Coach vs Personal Trainer: Understanding Why They Are Different
Not a week goes by where the Performance Coaches here at Absolute don’t get referred to as personal trainers. While it doesn’t overly offend, or concern me, I know it does for other coaches, as it is something that needs clarity if our industry is to gain greater respect as a profession within the general public.
Most coaches, at early stages in their career, started off as a personal trainer. But the education and certification barely scratched the surface to be a performance coach. A coach has a minimum of a university level degree, are registered with a major governing body that has a pre-requisite for acceptance, such as Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) or Australian Strength & Conditioning Association (ASCA).
They also require continuous professional development to stay registered under these bodies. Thus, ensuring they stay at the top of the field and at the forefront of the latest research and methodology when it comes to all things health, fitness, performance and injury management.
Since 2004, the personal training industry in Australia has grown from just above 12,000 registered trainers, to now exceeding 32,000! (1). Unfortunately, only a mere 14% of this have a university level qualification, and with this, comes the downturn of the industry, where quantity has overtaken the drive for quality.
A coach will never take a training session, 1 on 1 or group, without a definitive plan, specific to the individual, who has been thoroughly prescreened, and part of a long-term structure. Too often I see personal trainers in public gyms with no program on hand, getting clients to do movements in no way suitable for them, and with no clear plan for long term progression, just inflicting damage and intensity just for the sake of it.
Setting higher standards and tier’s will give the industry the power to approach the health insurance providers to be covered, and the health insurance industry confidence that the invested money for the general public is truly making a difference.
It will also allow us to play a bigger part in the medical and allied health community, where GP’s, Surgeons, Sports Doctors, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Soft Tissue Therapist and everything in between, will be able to refer to Coaches with the utmost confidence that a higher level of care and understanding of injury and pathology is a given.
So, Personal Trainer Vs Performance Coach, there is a difference, and the importance of those differences should not be understated, particularly when it comes to who to choose when you are looking to improve your health, performance, injury and fitness. And on the bigger picture side of things, for our industry to be recognised and truly respected as professional by the wider medical community and insurance industry.
Written By Head Performance Coach & Co-founder David Smith