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| The Power of Proven Certifications |
| Meaningful personal-training credentials are having an impact in the marketplace |
By Tom Richards |
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THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE of accredited personal-training certifications is
becoming obvious throughout the industry, and,
it seems, that awareness is beginning to trickle
down to the consumer level.
It all began in January, 2005, when IHRSA's
board of directors, recognizing the importance of
solid, meaningful accreditation, promulgated an
association-wide recommendation designed to
raise the level of professionalism and competence
of individuals working in this fast-growing sector
of the industry. Essentially, the proposal encourages
IHRSA clubs to begin hiring personal trainers
holding at least one certification from an agency
which itself has been accredited by a third-party
organization, such as the National Commission
of Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or, as an alternative,
from an agency that's in the process of
being accredited. (ed. note: IHRSA will recognize other, equivalent accrediting organizations contingent upon their status as an established accreditation body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and/or the United States Department of Education for the purposes of providing independent, third-party accreditation.)
Since then, several certifying groups have
demonstrated their confidence in, and acceptance
of, the new standard by applying for and earning
NCCA endorsement of their programs. These
include: the American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM); American Council on Exercise (ACE);
The Cooper Institute; National Academy of Sports
Medicine (NASM); National Council on Strength
and Fitness (NCSF); National Federation of
Professional Trainers (NFPT); and National
Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
Now, the insurance industry has taken note. As
a result, a new era of possibilities is dawning with
respect to incentives and rewards for those individuals
who make use of personal trainers holding
certifications approved by the NCCA.
Leading the movement is American Specialty
Health, Inc. (ASH), a national provider of personalhealth-
improvement products and benefits, which
has been offering products for third-party
reimbursement systems for more than 18 years.
In what amounts to a landmark event for the
personal-training industry, ASH recently began to
develop and market a program that would provide
consumers with access to, and discounts on, the
services of certified personal trainers.
The catch? The trainers must hold an
NCCA-accredited certified personal-training
credential, or a non-NCCA-accredited one and
be in the process of updating their education to
obtain the NCCA imprimatur.
Dr. Douglas Metz, ASH's chief health services
officer, is currently developing a set of credential
standards to ensure that its members receive
superior training services. "The NCCA is a highly
recognized independent organization whose
experience and history in the accreditation of
training certifications provide an important level
of credibility to the quality of the services delivered
to ASH members," he points out.
Metz is confident that consumers will appreciate
ASH's recognition of the NCCA sanctions
or approval process. "ASH's business clients value
verified competency because they appreciate a
process that can demonstrate, by independent
third-party assessment, that professionals
providing services have the basic industry
standard education required to deliver highquality
personal-training services," he explains.
Although ASH is the first personal-healthimprovement
provider to offer discounts based
on NCCA accreditation, Metz expects the trail it's
blazing will be traveled by many within the near
future. "It's our experience that the market
strives for quality programs," he observes. "The
application of industry-leading standards, such
as NCCA-accredited certification, to support
ASH programs will encourage others to add
similar criteria in support of their own personal-
trainer credentialing protocols."
SAVING ON PREMIUMS
Another industry bellwether, the Philadelphia
Indemnity Insurance Company (PIIC), has
become the first general liability insurance
provider to recognize the risk-reducing impact
of employing trainers with accredited certifications.
The company now offers its insured
health clubs a credit on their general liability
premium based on the percentage of NCCAaccredited
certified trainers they have on site.
To be eligible, the majority of a club's training
staff must hold accredited certifications. If they
do, clubs can earn up to a 10% reduction, based
on a sliding scale depending upon the number
of trainers holding accredited certifications.
This groundbreaking program was created
for PIIC by industry veterans Bob Kuchefski,
of Hoffman Insurance Services, in Wellesley,
Massachusetts, and Rick Caro, the president of
Management Vision, Inc., in New York City. The
two suggest that the 10% credit involved can
produce significant savings for the typical facility.
"With this program, a club can save thousands
of dollars each year on insurance premiums,"
explains Kuchefski, "and, of course, those
savings fall directly to the bottom line."
Beyond that, Caro believes that the program
presages broad changes throughout the industry.
"It sends a clear signal to clubs, from both
IHRSA and the insurance community," he
explains. "In the long run, it will demonstrate
to consumers that personal training is both
safe and effective."
So far, PIIC is the only general liability insurance
provider offering discounts based on
NCCA accreditation, but Kuchefski expects
other providers to institute similar programs in
the near future'particularly now that several
major certifying bodies have either obtained,
or are in the process of obtaining, NCCA
accreditation of their training certifications.
INCREASING CREDIBILITY
The mutually beneficial collaboration that's now
developing between the fitness and insurance
industries'which promises to generate new interest
and confidence in clubs'appears to further the
future envisioned by IHRSA's board of directors
when it passed its recommendation. "We're
delighted to know that NCCA accreditation is
attracting the attention, and leading to the involvement,
of major insurance providers," observes Joe
Moore, the president and CEO of IHRSA. "Clearly,
the extra layer of credibility that accreditation
provides will have a profound and positive impact
on the future of the personal training industry."
Dr. Michael Clark, the president of NASM,
shares Moore's belief that accreditation will
enhance the industry's credibility and stature.
"It's absolutely essential that the fitness industry
go through the accreditation process'this
is the course that's been pursued by every other
allied health profession," he says. "Third-party
payers, healthcare providers, and informed
consumers are going to demand accreditation
in the very near future. As the fields of healthcare
and fitness continue to merge, personal
trainers won't remain competitive unless
they take the necessary steps to professionalize
their qualifications."
With respect to competition, it appears that
consumers are already beginning to make
their membership-buying decisions based on
which clubs and trainers are accredited.
"NCCA accreditation is a great marketing
tool," reports Todd Durkin, the multifaceted
fitness entrepreneur who owns Todd Durkin
Enterprises and Fitness Quest 10, in San Diego,
California. Durkin was named Personal Trainer
of the Year by IDEA in 2004, and by ACE in
2005. "As a business owner, it's important to
hire people with outstanding qualifications,
and NCCA accreditation helps us to establish
credibility with our clients."
Daniel R. Gaita, a longtime supporter of
accreditation and founder of the Personal
Training Listing Service, is pleased by the
recent developments, but not yet satisfied.
"What our industry should do is insist that all
certifying bodies obtain accreditation from the
NCCA. This will set a minimum standard for
the industry, while respecting the individual
niche of each certification association." His
online service, www.personaltrainer.cc, allows
consumers to locate personal trainers with
specific qualifications, such as an NCCA accredited
certification
For Durkin, acutely sensitive to both the
clinical and business interests of the industry,
accreditation provides a practical step forward.
"I believe accreditation can serve as a unifying
force to help pull together an eclectic industry
that's ever-evolving," he explains, "while, at the
same time, helping to weed out the bad apples
who are hurting the industry."
"The personal training industry has a
responsibility to either regulate itself, or to subject
itself to inappropriate government regulation,"
concludes Caro. "Accredited certifications
demonstrate that personal trainers are, in fact,
serious about regulating themselves."
TOM RICHARDS is the public-policy manager for
IHRSA and can be reached at tgr@ihrsa.org.
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