Personal Trainer Professional Standards & Why They Matter

Fitness instructors need a good grasp of exercise science or the study of movement. It’s also helpful to understand exercise physiology. This is how the body responds to physical activity. 

Successful personal trainers also have knowledge in one more area. They know the professional standards that exist for those within the fitness industry.

What Are Personal Trainer Professional Standards?

Professional standards are like a code of conduct. They outline what makes up ethical conduct. They also provide guidelines for how to provide a high standard of service. 

It isn’t only personal trainers who have professional standards. You can also find these standards in business and financial occupations. Legal professionals and doctors also have standards. If someone has a professional practice or provides a service, they likely have standards to follow. 

Why Professional Standards are Important in Fitness

Professional standards help keep fitness professionals in line. They set a high standard that every personal training professional strives to achieve. When clients can expect a high level of service, they’re more likely to want to work with a trainer. When all trainers follow these standards, it raises the industry as a whole. 

Adhering to these standards can also help you become a sought-after trainer. Clients will know that when they work with you, you will treat them with respect and integrity. This can help them feel more comfortable during the training session. It also provides peace of mind that the trainer will act with ethics and morality. 

Following standards can also help elongate your personal training career. If you have a long list of standard violations, clients won’t want to work with you. Depending on the severity of the violation, you may even face disciplinary action.

Professional Standards in the Fitness Industry

In the world of fitness, several organizations have their own set of standards. The National Council for Certified Personal Trainers (NCCPT) is one, IDEA is another. Some of the standards from these organizations include:

• Acting with integrity when training clients. This includes providing training services that align with research. It also means adhering to all levels of laws (local, state, and federal). 

• Having a sense of integrity and fairness with other fitness professionals. This means respecting other trainers’ thoughts and opinions. Acting with integrity also involves not poaching their clients.

• Providing a safe training environment. Safety is important in any fitness training program. If your clients get injured because your training isn’t safe, you are not adhering to this standard.

• Not allowing your biases to interfere with your client’s fitness program. As a personal trainer, your client’s goals come first. It isn’t about what you want them to get from the training session. It’s about what they want to get—as long as what they want is safe and reasonable, of course.

• Referring clients if their needs exceed your skill level. Maybe your client needs corrective exercise, for instance. If you aren’t familiar with this, the standard requires that you refer the client to someone who is. Find a fitness professional in this area. Ask this expert to work with your client so they get what they need.

• Respecting a client’s privacy. Your client’s fitness records should be kept confidential. Any conversations you have with them are confidential as well. If you share your client’s private information with others, you are violating this standard.

• Avoiding unethical conduct. Sexual advances, derogatory comments, and inequitable treatment are all considered unethical. They should all be avoided when personal training.

• Maintaining a professional appearance. This includes following good hygiene practices. Imagine being a client and having a trainer who is dirty or unkempt. It would be hard to consider them a professional. This could also impact how you feel about them during the personal training session.

• Remaining focused at all times. Allow yourself to be distracted during training and your client could be injured. Every staff member working in fitness facilities would benefit from this standard. It looks bad if you’re a client and you can’t get help because the staff is on their cellphone. It’s also hard to stay motivated to exercise if your trainer isn’t paying attention to what you do.

Consequences of Violating a Professional Standard

What happens if violate a professional standard? These consequences are also set by the organization. 

Violations usually can be reported directly to the organization. These violations are generally turned over to a review committee. This professional standards committee reviews the violation and decides how to respond. This may include removal from the organization or ineligibility for certification.

How Exercise Professionals Can Set and Follow a High Standard

Of course, the best way to avoid a potential violation is to always provide a high standard of service. Here are a few ways to do that:

• Always treat your clients with respect. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if you were treated the way you treat them? Would you feel respected? If not, this signals a problem. Remember that respect can be conveyed in multiple ways. It is not just what you say but how you say it. Respect also involves showing up on time and being considerate of your client’s feelings and situation.

• Recognize your colleagues for their skills and talents. Being confident in yourself as a trainer is one thing. Thinking that you’re better than every other trainer out there is another. Every fitness professional has their own skills and talents. Recognizing this helps remind you to treat others with integrity. Appreciate what different trainers have to offer within the realm of fitness. You may even pick up ways that you can improve as an instructor. Learn from them so you become the best trainer you can be.

• Put yourself to the test. You can also employ the “grandma test” to make sure you don’t violate a standard. If you wouldn’t say or do something with your grandmother present, it’s best to leave it out of the training session. Admittedly, this works best if your grandmother is on the conservative side. If she isn’t, you can also do this test with any other conservative individual in mind. A member of your church might be a good substitute. You can also imagine that you’re being monitored by a high-powered CEO of a huge fitness empire. How would you act as a trainer? Aim to act this way all the time.

• Earn your certification. Remember that part of following these standards is learning as much as you can about fitness. Earning your certification as an instructor is a good start. Certified professionals know what is expected of them and how to deliver. They also have the training needed to create a safe, effective fitness program. 

You can become a Certified Personal Trainer with ISSA. Our certification courses provide the technical education required to work as a fitness instructor. You’ll also learn the mental skills needed to help clients reach their fitness goals.

References

NCCPT | Training Code of Conduct | Personal Trainer Code of Conduct. The National Council for Certified Personal Trainers. Retrieved 29 June 2022, from https://www.nccpt.com/code-of-ethics.

IDEA Codes of Ethics for Fitness Professionals - IDEA Health & Fitness Association. IDEA Health & Fitness Association. (2016). Retrieved 29 June 2022, from https://www.ideafit.com/uncategorized/idea-codes-of-ethics-for-fitness-professionals/.