Wider Horizons

Want to help the Canadian economy? Put down this magazine now and walk around the block.muscling in on fitness

Physical inactivity robs Canada of roughly $5.3 billion in production annually, while its bloated partner in crime, obesity, takes it for another $4.3 billion. And, the two account for almost five per cent of the nation’s healthcare costs.

So, when are you going to get off your cushy sofa and do something about it?

Turns out, many of you are already. And you’re using personal fitness trainers to help you reach your goals. It’s one of the fastest growing industries in Alberta, and many entering the field are Lethbridge College graduates.

Lethbridge College’s two-year Exercise Science program, now in its fourth year, is turning out graduates fully prepared to take advantage of the boom in helping clients reach their own desired fitness level.

The students will achieve the level of training expected by major fitness facilities in Alberta and throughout Canada. They’ll also learn the basics to set up their own businesses.

“When our students graduate, they enter the field right away,” says Stacia Nelson, Exercise Science instructor who developed its curriculum. “And, they are working not just as fitness trainers, but also in administration roles. They get a well-rounded education on the entire business of fitness, including health promotion and lifestyle counseling. It’s not just about personal fitness training.”

An initiative between Nelson and Tyler Wall, of Lethbridge College’s Educational Enhancement Team, was introduced in the classroom this month to aid students in their understanding of biomechanical concepts.

“The physics of human movement is not easily learned from textbooks,” says Nelson.

To provide students a greater sense of realism, she designed a computer simulation program, which Wall brought to reality.

This computer simulation program is being used as a teaching tool within the classroom as well as online, adding blended learning to the Exercise Science program’s repertoire.

“This is something I’m extremely excited about,” says Nelson. “I would love to be able to add a new blended-learning initiative every year.”

Lethbridge College’s two-year diploma, says Nelson, includes the gold standard required to practise as a fitness professional: certification by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and the Alberta Fitness Leadership Certification Association.

“Anyone can call themselves a fitness trainer,” says Bertil Johansson, the program’s initiator. “Professional certification speaks to their ethics, annual reviews and ongoing monitoring of skills and knowledge.

“With Alberta schools implementing daily physical fitness programs, an aging baby boom generation and a greater awareness of personal responsibility for health, fitness trainers will be in great demand. And there’s a corporate market to tap as well. This will not be a mere business boom, it will be a lifelong experience.”

That experience Johansson mentions has already taken Nelson from her hometown of Stavely to Brisbane, Australia and back, a journey that included a diploma in fitness leadership from Mount Royal College in Calgary (the program is no longer offered), a bachelor of science in exercise and physiology from the University of Calgary, and a masters of applied science in clinical exercise science from the University of Queensland. That’s a lot of paperwork, but the one she found the most useful was the first one.

“The college diploma, like any college program, was hands-on and allowed me to work in the field while I was in university,” says Nelson, who also ran her own business in Brisbane before returning to Alberta. “The same is true of our program. By the fourth semester, students are no longer sitting in classrooms listening to lectures; they’re participating in courses and keeping up with the growing and changing industry.

“It used to be the fitness trainer was the guy with the biggest muscles in the gym,” says Nelson. “Now, fitness is recognized as a science that impacts on healthcare. Training is no longer a philosophy of ‘go hard and go home.’ It’s about living actively.”

Exercise science students learn how to draw the link between theoretical knowledge and practice. They can make educated decisions about training regimes. They develop skills to educate, motivate and counsel people.

“This is critical as nearly 60 per cent of our population is not active enough to derive health benefits, and more than half of the people who embark on a fitness regime will quit within six months,” says Nelson. “Our students understand motivation and counseling to prevent people from quitting.”

Students learn to design fitness programs, carry out fitness assessments and create advanced conditioning regimens. And, Lethbridge College’s curriculum teaches the entrepreneurial aspects needed to set up and run a fitness business, including web page development. It’s a comprehensive course, ensuring grads are prepared to succeed.

Certified personal trainers are required by fitness clubs, physiotherapy and medical clinics, health and resort spas, sports teams, recreation groups, seniors’ centres, schools and outreach programs, rehabilitation agencies, corporations, the travel industry, sports organizations and community facilities.

“We are finding mature students excel in the program because they understand about more than the physical. A good fitness trainer has to know what’s going on inside the body and make educated decisions. It is, after all, a science program.”

While some may consider personal trainers a luxury, afforded only by Hollywood stars or professional athletes, Nelson suggests they are an investment in oneself.

“Personal trainers are less expensive in Lethbridge than elsewhere,” she says. “And remember, for every hour they spend with you, they’re putting in another two to three hours developing your program.”

Wider Horizons
Lethbridge College
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