Re: Kentucky Association of Fitness Professionals Part 2 -- Kentucky Association of Fitness Professionals

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Date Posted: 08:18:00 01/06/07 Sat
Author: J.R.Smith, KAFP President
Subject: Re: Kentucky Association of Fitness Professionals Part 2
In reply to: J.R.Smith, President KAFP 's message, "Kentucky Association of Fitness Professionals" on 16:00:11 09/10/06 Sun

I mentioned in my ealier post here that if an unprofessional, uncertified fitness trainer hurts a client it will mean bad press for those of us who are professionals. Allow me to elaborate a bit more on that.

With liability issues at an all time high if those trainers that are not professionally certified are allowed to continue to work in this industry and hurt clients the state lawmakers are going to come down on all of us, regardless if we are professionally certified or not, since lawmakers cannot distinguish between the two. We all fall into the same barrell and will all get shot like fish in a barrell. This is not only not fair but uncalled for.

The KAFP has a stand on what we believe is acceptable in Kentucky as minimum standards to practice. We continue to stand by that but we also believe that the state of Kentucky SHOULD enact legislation under the guidance and watchful eye of the KAFP that will require as a minimum requirement that any practicing fitness professional should possess a certification by an organization that has either been NCCA accredited or is an NBFE provisional affiliate. We also believe that there should be a minimum standard requirement that to continue practining in Kentucky 10 CEU's should be earned by earning practical skills each year in a workshop setting with other professional trainers. Although these CEU's may not go toward your current certification, they will go toward satisfying what we believe will continue to keep the fitness professional a professional and keep the state lawmakers out of our industry.

I invite your thoughts, insights and criticisims on this issue. The KAFP is your organization and we are fighting for your rights to earn unlimited incomes. But if this industry does become legislated and we are required to maintain a state licence, you may find your income earning abilities limited to anywhere from $10 an hour to probably no more than $25 an hour unless you have a degree in physical therapy.

We must remain independent from all outside organizations. All attempts to take over the fitness industry should be met with resistance from a unified voice of professional trainers. We should be given the rights to police ourselves and determine what is needed to be done in order to maintain the professionalism of this industry. And we must be professional. We can no longer maintain the philosophy, "To each his own" as that is dangerous. When we leave the average Joe who thinks he or she knows how to train a client only to kill them within five minutes of putting them on the treadmill because they didn't understand pre-fitness screenings, it only errods our own attempts to move the industry forward professionally.

There are going to be trainers who are going to be left behind. These individuals are those who want to "Rambo" their way around with no accountability to anyone else. Yet it is these individuals that are the most dangerous to our industry inviting scrutiny from state lawmakers who think they know what's best for us because physical therapists or athletic trainers told them so.

The KAPF is the protector of your rights as long as you are a professionally certified fitness trainer. You don't have to have a degree to be a fitness professional but you do have to have a certification that is recognized by the NCCA or NBFE. That we will stand by and fight for as the minimum requirements to work in the state of Kentucky.

Also the KAFP is going to work tirelessly to create a technical school in Kentucky that will be recognized by the KEA and the US Dept. of Education whereby the fitness professional will be able to earn a bachelor's degre in a technical school setting. This will by far surpass any degree you might puruse in a colleg or university because it will be focusing directly on personal training and sports conditioning. Purdue University is the first university or college in the USA that offers a degree in personal training and we at the KAFP applaude them for their efforts. But for those of us who are older and have an established training business, we cannot affort to go to Indiana and get a degree. So what do you do?

Currently the OPI is offerening a bachelor's degre on line for personal training. We believe that is a start but we also believe that technical training to develop practical skills is necessary to insure that the fitness professionals in Kentucky are the best at what they do and to keep state lawmakers out of legislating our industry.

I hope you agree. Let me know your thoughts and I would be more than happy to speak with you personally.

In the meantime, have a strong and healthy day.

J.R.Smith, c.f.t., s.p.n., s.s.c., NBFE board registered

KAFP president

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