We are all busy, so none of us wants to waste time on a rubbish blog that gives us nothing and takes away 5 minutes of our life. So, with that in mind, I’m going to come to the point pretty quickly as to why I think you should read this blog if you’re in, or have an interest in the fitness industry, and why I may have something engaging or even possibly useful, to say.
I’m getting on a bit (50s), and have been in this industry around 20 years in one form or another (aerobics instructor, personal trainer, chair based exercises, run a gym in a mental health unit, sports massage therapist) so have a few years experience of the industry. I’ve been super fit and slim and incredibly unfit and large (which is where I currently am now), so experienced both ends of the spectrum when it comes to exercising myself and instructing clients at different sizes and fitness levels.
I’ve worked in various roles and done lots of fitness and exercise qualifications & CPDs with different training providers, and had both positive and negative experiences with said providers & also the awarding organisations that design and accredit our qualifications & CPD. Fortunately, the majority of time training goes well with no issues, and off I go with my brand new qualification/CPD to impart my knowledge and hopefully make a positive effect on a client’s life. Unfortunately, that isn’t *always* the case.
Over the years, I’ve realised that training providers and awarding bodies can sometimes fall short of the high standards that we expect from them. Of course, as in any industry and life, I accept that things sometimes go wrong, but on a number of occasions I’ve had reason to complain about the quality of courses, training and customer service.
These courses aren’t always cheap, and the majority of us in the industry belong to professional bodies such as CIMSPA and are often required to pay for regular training if we want to gain employment and stay working. Some experiences with these courses/trainers/awarding bodies have left me extremely angry and frustrated and feeling that NO-ONE IS LISTENING TO US, and that we are expendable if unhappy because of the sheer volume of fitness professionals out there.
Occasionally I’ve had satisfactory resolutions, mainly because I’m a tenacious old hag; other times, despite my determination, not so much. Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that these industry companies should be more transparent, supportive and frankly *do better* for fitness professionals. We spend a huge amount of time and cash with them, and want our training to be more than just acceptable to gain a qualification and tick a box. I think it’s time to call these organisations out.
So, what is this blog is about? The above, mainly. The good and bad training, awarding bodies, qualifications and CPD. I’ll also be talking about other stuff that may be of interest to those in the industry, such reviews of gyms or classes in my own quest to get fit again (more about that here). I’ll also be reviewing gym clothes, because… well, why wouldn’t I want to talk about clothes? Also discussing the latest fitness and health research and no doubt having a rant or two about other related stuff.
I hope you find this blog interesting. All views are my own and you may think I’m talking absolute tripe and want to disagree, so feel free to engage and comment. Be polite though; your mother wouldn’t want you to use bad language or be an ass.
