A few words about the degradation of the profession «trainer»

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-03-25

Hello. I often receive messages like: "Help! There isn’t a single decent trainer in our gym!" Or sometimes it’s even: "There isn’t a single decent trainer in our CITY." And indeed, I also notice that the percentage of competent trainers is decreasing more and more. Why is this happening?

Let's begin by understanding what a "competent trainer" means. For me personally, a good trainer consists of the following three components.

1. Fundamental Education

I studied to become a trainer at the University of Physical Culture. Over five years, I covered the following subjects:

• Anatomy (1 year);
• Physiology (4 years);
• Psychology (3 years);
• Pedagogy (3 years);
• Theory and Methodology of Physical Culture (2 years);
• Morphology (1 year);
• Biomechanics (1 year);
• Biochemistry (1 year);
• Sports Medicine and Pharmacology (1 year);
• Therapeutic Physical Culture and Massage (1 year).

And a bunch of less important subjects. As you can probably understand, knowledge of all the subjects listed above directly influences a trainer's professionalism. To acquire all this knowledge, it is not necessary to attend university. I know many good trainers without higher education who actively engaged in self-education. They studied all these sciences, albeit not in university but independently. However, I believe that this is not fundamental (and practice shows the same).

2. Sports Background

A good trainer should be a former (or current) athlete. And it doesn't necessarily have to be in strength sports. I know good gym trainers who have trained in wrestling or athletics. The thing is that a person who has engaged in sports for several years has a completely different approach to the training process. It's sometimes stricter, but almost always more effective because they have personally experienced what extreme physical loads and complete dedication feel like.

3. Love for Their Work

Any pedagogical profession should be based on this quality. A trainer interacts directly with people. Moreover, they teach (train) them. Any educator, teacher, or trainer will never become a professional in their field if they engage in it without passion.

Now you know the three components necessary to become a good trainer. Moreover, all three must be present. Until recently, this was primarily the case. About 15-20 years ago, trainers were trained only in Physical Culture Universities, and only athletes were accepted into the coaching faculty (they had to pass a standard in their sport).

What has changed since then?

For about 15 years now, there has been a boom in fitness clubs across the country. Every year, new clubs open in every city. And that's a great thing. It promotes a healthier nation and encourages people to engage in physical culture. But where to find so many trainers?

The solution is simple. Many commercial accelerated courses for training fitness instructors have started to appear. Notice that they are for instructors, not trainers. If a trainer is a person who trains, an instructor is someone who gives hints. Do you feel the difference? Therefore, the requirements for their professionalism are much lower.

These fitness instructor courses typically last several months. I've even heard of 3-month distance courses! So, what can one learn in that time? Additionally, they accept anyone regardless of whether they have a sports background or not. After all, to enroll in a physical culture university, one had to pass a sports grade exam!

So, it turns out they accept anyone willing (just pay the money) and teach them superficial knowledge in a hurry.

But the trouble doesn't stop there. After all, someone has to hire these people in fitness clubs? Remember, the main goal of any fitness club is to make money. For the club, anything that brings in income is acceptable. This influences the approach to staff and clients. From the instructor, the primary requirement is one: the ability to persuade people to sign up for personal training. If they can persuade – they are a good trainer. If they can’t – they're a bad one. And if they also look somewhat athletic – that’s even better!

That's it. I may be exaggerating in places, but overall, this is how the picture looks. For the most part, such trainers/instructors are driven by only one love: love for money. Many of those who go to these courses don’t do so because they dream of becoming trainers and love what they do (though sometimes that happens), but because they haven't been able to find their place in life. And then they suddenly hear there are courses that can make them "professional trainers" in 3-5 months, allowing them to make a relatively decent income.

Now, I hope you understand why there are so few good trainers. After all, we (the good trainers) have gone through a long athletic journey. We have devoted many years not only to training but also to studying fundamental sciences. And of course, we love what we do. Otherwise, we would have given it all up long ago—both sports and education.

I have never liked the word "instructor." Of course, instructors are needed in certain fields (such as driving instructors). But there shouldn’t be instructors in the gym. This term subtly undermines the concept of "trainer," replacing it with something more second-rate.

Our first rector at KGUFKSiT (Kuban State University of Physical Culture, Sport, and Tourism) told us: "Guys, not everyone can become an educator. But not every educator can become a trainer."