Since the COVID-19 pandemic (and all of its resulting business closures), it’s become more common than ever to hire trainers with zero experience. I was that trainer at one point; anyone who is currently a coach started out as being one with no experience. But what about coaches/trainers who are certified? Before entering the health and fitness industry, I always thought at least a basic personal trainer certification would be required to start.
In an industry with such a high turnover rate (largely due to lack of opportunity for growth, but that’s a rant for another day), it’s not too shocking or outrageous to hire someone without prior formal coaching experience. Unfortunately, it’s now also seemingly more common to encounter hired coaches who don’t have any formal experience, or formal education of any kind (BA, BS, personal training certifications, continuing education certifications, CPR/AED/First Aid certifications… the possibilities go on). This is where many clients ask themselves, “Well, does that really matter?” or “Isn’t just one type of certification enough?” I’ll expand more as we go along in our discussion here, but in my (condensed) opinion, the answers are: “Hell YES, and absolutely NOT.” I’ve encountered gym owners/managers who think formal education of any kind—even including doctorate level education—is a waste of time and money, solely for prestige. “Anything can be found in podcasts or on the internet!” Do most podcasts come with accompanying case studies? Does Google now include quizzes and in depth tests of knowledge, both factual and practical?
Here’s my “hot take”: if science is constantly evolving, technology is constantly evolving, and client needs are constantly evolving, then we as coaches need to keep ourselves in the loop, and challenged to do better for our people. Not I, nor my future coaches, are here to spew Googled information, popular gym-bro podcast regurgitated search engine results, or things we have no business instructing on. It is our mission to: first and foremost work within our scope of practice, continue to keep ourselves educated, memorize what to preach, practice it, and then coach it with as full of an understanding as we could possibly have in that moment of need.
In a modern world full of Instagram influencers (who most of the time don’t even actually do the workouts they post) and trainers who think, “Well I made X work for me, so it must work for everyone—I looked it up,” I’m challenging anyone who is searching for a personal trainer to make sure that who they’re asking actually has a comprehensive and useful answer to the problem(s) they want solved. If the coach doesn’t have a source of proven practical/formal education… maybe keep shopping.
There’s a quote that comes to mind when I think about the importance of making sure we’ve set ourselves up for as much success as we can get at a given time: “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” -Ben Franklin
Thank you for reading, be well, and stay tuned for our next recipe of the week!
Margo
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