Scope of Practice/Ethics
IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Group Fitness Instructors
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately teach classes; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: personal Trainers
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
Ethical Practice Guidelines for Personal Trainers
IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Group Fitness Instructors
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client and will practice within the scope of my education and knowledge. I will maintain the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; will behave in a positive and constructive manner; and will use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
IDEA Health & Fitness Association IDEA Code of Ethics: Owners and Managers
As a member of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, I will be guided by the best interests of the client. I will provide facilities and staff for effective exercise and lifestyle programs; ensure that staff maintains the education and experience necessary to appropriately train clients; uphold fair business practices and safety guidelines; and use truth, fairness and integrity to guide all my professional decisions and relationships.
Ethical Practice Guidelines for Owners and Managers
What Do You Think a Trainer’s Role Should Be in Helping Kids Get Fit?
I think the biggest role a trainer has in helping kids is leadership. Lead by example, lead by educating and lead by making exercise fun and enjoyable. The statistics are scary, [indicating that life expectancy for today’s children could be shorter than it is for their parents, because of obesity]. It is our duty as fitness professionals to recognize that children need our help in a lot more ways than we can imagine.
Tricks of the trade
The best way to prevent uncomfortable trainer-client situations from occurring is to conduct yourself professionally at all times—from the moment you first meet your client to the time you spend together during sessions. Present him or her with a folder containing your new-client paperwork (i.e., training philosophy, policies, medical questionnaire and consent form).
The Elephant in the Room: Nutrition Scope of Practice
Fitness professionals are increasingly bombarded with nutrition questions from clients, friends and distant acquaintances. From the merits of specific vitamins and performance-
enhancing supplements to popular diets, nutrition to improve athletic performance and how to eat to lose those last 5 pounds, nutrition information is in demand. And who better to give it than a trusted fitness expert, who, the consumer supposes, is equally well versed in nutrition?
Biggest Loser Distorts Reality
They say there is no such thing as bad free advertising, but in the case of The Biggest Loser TV show, I disagree vehemently. These so-called trainers are giving reputable and ethical personal trainers a bad image. As a former college instructor of exercise science, I used the show’s trainers, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, as examples to my students of what not to be and how not to train. They are what I call “Hollywood” trainers, hired to get actors and models ready for their professional roles in a very short time span.
Behave Yourself!
Professional Boundaries
Examples of a personal trainer’s professional boundary values:
Identifying and Managing Risk Among Trainers
9 Business Basics:
Pricing Your Services
13 Technology:
From Mobile to Mobility
17 Training for Growth:
The Struggle for Significance
21 Best Practices:
Build Your Team
By nature, personal trainers are passionate, driven, organized and excellent at communicating, or so we would like to believe. In reality, within any team there are radical differences in terms of trainer competencies.
IDEA Code of Ethics for Personal Trainers
a. Remember that a personal trainer’s primary responsibility is to the client’s safety, health and welfare; never compromise this responsibility for your own self-interest, personal advantage or monetary gain.
Take Advantage of Boomer Trends
How can you take advantage of trends in and out of the fitness industry to best serve your baby boomer clients? Before answering, let's blitz through some brief history. Which generation pushed, pulled and grapevined adult exercise into the mainstream? If you knew it was baby boomers, you have been paying attention.
Patience is the Heart of Ethics
While fidgety children may be told that “patience is a virtue,” a University of Arkansas philosopher has found patience to be much more profound than simple, passive waiting. Rather, patience is “the living heart of ethics.” In a presentation to the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy last month, Irene McMullin discussed patience as a “neglected virtue,” little examined by philosophy or society at large.
Would you ever turn down a new client for training?
I will turn down a client under only two conditions: when it is physically and logistically impossible to accommodate him based on scheduling conflicts, and when a prospective client’s goals and expectations are unrealistic. The first is pretty straightforward: if my schedule is fully booked, I have a waiting list and will contact the prospective client when a time slot becomes…
Kids sign on with their own trainers
Like many 13-year-olds, Adam Hillen likes sports. As a seventh grader in Mason, Ohio, he plays on his junior high school’s football and wrestling teams.
But his father became concerned when Adam began working out with his friends. “He would go to the weight room with a bunch of kids, and I just thought that invited injury,” Doug Hillen says.
So he took Adam to meet D…
Using Ethics to Resolve Teaching Dilemmas
As wellness professionals, we are aware of the impact we have on others. Whether we intend it or not, our actions and words influence those with whom we teach and work. Every time we step into the studio, we make decisions; these are based on the nonverbal contract we have with our participants and clients that we will do our best to safely and competently guide them toward their goals in exchange for their trust, time and effort.
Professionalism in a Service Industry
In the first two articles of this five-part series, I discussed …
Are You Qualified to Work With At-Risk Clients?
Legal & Risk Management
By Sean Riley, MS, JD
Are You Qualified to Work With At-Risk Clients?
Why personal fitness trainers who work with postrehab and special populations are at greater legal risk themselves. Health clubs are becoming increasingly occupied by older clients and those who have special medical needs. This is partly due to referrals from physicians who have begun to appreciate the b…
Set Yourself Free
“I spend my days just surviving and getting from one appointment to the next. It seems there are never enough hours to get all the work done and still have some time for me! I feel hassled, hurried and agitated. How do I restructure my life to make it one I really want?”
This is a cry I often hear from my coaching clients, and maybe you find yourself feeling the same f…
“What is the youngest age you’d train a child or teen? Why?”
At Studio “A” in Montreal, we have a great focus on the youth market. About 90% of our 1,400 dancers are under 18 years of age, while some are as young as 3 years old. When youngsters are learning motor skills for dance or exercise, they sometimes start out looking like newborn fawns, all gangly and uncoordinated. As kids begin to master basic movement skills, they deve…