IS YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER PROFESSIONALLY CERTIFIED?
American Council on Exercise Reminds the Nation of the Importance of Certification

Posted: Sep 26, 2002 in

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Sept. 26, 2002 – Americans who viewed the Sept. 23 report on the CBS Evening News titled, “Lawsuit Exposes Health Club Secrets,” may be a bit apprehensive and concerned when it comes to hiring a certified personal trainer to help achieve their own personal fitness goals - and for good reason.

A Long Island man filed a $320 million lawsuit against a Manhattan health club claiming it recklessly prescribed nutritional supplements that caused the death of his 37-year-old wife, who had joined the club to lose weight. The woman died after suffering a stroke while working out with her personal trainer.

The CBS report stated that the “lawsuit has helped expose two health club secrets. The first is sometimes a certified personal trainer isn't certified. The second is there is no standard - national, state or otherwise - for what the word certified means.”

The American Council on Exercise urges all Americans to choose a personal trainer who is professionally certified. “Consumers should demand fitness professionals whose qualifications and professional competencies are beyond reproach,” said Ken Germano, ACE Executive Director. “Competent exercise guidance should always be the integral element of any consumer’s exercise experience.”

Personal training can never be an effective tool for achieving optimal health and fitness if it is not first and foremost safe for the client. A professional certification should provide the client assurance that he/she is working with a trainer who has the knowledge to provide a safe and effective workout. But not just any certification will do.

ACE is dedicated to improving the professional standards of the fitness industry. That effort is a partnership, in which consumers have the important role of taking the initiative to ensure that their fitness trainers are certified by a reputable organization with a track record of meeting the highest academic and professional criteria.

About ACE
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s Authority on Fitness, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of physical activity and protecting consumers against unsafe and ineffective fitness products and instruction. As the nation’s “workout watchdog,” ACE sponsors university-based exercise science research and testing that targets fitness products and trends. ACE sets standards for fitness professionals and is the world’s largest nonprofit fitness certifying organization. For more information on ACE and its programs, call (800) 825-3636 or log onto the ACE Web site at www.acefitness.org.

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