Make sure that you're in capable hands of professionals
Brits embarking on, or continuing fitness programmes they started at the beginning of the New Year are being urged to double check the credentials and qualifications of the people they are being given exercise advice by as regulators launch a campaign to crack down on cowboy personal trainers.
The campaign is being run by the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) which regulates and certifies exercise professionals in the UK who meet strict criteria and training guidelines and is part of the Government’s SkillsActive council.
Only 28,000 instructors have been approved by the Register, and there is no way of knowing just how many instructors there are in the UK who are working unregulated. In the past 18 months alone, REPs has refused over 300 instructors who do not meet the national standards required for them to be approved by the Register. But because there are no laws over who can give exercise advice in Britain, these trainers are still free to dispense advice once turned away by REPs, alongside the possible thousands of others giving advice who haven’t even tried to get registered with REPs.
The majority of gyms in the UK ensure their instructors are REPs registered, however, there are still establishments which do not.
Figures show that a third of Brits have picked up sporting injuries in the past five years and REPs say training with unqualified personal trainers or taking advice from someone with no expertise can cause anything from minor injuries that prevent people from getting fit, to serious long term health problems.
Whilst many instructors train for years to gain the necessary qualifications needed, some instructors believe that by copying routines seen elsewhere or simply attending a day course is all the training needed. Not only can training with these un-registered instructors potentially damage your body, they can also cause mental anguish by giving false hope to their clients. Instructors need to tailor the routines to their clients’ goals, but many unregistered instructors perform imbalanced routines which can be seriously harmful. Clients can be left with problems ranging from frozen shoulder to prolapsed discs, sciatica and even hernias.
For more information see: http://www.exerciseregister.org/
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