The success of a fitness professional (instructor, coach or personal trainer etc) cannot solely be related to how skilled or knowledgeable they are, but rather how skilful and experienced they are in teaching, educating and supporting their clients. In my opinion, pedagogy should be available to all fitness professionals, not just those with an academic background. Broadly speaking the term ‘pedagogy’ is the science of teaching and instructing (Carson & Walsh, 2021). In relation to sport and exercise, the pedagogical encounter is best described as when the coach/instructor designs their programmes in order to provide effective, efficient and appropriate practices to support their learner in any type of physical activity or sports training. As a coach who specialises in providing pedagogical teaching practices, their aim is to identify the complex needs of their client in their chosen physical activity, regardless of age, stage, ability, gender or environment (Armour & Chambers, 2014).
When it comes to working with your clients, the key element is not just ‘knowing’ the information, but more in your abilities in being able to transfer that knowledge and information to the client. Teaching a skill takes more than just dictating information, you cannot just provide textbook information, expecting all of your clients to learn in the same way. Supporting your clients to engage in their workout requires particular skills during the interaction in order to support them to achieve their potential. Body language and verbal communication should be used consciously and appropriately in order to engage your client. When beginning a programme of physical activity clients will need motivation, support, encouragement, and correction. From experience most fitness professionals will develop relationships with their client in one of two ways. They will either be able to form naturally occurring positive relationships, or they will gravitate towards individuals that have similar interests, for example bodybuilding. However, in my opinion, if fitness professionals were taught to understand pedagogy from the outset of their training as well as understanding the process of facilitating, supporting and increasing engagement, these professionals would be able to reach more clients on a wider scale.
In my experience, as well as the courses and qualifications I have undertook here in the UK, (level 2 and 3 personal training courses), they all provide general information about anatomy, physiology, nutrition, exercises, health and safety, exercise planning and how to set up an effective training programme for clients. The course provides the tools to effectively deliver a successful and safe exercise session. However, what became obvious is that fitness professionals are given very limited time in learning about how to interact, communicate and engage their clients effectively. If I had not had previous university degrees in sports and physical education before coming to work in the UK, I too would have received practically zero training in how to implement pedagogical principles into my coaching. I believe that pedagogical approaches are extremely important for all fitness professionals working within the field of sports and exercise as it provides them with the tools to transfer their knowledge and skills to the population they are working with. Therefore, it seems unjust that novice and those just starting out in the field are not taught pedagogical approaches unless they are accessing higher education such as undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. This is also reflected in the academic field, coaches who have undertaken a masters level education have moved away from ‘coach centred’ practices (those focused on directive coaching behaviours) to ‘participant centred’ practices (focusing on what and how an individual/participant learns) and have been successful at coaching high and elite sporting levels. However, there is limited research on pedagogical approaches at grassroots or novice level for coaches (Carson & Walsh, 2021).
Given that there are no formal practices for coaches to develop their skills, it is not surprising that we see disparities between processes when fitness professionals are often taught from the outset that they will be competing against each other and developing their own communities (Carson & Walsh, 2021). From an outsider’s perspective and my own personal experiences, fitness professionals are taught to look at people as money, as a set number of targets they need to reach. The human and personal element seems somewhat missing in the UK. This is not to say that all fitness professionals in the UK engage this way, but I believe for the majority, the way that most gyms work and the principles that they are based on are flawed, I’ll explain why…
Most gyms and fitness companies hire fitness instructors who are self-employed or are paid per hour, per client. Therefore, the fitness professional has to constantly chase new clients in order to reach their weekly target. Gyms will charge fitness professional’s a fee to rent their facility or they are expected to finish a certain number of hours of service to the gym in order to have access to potential clients. This way of working has been embedded and promoted by the courses and certificates in personal training and one in which most fitness professionals will experience at the beginning of their journey. In my opinion, this unnecessary pressure and stress that fitness professionals face may be subconsciously or indirectly transferred to their clients.
In other countries that I have worked in, personal training and coaching works completely different to what I have experienced in the UK. For example, in other countries the gym pays the fitness professional a monthly salary. Within these hours the fitness professional is there to help support everybody who is present at the gym, without having to pursue or chase anyone for their custom. So, in this situation, the fitness professional is stress free from weekly targets and financial stress that often go hand in hand with being self-employee. This freedom allows the fitness professional to spend more time supporting and guiding members to reach their own personal goals. More specifically, whilst I was working as a fitness coach for the military in the UAE, all fitness professionals had a salary in return for a fixed number of hours where they needed to be present at the gym. Within these weekly hours, all military personnel whether soldiers or staff, had access to personal training and coaching whenever they needed it. In my opinion, this way of working supports effective coaching/instruction and puts all users of the gym at ease because they were regularly able to access advice and support to meet their goals. This method of working is in complete contrast to what is taught here in the UK. Throughout level 2 and 3 personal training courses, the fitness professional is taught how to structure their business, meet targets, how many individuals to approach each week, and how many individuals to offer free samples/taster sessions to. This way of working appears to have become so popular in the UK that fitness professionals nowadays will approach people bluntly, offering free personal training sessions just for the sake of meeting their targets, the personalisation and human element seems to be completely missing. What I have noticed is that this can cause individuals to become reluctant and dismissive of these offers because they are aware what the fitness professional’s ulterior motives are. If we were collectively able to bring back personalisation to the industry, gym users would view the fitness professional as someone there to help guide and support, not just someone who is there to make money from them.
In my opinion, this way of working is the reason why there is a high turnover of fitness professionals within the industry and why many move on and discontinue their chosen career path. Therefore, the following three recommendations would seem useful practices for the UK to adopt:
1. Introducing pedagogical approaches that are available across all fitness, sport and educational courses.
2. Teaching fitness professionals approaches in hospitality, approaching potential clients as individuals and not just a ‘weekly target’, offering free advice with no expectation of return would build rapport and establish relationships.
3. Providing fitness professionals and personal trainers (level 3), the same salary as PE teachers and strength and conditioning coaches, in return for their time, guidance, knowledge and support they are able to provide to the gym members.
In the future, an ideal scenario would be for the UK Government to fund private gyms in order for them to be able to offer their fitness professionals a full-time salary in exchange for their work in supporting their customers. Clients and members would be able to book their personal training sessions in the same way as they would book any group exercise class. From what I have seen in the UK, the Government regularly runs unsuccessful campaigns in order to ‘tackle obesity’, however they fail to recognise that paying for a professional when it comes to supporting their health and wellness journey is often a privilege that many cannot afford. Making exercise accessible and affordable for those in the community, whilst educating and supporting our fitness professionals financially and academically, would be a clear step in the right direction for ensuring that all individuals can access services to support both their mental and physical well-being.
References
Armour, K. M. & Chambers, F. C. (2014). ‘Sport and exercise pedagogy’. The case for a new integrative sub-discipline in the field of sport and exercise sciences/kinesiology/human movement sciences. Sport, Education and Society, 19(7), 855-868.
Carson, F., & Walsh, J. (2021). Are we there yet? A signature pedagogy for sports coaching. Annals of Leisure Research, 24(2), 255-261.
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