Is Fitness Education Really a Necessity?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “education” is a derivative of the word “educe,” which means to “draw out, bring out...” or “develop”. The Oxford English Dictionary further defines the word education as to “[b]ring up (children) so as to form their habits, manners, intellectual aptitudes, etc,” and also “[t]rain so as to develop intellectual or moral powers generally…”

           

The above definitions in mind, I wish to stress the need of a sound fitness education for those aspiring to become fitness professionals. In fact, I’ll wager the amount of work that I’ve put into my fitness career to make it successful, that to become a professional at anything, one must have a sound educational base- meaning, our definition in mind, that not only was some skill or trait nurtured, developed, and honed, but that development was equally accompanied with specific “habits, manners, and intellectual aptitudes.”  It’s not enough to be talented at something- most people, who are good at it, can’t articulate and transmit it to someone else, the it being the rudiments of their particular craft. Nor is it enough to be smart enough to get it- we’ve all met individuals who were VERY book smart, but they just couldn’t seem to make that simple human connection that gets others to relate and identify with the it they were trying to articulate. Typically, those who are successful- the ability to bring goals to fruition, will tell you that there are specific acts that they do habitually, habits that inherently work towards achieving their desired goals. These habits are subliminally informed by both their innate talent, and the nurturance that has developed that talent. These are individuals who have honed their craft over years, often decades. Depending on the profession, these people may be regarded as Master Craftsmen, and ambassadors to their profession.

           

In the fitness industry, we have fitness employee’s who often proudly tout the moniker “Master Trainer” or “Master Group Instructor.” For the uninitiated, the assumption is that these are educated- as per our definition, individuals who have spent years honing, nurturing, and developing their professional skills set. However, a cursory investigation of personal and group training practices will reveal that MANY individuals exhibit a minimal professional fitness education.

As the former New York Regional Fitness Educator for the company that owns New York Sports Club (as well as Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia Sports Club), a Certification Specialist for the Aerobic Fitness Association of America (AFAA), and Senior Master Instructor for Kettlebell Concepts (KBC), I have instructed a vast spectrum of beginning, as well as so-called “seasoned” fitness instructors within the Health & Fitness industry, mostly on the North-East Coast of the United States. Many of these individuals we’re “Master” level instructors, who, at the start of the course (usually a national fitness certification or continuing fitness education course) were not shy about saying so.

           

In my experience, by the time the course discussion begins to focus on planes-of-motion, joint actions, and functional anatomy- the basics of what we need to know as fitness professionals, most of these same “Masters” find themselves over-whelmed with a bevy of information that they often feel unprepared to fully understand. And that’s not wholly their fault…aside from the individuals themselves, I also put the blame on those people who masquerade as seasoned instructors and fitness management, the same individuals who will often prepare individuals for a fitness certification course by giving them friendly advice, advice that usually states that the exam isn’t that difficult, that they don’t have to study seriously, that all they have to do is show up and take notes, that it’s not that big of a deal, etc. These individuals do the class participants a disservice because in essence, they are advocating and perpetuating the concept that professional education is not necessary within the fitness industry. For the unsuspecting class participant, particularly if they are taking the course with a seasoned fitness educator, they are abruptly awakened to the rude reality that greater preparation was needed to both successfully participate in, and pass the course examination.

           

In order to avoid being over-whelmed by the material covered in many of the entry level national fitness certification courses, aspiring fitness professionals need to take the definition of education seriously. They must submit their ego’s to the concept that they as are children entering a relatively new field of health promotion. They must accept that as children, they need to grow and mature into fitness professionals. No one becomes a Master of anything in short time. In most professions, it takes decades to even be taken seriously as a participant, let alone to be called a “Master.” I have participated in the martial arts for most of my life, hold a Black Belt ranking, and have fought inside the ring, and would never dream of calling myself a master of my particular style. I have taught fitness certification courses for half of my fitness career, and still, I would not call myself a master of the material. I am acutely aware that I, in fact, know very little in comparison to the body of knowledge that there is to digest. In the Light of that knowledge, I chose early on to plan out both my fitness career, and the education track that would be necessary to support the goals of my aspiring career. Admittedly, I still have a distance to go, but having secured some of the top credentials within my industry, I am secure in the knowledge that I have developed a firm fitness educational base, to which I can abundantly add and supplement as I continue my professional journey.

           

Let’s be clear, people sit for national certifications every weekend, and many fail. Not necessarily because they are not smart enough, but often because they never gave themselves a fair chance to really digest the material before sitting for the exam. Far too often, many quickly realize that there is a difference between passing the exam, and actually learning the material. Many people that I have met choose to focus on passing the exam to secure the credential, rather than actually learning the material. The danger in doing so is that the student only grasps a small iota of the vast material covered. Most fitness certification text books are at least 400-500 pages in length, and there is simply no way to digest and learn that amount of material in 2-3 days, the average length of a certification weekend workshop. Having failed the exam, the student must now invest more time and money into paying and studying for retests, assuming they decide to sit for the retest. 

           

Perhaps most importantly, we are in a service industry, one in which we service our clients physical fitness needs; we potentially harm our clients by being negligent towards our own professional education. The ultimate bottom line question is “[A]re we helping the people we serve?” If the answer is “no” or “very little,” then not only have we not done our jobs, but we make the next fitness professional’s job just that much tougher, as they now have to correct the errors that we established within a dissatisfied and/or injured client.

           

My hope in writing this is to share my passion for wanting to help others, I take passion very seriously. As someone once asked me to do, close your eyes and imagine a loved one who truly needs the help of a personal trainer or group class instructor. In your minds eye, does your mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent, or child receive the help they need? If your answer was no, how does that make you feel? If you’re as aspiring fitness professional and you said no, how can you educationally prepare yourself to help someone’s family member, so that they don’t experience the same disappointment that you just felt?

I’ll see you in the workshop…

Earnest L. Hudson, Jr.

MS, CSCS, CES, PES

Anatomatrix Fitness

elhudsonjr@anatomatrix.com

http://www.amatrixfit.blogspot.com/