The fitness industry is experiencing a boom in Australia and as a result, there are thousands of businesses offering the courses necessary to begin a career in personal training. Course providers entice potential students with slogans like “Fully qualified in just eight weeks!” and “Fast Track your Career…Fully Online, Part-Time and Intensive courses” allowing students to complete the required Certificate IV in personal training via face to face study, distance education or online.
But industry professionals are now raising concerns about the role of personal trainers in Australia and the comprehensiveness of the courses offered to those who wish to pursue a career in the fitness industry.
Anatomy classes, learning about the different ways to exercise, weeks in the gym learning about each piece of equipment and lessons about how to construct a tailor made program to fit each individual’s need. These are the sorts of images in many people’s minds when they walk into a gym and assign the management of their personal fitness with a ‘fully’ qualified personal trainer.
Manager of Geelong’s Gym, Gerard Spriet said “Ninety-five percent of the people who undergo the eight week (Certificate IV) course can’t even do the basics,” Mr Spriet said.
Most fitness providers allow students a maximum of one year to complete their Certificate IV with no minimum time frame for course completion. This means that fitness qualifications can be obtained in only a matter of weeks.
Manager of ReCreation Glen Iris, Carissa DiMonte has heard of people obtaining their personal training qualifications over the internet in just two weeks.
“There is so much riff-raff coming out of those institutes… it is embarrassing,” Ms DiMonte said.
Fitness Australia and Kinect Australia are two independent, not-for profit organizations providing leadership and support to the fitness industry and to the public, whilst monitoring industry standards and registration processes.
Executive Director of Kinect Australia, Ian Kett has expressed concern regarding the roles and responsibilities of personal trainers, expressing the need for a tighter brief.
Mr Kett said short course vocational training, like the Certificate III in Fitness – Gym Instructor and the Certificate IV in Fitness – Personal Trainer, are “the entrance points to the fitness industry,” but admits that he questions the level of understanding and capacity to deliver knowledge in such a short space of time.
“There are issues regarding the quality and level of understanding and capacity of instructors that still need to be addressed properly,” he said.
Although a valuable work force is being created because of these fast tracked short fitness courses, Mr Kett believes it is also about “recognizing the limitations of training and competency and creating links (with medical practioners) to support those in the fitness industry”.
Further problems arise when personal trainers come across a client whose needs are different because they suffer from a medical condition.
Senior Lecturer in Exercise Science at the Australian Catholic University, Dr Vanessa Rice said the scope of practice needs to be defined for personal trainers in Australia.
“Personal trainers should work with healthy populations, those considered low risk. When you talk about disease you change the playing field. Individuals should then move to an allied health practitioner,” Dr Rice said.
Mr Kett describes three levels associated with training individuals, as being low, medium and high risk. Although the exact definition is in a “grey area”, Mr Kett said that a high-risk client is someone who has a “problem that would be exacerbated by exercise, whether that be a condition, injury or otherwise”.
“PTs are trained to provide training for those considered low risk in controlled settings. Other than that, they are outside their jurisdiction and should refer the matter on to an appropriate health professional,” he said.
Mr Kett recognizes that there are a lot of personal trainers don’t even have the base qualifications and still work with high risk clients.
The 2007/2008 National Health Survey indicated that 77% of the Australian population reported having at least one long-term medical condition with just over one in six people reporting a disability or long term restrictive condition. Of these, 27% had a significant core activity restriction.
Professor of Exercise Science at the University of South Australia, Dr Kevin Norton, believes that the Commonwealth Governments decision in 2006 to include university trained Exercise Physiologists under Medicare’s Allied Health Measure has gone a long way to improving the options for those high risk sufferers wanting to manage their condition through exercise.
Under the Measure those who suffer from chronic or complex illnesses are eligible for five sessions per annum with a qualified Exercise Physiologist under the Medicare rebate scheme.
A spokesperson for Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) and SMA appointed board member of Fitness Australia, Dr Norton believes that there are PT’s that fall through the cracks when it comes to being qualified.
“There is a need to clarify the roles of those (PT’s) with no university education… Anyone could and still can call themselves a personal trainer but if they want to claim through Medicare (for high risk) they have to be an accredited Exercise Physiologist,” he said.
As many gyms are now franchises, it is up to the individual clubs and club managers to set the bar regarding the qualifications and practices of their trainers.
Personal Training Manager at Fitness First in Richmond, Brendan Whelan said their trainers are put into three categories of competency: level one being those with less than 12 months experience and level two and above who are qualified to treat those that are high risk.
Mr Whelan said the gym qualifies its personal trainers through internal courses to double the industry standard required by the two main fitness bodies – Kinect Australia and Fitness Australia.
“Only experienced trainers are allowed to take on higher risk patients here,” Mr Whelan said.
Personal trainer at Geelong’s Gym, Danny Reeves also believes the current eight week courses offered by fitness course providers are no longer comprehensive but feels that personal trainers are not fully to blame when it comes to questionable practices.
Mr Reeves admitted that most PT’s would not pass on a client even if they are considered high risk because of the pressure from gyms to have as many clients as possible in order to pay the rent.
“Gyms now require PT’s to pay a percentage or standard rate per fortnight to work in their gyms,” he said.
Ms DiMonte (ReCreation Glen Iris) believes that “more screening at point of sale” may assist in ensuring that the correct advice is given to higher risk clients when providing fitness instruction.
“There is not one health club that is doing everything well 100%,” she said.
Whether or not the fitness industry should be regulated by the State or Federal Government to deal with these issues is up for contention.
“The fitness industry is one of the worst governed industries in business… with little policy in place to assist those with medical conditions,” Mr Spriet said.
Mr Kett said there is a need for legislation to support the training packages and codes of practice set down by course providers and industry bodies.
“(The Government) relies on the professionalism in the industry and good will.. There needs to be a stronger connection between all medical practitioners… with an emphasis on the promotion of education in the industry and in the public in general,” he said.
“The industry codes of practice are voluntary, and encourage industry to act responsibly,” he said.
Dr Vanessa Rice argues that the industry should be self regulated, but there should be “no potential for financial gain” by the two industry bodies (Kinect Australia and Fitness Australia) that are “controlling the market”.
Dr Rice believes that professional bodies and industry regulators should be “separate entities because the bodies have a vested financial interest in having a duopoly over the market”.
Mr Kett dismisses this allegation, saying that “Kinect Australia is a not for profit community organisation, and not about commercial gain.
“Kinect is about developing a system that has real value for the community…in absence of government funding,” he said.
Kinect Australia is looking to develop relationships with industry bodies including Diabetes Australia and Arthritis Victoria to expand programs for Personal Trainers to continue their education beyond current industry standards and educational frameworks and learn more about how to individually train each client to ensure the physical wellbeing of each Australian.
Natalie Marshall & Joel Carnegie