Do people doubt the quality, knowledge and professionalism of Doctors? Lawyers? Dentists? Engineers?
In general, they don’t…
That is because most of these professionals have a strong governing body that guarantees the quality of the training of these guys. They are highly paid and rightfully so!
They have high standards expected of them and by and large, they deliver consistent results.
But unfortunately the health, beauty, supplement and fitness industry (perhaps even more so in Singapore than in the other countries) is very un-regulated.
Becoming a “personal trainer” in Singapore is almost absurdly easy. The Basic exercise course is extremely easy to pass. After that you have the “qualifications” to work in any gym.
A medical doctor takes 6-10 years of intense study to be work with a patient’s body, but a personal trainer only needs 3 days of part time study.
He or she is then expected to perform preventive medical care (which is what good health is isn’t it…) on a client.
This is an unreasonable request and yup… it doesn’t make much sense.
But I’m not the whining sort. I want to be part of the solution not part of the problem. I do not believe that there is a certification at the moment that fully covers all you will need to know to become a personal trainer.
It takes much more than a weekend certification. It takes a constant desire to learn and improve.
The best personal trainers will study just like a doctor and will need to have good understanding of:
* Biomechanics (how the body moves in space)
* Kinesiology (how the joints move etc)
* Nutrition
* Endocionology (hormonal system)
* Manual Therapy (massage, rehab, trigger point work etc)
* Injury Prevention
* Performance Enhancement
And I’ll probably think of more if I really sat down to do it. The body is such an awesome piece of creation that we will probably never get to the end of it. Thus the need for continuous education.
Oh yeah, don’t forget that it’s not just good enough to know. A personal trainer must distill out the important points and teach/coach them to a client who may have never exercised or eaten a healthy meal in the last 15 years!
I believe all this is too much to teach in any reasonable amount of time. It needs to be learnt over years of consistent study and practice. This cannot be driven by any certification. It has to come from an intrinsic sense of excellence. Being the very best that you can be.
I know I’m not perfect but I do want to make the best use of whatever God given ability I have. If that means spending several hundred or even thousands of dollars a month on books, dvds, seminars etc. That is just part of being a responsible professional.
“Who we are is God’s gift to us, who we become is our gift to God” so we might as well be the best we can be!
Maybe one day personal training will be a professional qualification. That will be a happy day for the fitness industry.
Coach Jonathan Wong, is a sought after Singapore personal trainer and performance expert who has helped hundreds of clients in Singapore from regular folk to national level athletes achieve their fitness, fat loss and sports performance goals regardless of starting age, fitness level or experience.
He Is also a fitness author and a member of Singapore Men’s Health Advisory Panel. Visit his website for a free 1500 page e-book, blog, newsletter and constant updates. http://www.coachjon.com
