spending tens of thousands of yuan to get a certificate is just the beginning. fitness coach qualifications are "not determined by big muscles"
2024-09-12
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zhang xuesong (left), a nationally qualified fitness coach, guides fitness enthusiasts in their training. photo provided by the interviewee
in recent years, following the explosion of popularity of running, cycling, hiking and other sports, fitness, an old player, has also gained new life. many enthusiasts want to open up new paths in life through fitness skills and hobbies, and become full-time or part-time fitness coaches. to achieve this goal, the first step is to obtain the corresponding fitness coach qualification certificate. whether it is the professional qualification certificate known as the "national qualification", the grade certificate issued by the china bodybuilding association, or the certificates of the four major certification agencies in the united states, they all have high authority and recognition in the domestic fitness industry.
after a certain period of training and theoretical and practical examinations, it is not difficult to obtain a fitness coach qualification certificate. of course, the certification is only the entry and foundation. if an excellent fitness coach wants to gain a sense of professional achievement and pride from his work, he must continue to improve his learning ability and interpersonal communication skills, and keep pace with the industry, so as to bring the latest training concepts to fitness enthusiasts and promote the healthy development of the industry.
popular science
the focus of domestic and foreign fitness coach qualification certification is different
in 2018, zhang xuesong, who had been working in the it industry for many years, made a decision to transform himself into a fitness coach. before that, he maintained good fitness habits and learned a lot of fitness knowledge. during the preparation period, zhang xuesong spent more than 10,000 yuan to find a fitness coach training institution and took a 3-month course. after successfully passing the exam, he obtained the "professional qualification certificate of the people's republic of china" social sports instructor (fitness coach) level 5 certificate (printed by the ministry of human resources and social security of the people's republic of china), and became a fitness coach as he wished.
in 2018, zhang xuesong obtained the "professional qualification certificate of the people's republic of china".
the "2023 china fitness industry data report" released in march this year shows that by the end of 2023, there will be about 117,000 fitness venues in the country, including 36,447 commercial fitness clubs and 42,177 fitness studios. at the same time, the number of fitness members has exploded, with 69.75 million offline paying members and an average of 4.41 visits per month for class membership members (active members).
when the above data was released, zhang haifeng, chairman of the china bodybuilding association, said that with the economic recovery and the recovery of consumption capacity, the fitness industry will usher in a new wave of recovery. nowadays, personal trainers are increasingly recognized by fitness enthusiasts, and they have also become the most important source of income for most fitness venues such as fitness clubs and fitness studios. in commercial fitness clubs, the proportion of personal trainer income reached 62.79% in 2023, the highest value in recent years. under the new situation, many fitness enthusiasts, like zhang xuesong, have transformed into the field of fitness coaches.
fitness coaches are currently divided into three categories: freelance coaches, studio coaches, and commercial gym coaches. all of them need to have corresponding qualifications and certifications. to become a fitness coach, you must first take a certificate, which is an unwritten rule in the industry. in fact, there is no rigid requirement for fitness coaches to hold a certificate in china. yao ning, chairman of 3hfit (fitness coach certification and career planning agency), said that there is no obvious difference in skills between fitness coaches with or without a license. the reason why all parties need fitness coaches to have licenses and qualifications is that, on the one hand, the venue can improve its reputation, trust and professionalism, and on the other hand, coaches can also use these certificates to improve their skills and confidence and better gain the trust of customers.
at present, many domestic and foreign fitness coach qualification certificates are highly authoritative. domestically, in addition to the "national professional" certificate obtained by zhang xuesong, the china bodybuilding association also issues corresponding primary, intermediate, advanced and national certificates. these two types are the most common certificates in the hands of many domestic fitness coaches.
in terms of foreign qualification certification, the four major certification bodies in the united states also have a high degree of recognition, namely ace (american council on exercise), nasm (national association of sports medicine), acsm (american college of sports medicine) and nsca (national athletic trainers association). in addition, the world bodybuilding federation also has corresponding fitness coach certification, including four types of qualification certificates: international fitness coach, sports nutritionist, sports rehabilitation therapist and advanced sports nutritionist.
judging from the characteristics of different certificates, domestic fitness coach certificates are more from the perspective of employment, and the core attraction is to ensure that students can find a job, similar to the concept of vocational schools. the four major certification agencies in the united states are biased towards mass fitness and athlete training. among them, the american ace, which serves the general public, has a high degree of recognition in china and has trained more than 15,000 fitness coaches in more than ten years. yao ning said that the core of the american ace certificate is to focus on the needs of the people it serves, and to help everyone go from learning fitness, being able to exercise, understanding fitness to loving fitness. "this is a psychological journey of companionship."
research
the training fee for fitness coach qualification exam is tens of thousands of yuan
like most professional skills tests, the fitness coach qualification test is also divided into two parts: theoretical knowledge and operational skills. after passing the test, the relevant institution will issue a certificate. zhang xuesong, who already has a certain fitness foundation, said that passing the qualification test is not difficult, but there are many things that he did not learn thoroughly during the training, and he needs to study and consolidate after class.
in 2010, the domestic fitness industry experienced rapid development, which led to a boom in the fitness coach training market. at its peak, there were more than 1,000 fitness training institutions nationwide. however, with the industry reshuffle, there are only about five large-scale institutions, and most people have left the industry. "the era of training to take advantage of a big trend and establish an ip (intellectual property) through a lecturer is over. now the students' cognitive ability, discrimination ability and learning ability have changed a lot." yao ning said.
the beijing news reporter consulted a domestic fitness coach training institution. taking the weekend class as an example, the price of the 13-week course is 10,500 yuan, with one day of intensive study every weekend, plus an 800 yuan certificate fee. in addition to skill operation courses, trainees also have to study sports nutrition, anatomy, physiology and other courses during the training period. after passing the assessment, trainees can obtain the corresponding level certificate of fitness coach issued by the china bodybuilding association, as well as international nutritionist, cardiopulmonary resuscitation first aid certificate and other qualification certifications. the reception staff of the training institution introduced that as long as you attend classes on time and study hard, the pass rate of the exam is relatively high.
similar to the certification process of domestic institutions, the four major certification institutions in the united states also require theoretical learning and practical assessment. according to the beijing news reporter, the training fee for obtaining american ace and other certificates ranges from 10,000 yuan to 18,000 yuan, depending on the length of the course and the training subjects.
lu pengfei, who works as a fitness coach in wuhan, is one of the first chinese coaches to obtain the qualifications after the four major american certifications have chinese versions. after obtaining the "national qualification", lu pengfei, who was born in sanda, immediately obtained the american ace and nasm personal trainer certificates.
fitness coach lu pengfei (left) and his students are doing battle rope training. photo provided by the interviewee
at present, lu pengfei mainly teaches group classes in the gym, with 25 classes per week, and is also responsible for the development of related courses. he said that during the course development process, the two american training systems were of great help to him in the course logic design and thinking. lu pengfei found that after the one-on-one private training stage, many fitness enthusiasts prefer group classes, "first because it has certain social attributes, and second because it is more interesting, easier to stick to, and easier to find a sense of accomplishment in the collective training atmosphere."
most fitness trainer qualifications are lifelong, but ace in the united states requires that the certificate remain active, and students must complete at least 8 credits every two years, which means that they must take at least 4 more courses each cycle. the organization hopes that coaches can treat the job of fitness trainer as a career, continue to study related subjects, keep pace with the industry, and bring the latest training concepts to fitness enthusiasts.
yao ning said that whether it is the "national professional" or the four major american certificates, in essence, they are only entry-level and basic, far from the commanding heights of the profession. after 3hfit introduced the american ace-related courses to china in 2012, a large number of students have renewed their certificates six times. yao ning regards this as a process of cyclical energy acquisition. "the fitness coach industry is basically a '20-80 principle', and the 20% best coaches lead the entire market forward." yao ning can see the professional pride of these excellent coaches, which comes from their continuous learning, constantly keeping up with the trend, and adjusting their working methods and skills according to customer needs.
challenge
in addition to providing emotional value, coaches also need to improve their professional skills
as a fitness coach for several years, zhang xuesong's biggest feeling is that the public's awareness of fitness and demand for fitness and services have increased significantly. the development of internet fitness has made it easy for more people to obtain relevant fitness knowledge, and they are no longer at the same level as previous fitness enthusiasts in terms of both physical management and knowledge.
"this requires fitness coaches to have a higher sense of service. not only do they need to provide professional theoretical knowledge, but they also need to provide a certain emotional value in order to retain customers." zhang xuesong said that coaches must find ways to meet customers' expectations, such as training plans that meet expectations and service details that are in place. "once customers feel bad, they may not renew their subscription or stop training with you."
zhang xuesong guides fitness enthusiasts. photo provided by the interviewee
in the past few years, the fitness industry has undergone a major reshuffle, with many gyms closing down. not only consumers are affected, but fitness coaches are also greatly affected. zhang xuesong frankly said that like customers, everyone hopes that the gym can be stable so that they can have a stable income. "whether it is a mall store or a community store, it must be stable, otherwise it will have a huge impact on members." zhang xuesong said that even if the closed gym is taken over by other companies later, it will still take a long time for members to regain their trust in the coaches.
under the new situation, both gyms and training institutions are trying to retain customers. in the past two years, ace in the united states has expanded its business and started to get involved in the high-net-worth incremental market. it has gradually included some fitness enthusiasts into the coach training system and grown with the coaches. yao ning introduced that the purpose of these people's learning is not to be a coach, but to become an excellent fitness enthusiast who understands fitness, that is, the "high-net-worth students" in the industry. in terms of courses, they will no longer choose content designed for the general public, but go straight to the coach training level, and to a certain extent, they have the ability to teach others. lu pengfei also said that many young people are now willing to be "slash youth", take the initiative to understand and master these fitness knowledge, and slowly influence the people around them.
“if coaches do not continue to improve, the people they serve will learn what they should have learned and surpass you. your career path will become more difficult and you will soon reach a career bottleneck.” in yao ning’s view, the changes brought about by this market have, in a sense, weakened the value of coaches and put higher demands on the industry.
as customer demands continue to increase, if the coach's ability remains constant, the gap between customer requirements and coach services will become larger and larger, and customers will eventually choose to give up. yao ning said that this is a practical problem currently facing the industry. the solution to this problem is to give coaches more room for growth, constantly improve their learning ability and interpersonal communication skills, and eventually become a high-quality fitness coach.
"the customer gave you the first opportunity. if you want to maintain the customer relationship, it is obviously not determined by your big muscles, but by your brain." in yao ning's view, a truly excellent fitness coach is able to provide continuous companionship. once the customer wants to improve his athletic ability during training, the coach can continue to empower him. only in this way can customers look up to you and be willing to pay hundreds of yuan or even more per hour for high-quality services.
sun haiguang, chief reporter of beijing news
editor: wang chunqiu
proofread by yang li
