Hacks and regulation ...

So, the last time I posted I merely posted the merriam-webster definitions of the word "hack" and for some reason the topic is still on my mind ...

... to whit, I was chatting with an associate this morning and the topic of regulation came up. The question being, is regulating trainers a good idea or a bad one? From my personal point of view, regulation can be a good thing, by creating some form of standardization, or a set of parameters that people should subscribe to. On the other hand, regulation in itself doesn't really belong in the training environment.

Bear in mind, trainers come in all shapes and sizes with experience, certifications and degrees from accredited universities. Nor is there one thing that can be taught to make a trainer any better than the next person. To be a trainer requires an ability to relate to people, humble themselves by having the good sense to recognize shortcomings (as well as strengths), acknowledge that learning happens from watching and listening to other people as well as the usual necessity of being ablt to motivate a person to do something they wouldn't necessarily do.

Back to the question about regulation ... I am biased. I think that there should be some minimum set of requirements for a person to take a certification exam. For instance ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine, and considered by many to be the gold standard) requires the applicant to have at least a Bachelors degree prior to taking their Health Fitness Specialist examination. My husband would call this an artificial method of gate keeping, but, again, this assures a minimum standard of education for everyone they certify.

Now on the other side, not everyone will be able to pursue a degree because of time, finances or interest, but, they still want to be a trainer. Which doesn't make them a bad trainer ... as long as they continue to educate themselves and not just rest on what they needed to learn to pass the certification test (which is what some people do). Learn more about the energy systems, learn more about metabolism, nutritional requirements (not just what the supplement vendor sells you - that is not a typo).

I used to work at one facility and they hired a kid as a trainer who used to be a receptionist. He constantly pissed me off because he was fully convinced that more protein was better, it didn't matter the activity levels of the client, it didn't matter the morphology of the client ... his mantra was more protein, with no regards for published nutritional guidelines ... he should not be allowed to touch a client, and I really hope he wasn't.

Hack, and I would whole hearted support a regulated standard for this moron.