ehuber:
I think what would be "nonsense" is presuming that a two-day workshop certification could qualify somebody as an expert in a complex academic field. Do you presume that I am an expert diver because I have AOW, Deep, Nitrox, and Drysuit certifications from PADI? Or if I owned a dive shop?
To suggest that someone who actually has a degree from a well respected HPER institution is "unqualified" to warn people about putting too much faith in a fitness certification is difficult to justify. I do understand that "not all knowledge and experience comes from nor is solely contained within the walls of academia" but I also understand how easy it is to become a personal trainer without any academic background whatsoever and pass others' methodology off without a full comprehension of the ramifications, effects, and principles the ideas are derived from.
You make a good point, but I would not generalize too much. As somebody with a degree in the field, currently going for his Masters, I can attest to the validity of a good university education. However, I have worked with people who held advanced degrees in exercise science who could not defend their arguments properly. They were simply repeating what they had learned in their classrooms, without much thought of applying the knowledge acquired in classes such as kinesiology, physiology, and even chemistry. I know graduates from two prestigious Exercise Science Programs who were ardent proponents of the HIT method despite the fact that a simple analysis of levers and neuromuscular interactions show the futility of the method for athletic conditioning. I have also met graduates from the same programs who are exceptional coaches and excellent educators.
I agree that there's a terrifying number of Personal Trainers who got certified in a weekend workshop. In generalizing, I would say that the grand majority of those trainers did it because they got tired of busing tables at McDonalds or wanted to get out of the chicken fryer, and a couple hundred bucks and a weekend were their ticket out. They are easy to notice as they pretty much use the same exercises with everyone, the very dozen of exercises that are familiar to this trainer. They also rely heavily on outdated techniques (such as the food pyramid and target heart rate training for "fat burning") lack program designing skills, and more than anything, professional skills. They bring the field a bad name.
HOWEVER, there are those who use that certification not only as entry to the field, but as a learning opportunity to pursue something they love. These people put a lot of time and finances towards their education and I've met several that could put to shame several cocky degreed professionals. I've had the privilege of working with non-degreed trainers that were TERRIFIC in the field and I've learned quite a bit from them.
Like I said before, a college education is excellent, but by no means complete. We get a heavy background in Kinesiology, but the way it's presented by Tom Purvis in his RTS course opens your eyes to a new dimension. We learn about strength and conditioning, but until you read the works of Yuri Verkhoshansky, A N Vorobyev, and many other Soviet researchers, you will realize how much is conflicting. We learn about typical conditioning guidelines until Mel C. Siff breaks them down and shows why a lot of it is not necessarily so. We learn general nutrition guidelines based on The ACSM and FDA guidelines despite learning in genetics how diversity affects nutrient assimilation. Enter William Linz Loncott and Trish Fahey with their "Metabolic Typing" Paul Chek with a similar approach, and the late Doctor Atkins, among others, who questioned the rules of the FDA and showed the flaws of the food pyramid. We learn about spine mechanics, innervations, and its pathology with myriads of approaches to treat chronic back pain, several of them sadly short lived (I minored in sports medicine) only to have Doctor John Sarno challenge the physical therapy and physiatry community and show that it's all a head issue. These things I DID NOT learn in college.
Cameron has been very helpful in the board and all his answers have been intelligent, factual, and well documented. I've never read a post of his that showed the slightest hint of being uneducated. I think the attack on his character was unfair and you owe him an apology. Yes, I have read his book and I have recommended it to a lot of people. Cameron has done meticulous and extensive research on Diving Physiology and it that aspect he speaks with authority. Just check his list of references.
In all fairness, I have to say that a lot of tripe has been posted in the fitness forum, and many of the posters take a defensive attitude when shown the flaws of their logic, but none of that has ever come from Cameron. He has been and continues to be one of the best contributors in the fitness forum.
Somebody mentioned that our field was not rocket science. Of course is not rocket science, it is MOVEMENT science. It encompasses the understanding of the interactions of the body systems in response to stresses of the environment. The great majority of people lack a serious understanding of it, and this is reflected in the poor physical conditioning our country currently shows.
To conclude, perhaps your words came out of context, but I believe nobody would think less of you if you gave Cameron your apology. Better yet, read his book and check his resources to see why you may have judged the man too soon. You know what they say about never judging a book by its cover
Oh, and BTW, I still happily endorse Cameron's book. Cheers!
