What is a Specialized Personal Trainer?
Why choose a Specialized Personal Trainer over a regular Personal Trainer?
It was of great disappoint to Adam of ACR Movement when it was discovered that the SIS - Sport, Fitness and Recreation Training Package 5.0 endorsed in November 2021 has removed the Diploma of Fitness form its offering. No more Diploma trained Personal Trainers in the near future.
The Diploma of Fitness package prior to 2015 was directed towards educating Personal Trainers to work with clients with specific needs, and to work in collaboration with other allied health professionals. Some of the units within the course covered areas including delivering prescribed exercise to clients with cardio respiratory conditions, metabolic conditions, musculoskeletal conditions, disability or neurological impairment, children and young adolescents with specific chronic conditions, and older clients with chronic conditions.
The current SIS40221 - Certificate IV in Fitness package does contain Group C: General Electives that include facilitating the empowerment and inclusion of people with disability and older people, and working with people with mental health issues. These units are not part of the core package and not commonly studied.
Fitness qualifications in Australia are like most qualifications in vocational education, there are core units that all students must study, and elective units students can choose from. Not all Personal Trainers are qualified in the same areas.
It is important for clients to ask their Personal Trainer what were the units that they studied as part of their qualification to ensure they are the appropriate Personal Trainer for them.
Diploma of Fitness Vs Cert IV in Fitness
Diploma of Fitness = Specialized Personal Trainer
Training.gov.au – SIS50210 – Diploma of Fitness (Release 3)
Course Description
This qualification provides the skills and knowledge for an individual to be competent in a range of activities and functions within the fitness industry, including working collaboratively with medical and allied health professionals in a broad range of settings, such as fitness facilities, aquatic facilities, community facilities and in open spaces.
Those with this level of competency will be expected to provide exercise training to individual clients with specific needs, on a one-on-one or group basis, and may include older clients and children with chronic conditions.
Persons with this level of competency will have the ability to implement, evaluate and modify the exercise prescription provided by medical or allied health professionals for clients with specific conditions, within an agreed scope for progression as recommended by referring medical or allied health professionals.
Specialized exercise trainers will have the ability to monitor client progress and, in collaboration with medical or allied health professionals, utilize an evidence-based approach to deliver solutions by applying knowledge of physiology and anatomy and the pathology of specific medical conditions.
Cert IV in Fitness – Personal Trainer
Training.gov.au – SIS40221 - Certificate IV in Fitness
Course Description
This qualification reflects the role of personal trainers who develop, instruct and evaluate personalised exercise programs for generally healthy and low risk clients, to achieve specific fitness goals. Clients with higher health risks are referred to medical or allied health professionals. Personal trainers work independently using highly developed fitness skills and knowledge in both routine and unpredictable situations. They use well-developed communication and collaboration skills to interact with clients and health professionals to improve client fitness outcomes.
This qualification provides a pathway to work as an employed or self-employed personal trainer in settings such as fitness facilities, gyms, leisure and community centres, client workplaces and homes, and outdoor locations. Personal trainers may offer services to individuals and groups, and may provide online training services. In some employment contexts, personal trainers may be involved in team leadership or supervisory activities.