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NCHPAD - Building Healthy Inclusive Communities

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Continuing Education as an Inclusive Fitness Professional


By Jennifer Green, MS

Photo of Jennifer Green who is a NCHPAD Visiting Information Specialist. 
Jennifer Green, NCHPAD Visiting Information Specialist
For fitness professionals specializing in specific populations, especially those working with people with disabilities, continuing education is the key to best serving your clients and ensuring programs are designed in a way that keeps them safe, as well as meets their goals. It seems almost impossible to retain all the information that one studies for a certification exam, especially if you are not consistently utilizing that knowledge. This month, I dedicate this column to the continuation of learning, and the importance of train-the-trainer models.

While continuing education credits (“CECs”) are often required to uphold your certification, going above and beyond those required credits or tapping into resources that can give you unlimited access to new and emerging techniques and strategies in the field can be beneficial for numerous reasons. The field of personal training, as well as the state of various health conditions, are perpetually changing, and new research and findings are continuously being discovered and updated. To uphold your standard as an inclusive fitness trainer, it is important to expand your repertoire of skills and knowledge, keeping in mind that education goes beyond programming, and that knowledge about accessibility, legislation, etc., is also important.

In order to do so, consider the following:

Register for webinars that can be easily accessed from your home or office. Try refreshing your knowledge by registering for the ACSM/NCHPAD CIFT webinar if you haven’t done so already.

Subscribe to newsletters, e-journals, or listservs from various organizations. Examples include but are not limited to:

Set an alert on your Google Reader or other similar program to notify you when new studies are being published regarding physical activity and disability. Some articles I find interesting and helpful include:

In addition to staying up to date with the latest research, organizations, conferences, and journal articles, a great way to stay educated is to train others. If you consider yourself a knowledgeable ambassador of inclusive fitness, why not train other trainers to do the same? Consider hosting disability awareness training for others working at your facility or perhaps create factsheets or flyers that can be dispersed to either employees or patrons. Perhaps you could evaluate the accessibility of your facility or group fitness classes, and begin to propose small, readily achievable changes to make them more inclusive.

In all, continuing education goes beyond attending conferences and answering questionnaires at the end of a newsletter. It is a continuous effort to find new resources that you can utilize to your advantage. By doing so, you will benefit your clients, your facility, and yourself.

If you are interested in presenting disability awareness training or something similar and are looking for materials, please contact the National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability; we will be happy to assist you.

 


Please send any questions or comments to Jennifer Green at green1jn@uic.edu.


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