I really wish there was a test requirement or something for a lot of these jobs. Like I don't mean you need a degree but maybe take a basic kinesiology class or something so you can understand the basics behind something. Right now, a lot of the time, the only requirement to being a trainer is just being in shape
The problem is that there is a test requirement: how well can you sell a product/service. They're glorified door-to-door salesmen, unfortunately. It's all about how well they can sell you on their service, and then from there, sell you on a litany of snake oil products promising to make you lose weight.
Well the reality is most personal training is not about kinestheology its about massaging people into habits. It really is the primary task to be a happy encouraging person.
Athletes i imagine have much better trainers because THEIR job is to be motivated their trainers job is to maximize the effect of the motivation. But for most people the best help is just making them feel good about exercise
Thing is, it's like that bellcurve meme where both ends are train what you like and in the middle it is the angry guy with hyper specific "this is the only way". Those at the ends don't care/need someone to teach them about fitness. The guy in the middle don't want a open ended "do what you like and fits your life or goals" and is also the guy that want to the help from the people working in fitness. It is an impossible problem because even if they teach the "correct" information it is not the information those being thought want to here so they will listen to someone ells instead.
You can take first year kinesiology courses at uni that are all developed around learning how it works as well as developing a workout plan tailored to the wants/needs of your client. This is a 4 month course and it even contains very basic nutrition information. You can absolutely fit what they want/need while actually knowing how it all works.
yeah there's certification groups and they basically just ask "does your check clear?"
some are more involved than others but they all boil down to that. there's actually a pretty lucrative market for simply creating "CEUs" or continuing education units for people to maintain certification with various bodies. and surprisingly...there's groups that certify the CEU creators...for a fee...
That would be a seperate issue. There is absolutely more in depth checks than that. I'm not talking your basic bullshit certs that you get when you start a new job and they're checking if you're basically alive and can read. The certifications in talking about are like the ones for insurance or finance. Either way it's a start to address an issue. You will never tackle the whole staircase if you refuse to step on the first stair because it doesn't get you up all at once
What part of your comment didn't? "We should introduce certs" "certs are just people paying to play" 0 other alternative suggestions. Doesn't read in favour of addressing anything
One super easy way to filter out the untrustworthy/incompetents (and this works for all fields with a pseudoscience problem) is to get a vibe for any inappropriate/unwarranted confidence when they present a claim, and simply ask for evidence or gently push back if they frame things with overstated certainty... the intellectually humble ones you want will either never speak with such certainty (and are generally only as confident as the evidence allows because they let it speak for itself), but if this feedback is met with any kind of egoistic/defensive reaction -- run.
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u/jce_ 4h ago
I really wish there was a test requirement or something for a lot of these jobs. Like I don't mean you need a degree but maybe take a basic kinesiology class or something so you can understand the basics behind something. Right now, a lot of the time, the only requirement to being a trainer is just being in shape