other options. This comes back to the fact that licensure is a dangerous path to take, and would likely result in loss for many in the industry. Examine the options more closely. As constituents in a democratic society, we are free to be involved and heard at any level of government and legislation involving our industry. This can be done as individuals, or as groups representing local interests. But it should always be done with the best end result in mind. Licensure is not the safest path for our industry.
We have all met the so called “bad trainers” in the field. I personally have worked with some myself. Surprisingly, I have found that many of them hold a bachelor’s or higher in exercise science or physiology, and are certified by reputable organizations. No amount of education, certifications, or especially licensing will change this. Recently, a client informed me that her physician told her that her visceral fat was actually broken muscle tissue that can not be repaired and will never go away. Of course, most of us know that fat cells are fat cells, and muscle cells are muscle cells—one can not change into the other. This physician is licensed and board registered, yet I would say he shows some level of incompetence. If she began to develop insulin resistance, where would he look first? Let’s not forget the fact that an estimated 80,000 deaths occur each year in this country at the hands of licensed, board registered health care professionals. Licensing certainly does not eliminate this problem. Once again, the end result would not be worth the dangers and loss associated with licensure. It just simply is not true.
Licensing has never led to a higher income for the practitioner in any field. In fact, it has been shown to limit consumer choice, raise consumer cost, raise practitioner costs, and ultimately limit practitioner mobility. All things we don’t suffer currently. Physicians actually are doing some work at 1/3 of the pay they previously have performed the same service for, all due to government mandates through licensing.
Licensing in nearly all currently licensed occupations requires such mandates as formal schooling completion, experience, current citizenship, and completion of a state examination. It is hard to believe that our industry would end up any different, especially with recent events of legislation pointing towards these very outcomes. Licensing will, without a doubt, have one affect—it will restrict entry and reduce competition. What we give up for that will far outweigh any benefits we receive.
Even when we examine the possibility of insurance companies and medical payment agencies validating payment to licensed trainers, we must realize that it would require first a license. It is also true that these agencies will not view a mere board exam as an exhibition of competency. How could they? They remit payment to practitioners now that have ALL met minimum education requirements—physical therapists, athletic trainers, physicians, etc.—to obtain their license. Do you think they would change this position for us? Once again, licensure is not the answer. Some of you will support such a notion that would ultimately put you out of work, legally. Ask anyone who deals with insurance companies on a daily basis how they feel about dealing with them. The answer is unanymous, it is horrible. You will work for the insurance company, not the client, and they will tell you how much you will get paid and how long you will work with the client. Those are the facts.
It is my one and only intent to inform others of the historical and current dangers synonymous with pursuing licensure. It is a very dangerous and self-defeating move to invite government regulation into your industry or your career. There are other ways currently at your disposal to obtain all proposed benefits of licensure, without any of the associated costs or losses. We must work against licensure as it will literally destroy the industry we know and love. This is of immediate concern if you do not hold a degree in the field, at least at the bachelor’s level.
posted by The Trainer's Advocate @ 11:36 AM
6 Comments:
For all of the push for our opinion over licensing, it is good someone finally put out some information about it.
A new comment has been put forth. I want to remind everyone that this site is dedicated to the protection of the personal training industry from inefficient government regulation and other dangers. I will respond to this comment, as it espouses the very dangerous misconceptions that we are working to put down.
Personally, I have been denied jobs as fitness trainer because I lack a certification from an accredited organization. Also, I believe that many clients would benefit greatly from learning about a license which they can ask for when seeking a trainer. The government can help in that aspect because it could give the public a reference to help them choose a trainer. Without the knowledge of names of accredited organizations, people in general won't know how to recognize the trainers they should be hiring. One can't base their arguments only upon ones own experience. You have to look at the other side of the market; the general public who knows not what they should be looking for in a trainer. I want to congratulate you on becoming a successful trainer. I think you are good at your job because you care about marketing yourself. I do applaud your actions and would hope there could be a way of teaching this properly in any type of fitness related degree. Trainers do need to be able to promote themselves, but the general public shouldn't have to pay for appearances of what they might think a trainer should be. I think it would be beneficial for the general public if trainers were licensed.
I am glad to hear that at least some clubs are instituting their own standards and accepting only accredited certifications. This is the first step to self-regulation and keeping the non-fitness professionals out of our industry.
To assume that clients and the general public are all just uneducated, innocent victims of the actions of others is incorrect. Consumers have the sole responsibility of knowing what they are purchasing, be it a service or a product. If we begin to rely on the government to parent us, to make decisions for us, then by all definitions we are destroying the principles of liberty and the free market upon which we so proudly stand. This is the most important point in all of it!
If someone is walking in and just blindly purchasing something without any research or knowledge, you so falsely view this person as a victim. The truth is that they dismissed their own responsibility to gather information. This is the information age, and there is no excuse for this.
What we can do is create a standard of acceptance within our own industry that would become publicly recognizable. But remember, no form of licensure, accreditation, or regulation will completely replace the consumer's responsibility to also protect themselves with knowledge and references.
These arguments are not based upon my own experiences alone. I demonstrate that it can be done, and I know hundreds of professionals that do the same. It is not merely selling an appearance, which by the way is something that takes place everyday on every car lot and in every store in the nation, do you want to license salespeople too? The financial damage they can do is horrendous.
You miss a few key principles behind this motion. First, the government is there to protect liberty and property, not tell us what to sell and what to buy, nor how much to charge or pay. Next, you completely failed to address the multitude of horrible consequences that the government regulation would inflict on our industry.
Government regulation will in many ways eliminate trainers, (many good ones too), this will decrease the supply of trainers in a market which is experiencing an increase in demand. What does economics 101 tell us? This will drive consumer prices up.
I am not going to reiterate all of my talking points here. I appreciate your comments, but I do suggest that you rethink your position on this very important matter.
Thank you for your participation.
How in the world could you support licensing of trainers? Anyone who is a real full time trainer for a living should be opposed to such nonsense!
Don't give the porksters another reason to get in our pockets and screw up yet another industry.
Licensure will cause too much damage and loss to the industry.
What will we gain? Credibility? Professionalism? Notariety? Nonsense. If you don't have those now, you won't have them with a license. It is personal responsibility, fellow trainers. Personal responsibility.
Don't believe the BS about all the great things that will happen from licensing. It will make training not even worth being in anymore. They aren't giving us anything, but it will take away too much from us.
all for Licensing for personal trainers. Been a trainer for 14 yrs I'm a NSCA-CSCS & CPT think its about time this was done!!
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, it is my position that anyone who would support licensure does not have a thorough understanding of politics, monopolization through legislation, or big insurance company bullying.
While you may be well certified in your field, you lack the resources to see the problem from an objective perspective concerning the OVERALL good of the training industry.
Of course, after all of the information I've put forth here, along with all of the refutations against any reason to support licensure, you only statement is that you support it. I would seriously question whether you can refute any of the good points I put forth in this post, and The Myths of Licensure, etc.
It is the dangerous and un-American thinking such as yours that puts control directly into the hands of political and big business profiteers, while the industry, the clients, and the practitioners will suffer greatly.
In this blog I have cited where licensure has failed every time, how it limits mobility of the practitioner, increases practitioner and client costs, how it profits only the conglomerates who lobby it into legislation, and how its very design is to limit competition to those who pay the big guys first.
You are entitled to your opinion.
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